Mitsui Mining and Smelting, a company with roots that go way back in history, is out to make history in the lithium ion battery market. Known in Japan as Mitsui Kinzoku, they are part of the humungous Mitsui Group whose origins can be traced back to a humble miso shop founded more than a hundred years before the American War of Independence. That's old.
What's new is their breakthrough with silicon-based negative electrode (SILX®) for lithium ion batteries. It seems they've been able to achieve double the energy capacity of a carbon-based negative electrode, boost the energy density 30 to 50 percent and dramatically improve cycle life. What's that mean in English? Their battery could help your electric car accelerate faster, go further and last longer.
Mitsui Mining and Smelting plan on commercializing their technology in 2010. There are still some details like manufacturing processes to work out and the matching of other components like positive electrodes and such. They already have companies knocking on the door for their SILX® and are planning to partner with battery makers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to get their tech in your hands (or car) as quickly as possible. Read more about their battery chemistry and marketing strategy from their press release after the jump.
Some day, the world may rely solely on electric transportation. While that day is pretty far off in the future, when it happens it will likely be because the lithium ion battery which led the way. Currently, a large number of vehicles in the product-pipeline are scheduled to be released with batteries that are not yet in production. The Chevy Volt looms large as the number one example of a company putting a huge amount of faith into the lithium ion battery. Tesla's exciting Roadster literally uses thousands of little lithium ion batteries which usually find their way into laptop computers. There's truly a great deal riding on the future of lithium ion, and we expect that it will be these batteries which power our upcoming electric cars. Let's move.
Click on the image to view high-res shots of the Mercedes F700 concept
As part of an annual meeting held in Berlin, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche says that the company will increase its R&D spending to $21 billion for the year 2010. A major part of those expenses will go towards alternative powerplants. Hydrogen and lithium ion batteries will make up a good chunk of these charges, and Zetsche claims that Daimler has made "a major breakthrough in battery technology." Regarding the heat generated by lithium ion batteries, Zetsche adds, "Daimler has solved the problem. Thanks to the integration of the vehicle's cooling system, the batteries can now operate continually at optimal system temperatures. This maximizes their power output; extends their service life, and make it possible to use this high-performance technology in automotive applications. We've protected this innovation with 25 patents."
Mercedes-Benz will continue to offer large, powerful and luxurious vehicles in each of the market segments in which it competes. What's more, Dr. Z adds, the company "aims to offer at least one model in each of the Mercedes-Benz core model series that is a leader in fuel consumption." We're reminded of the F700 concept that the company recently introduced. We would add that DiesOtto, or HCCI engines, could make a dent in Mercedes' overall fuel consumption statistics.
The most important part of an electric or hybrid vehicle is often said to be the battery. With all the breakthroughs in energy storage and the emergence of new companies, it can be a difficult field to keep up with. If you are a potential investor or just a curious onlooker you might be interested in how Mike Millikin has graded what he believes to be the top dozen companies in the field.
In a three-part article for EnergyTechStocks.com, the founder and editor of the informative Green Car Congress hands out report cards for the leading battery and ultra-capacitor companies out there today. All the big battery names you read about on AutoblogGreen are represented as well as the secretive EEStor ultra-capacitor folks and impressive upstarts like Valence. While nobody gets an "F," Mike pulls no punches with a frank assessment of each. We thinks he is pretty much "on the money" but if he's slipped up, we are sure you'll let us know.
While many other car-makers (with the notable exception of Toyota) are jumping on the lithium ion bandwagon for new hybrid models, Honda will stick with nickel metal hydride for now. Honda President Takeo Fukui told Automotive News that lithium ion batteries are not yet reliable or durable enough for high volume applications. When Honda debuts a new dedicated hybrid model early next year to take on the Prius, it will continue to use nickel metal hydride batteries.
Honda hopes to top 200,000 annual sales with its new hybrid model, a car that is expected to be priced below the current Civic hybrid. Honda has chosen to use a lithium battery in its FCX Clarity fuel cell car, but those will be very low volume initially and much more expensive. The continued use of nickel probably has as much to do with cost as anything else at this point. Given Honda's price and volume targets, there is probably no lithium battery available right now to the meet the need. According to Fukui, the new model is being engineered to allow for a running change to lithium when the batteries do meet the company's specifications.
In October, we noticed a Prius in an Ener1 video and predicted Ener1 was working on a plug-in Prius. Later, we read in SEC files that Ener1 would show a demonstration car in December and questioned if the Prius was that car. Turns out we were right, almost. That car in the video did use Ener1's batteries but it was not a plug-in and there is a difference.
Ener1 released a press release today that said they were the first to integrate a lithium-ion battery into a HEV (hybrid electric vehicle). The first? What about all those PHEVs (plug-in hybrid electric vehicles)? Aren't they just HEVs with a plug? I contacted Ener1 and they schooled me on the differences. Jerry Herlihy, Ener1's Chief Financial Officer, explained:
The battery for HEV is very different than PHEV. It requires power rather than energy density; it requires a large number of cycles; it needs to be safe; it requires a high C rate (time to charge and discharge); it needs to cold crank; it needs to operate in low temperatures, etc. And it has to be affordable.
And Ener1 will be affordable. According to the press release, a video tape of the test drive of the Prius will be made available to the press and the video will be at the Ener1 website soon. Third party testing of the batteries' performance in the Prius will be released the first quarter of 2008. The Ener1 battery gives twice as much power to the Prius electric motor and the increase in performance is expected to be substantial. Ener1 will also give a presentation to registered participants at EVS-23 today. AutoblogGreen's Sebastian is at EVW23, so stay tuned for reports directly from the show floor.
Hybrid Technologies all-lithium Mini Cooper is on the cover and on sale through a Sam's Club magazine called Source Guide. The price for the 2008 Model is $65,000 and it's ready for immediate delivery. Recently, we told you about a promotion Sam's Club did with Hybrid Technologies where they sold a single electric Smart car. Seems like that promotion must have been a success if Hybrid Technologies' Mini is now on the cover of the Sam's Club's catalog. Below the fold is a video test drive of the Mini by Popular Mechanics Magazine.
In an interview with Kelly Blue Book at the 2007 LA Auto Show, General Motors hybrid vehicle expert Stephen Poulos says GM's "next generation" BAS (belt alternator starter) hybrid system will keep the same architecture but use lithium-ion batteries giving it more voltage, higher power and significantly increased capability. Here is exactly what Stephen said at the end of the interview when asked what can we look forward to from GM on hybrids:
I can tell you that we are going at this with a huge amount of commitment. We are hiring engineers as fast as we can do it in the hybrid area. We see a significant growth in the number of models that will be hybridized over the future. Recently we announced, Tom Stevens announced, head of GM power train, that we will have a next generation of our GM hybrid system that's in the Malibu. It will be a higher voltage, higher power system. Same basic architecture, motor generator with a belt drive. Significantly increased capability using lithium-ion batteries. So that's one hint out there of what's coming ... but those will be going in a lot of places.
Just another hint that GM is serious about new battery tech, as if we needed another one:
The intelligent package costs 1.17 million yen ($10,200), about 100,000 yen ($870) more than standard models according to Toyota Executive Vice President Masatami Takimoto. They are available in very small numbers, about 10 cars a month and Toyota does not tell anyone but dealers do have the cars, buyers can ask for them and get them. What's the improvement in mileage? The lithium-ion Pirus Vitz get 25 kilometers a liter (60 miles a gallon), in Japanese testing, versus 22 kilometers a liter (53 miles a gallon) for the non-intelligent package, according to Toyota.
If I were GM, I would be very nervous right now because Toyota apparently has four years of real world data on hybrids Vitzes using lithium-ion batteries. If I were a consumer, I might be interested. Would you pay $10,000 $870 for 7 more miles per gallon?
Update:The cars with lithium-ion batteries is the Vitz not the Prius. Vitz is technically not a hybrid because the battery is never used to drive the car.
Ener1Del has signed a deal with Think Global, the makers of the Th!nk city car, to become the supplier of choice for lithium-ion batteries. Under a development agreement between Ener1 and Think, Ener1 will deliver production prototypes to Think in March 2008 and pre-production parts (valued at $1.4 M) the following July. Once those milestones are reached, Ener1 expects $70 M in sales in 2008-2010 and, depending on growth from Think, Ener1 expects sales from the entire contract to be worth $200 M.
Charles Gassenheimer, Chairman of Ener1 and Peter Novak CEO of Ener1 says "This contract with Think is the commercial breakthrough that will provide the investment community with a clear picture of the substantial revenues and cash flows that are possible in the Li ion battery market." Jan-Olaf Willums, President and Chief Executive Officer of Think Global stated, "We are confident in EnerDel's capabilities to deliver this safe, reliable and high energy battery system that will power the electric vehicle of the future. While this is the largest Lithium ion battery contract in the automotive industry to date, we expect demand for our vehicle and the resulting battery supply requirements to increase substantially from these levels."
$200 M sounds like a lot of cars, especially if you consider Ener1 is promising amazing reductions in the price of the battery. I would guess Think expects car sales with Ener1's batteries in the tens of thousands - maybe even hundreds of thousands. With a deal like this, other car companies are sure to come looking at Ener1's technology and our bet is on Toyota because we already noticed they seem to be working on a Prius in the lab. You can read the press release in full below the fold.
Enerdel is a company making extraordinary claims on the cost, capacity, safety, etc. of their lithium-ion, electric car battery. Possibly hoping to quiet some doubts, Enerdel has now held their first media event, unveiling the battery with the help of Congressman Dan Burton (guy on the left in picture below the fold) yesterday (Tuesday, October 9). The webcast of that event is archived online at Enerdel's website. According to the Enerdel press release, the event attendance included local television affiliates of ABC, CBS and FOX, the Indianapolis Star newspaper, a Gannett publication, and WIBC radio.
Charles Gassenheimer, Vice Chairman of Ener1 (guy on the right in the picture below the fold) said Tuesday, "marks the beginning of the future of the U.S. hybrid vehicle storage technology business." (The guy in the middle in the picture below the fold is the CEO, Ulrik Grape). The beginning of the video includes shots of a Prius with a wire sticking out the back. So, unless they got that from the stock footage of a Prius-with-a-plug sticking-out-it archive, I would assume this means Enerdel is converting a Prius. Can't wait to see that press conference because this one was kinda boring.
We wrote about Fairfax County's converted Prius before. I got a look at their converted Prius at an electric car event in Washington. The county converted a Prius to PHEV status in November of last year with a kit from Hymotion. Fairfax plans to replace this older battery with the new batteries Hymotion is offering that have more power. Along with converting this Prius, if an E85 option exists for a car they plan to buy, Fairfax county purchasers get the E85 version for the county fleet. They don't use E85 right now but when they do, they will have hundreds of flex fuel cars in the fleet ready for it. Local, state and national government are very large purchasers of vehicles and can help the sales of alternative fueled vehicles. We need more counties like Fairfax, Virginia.
The video above is a tour, at a Washington event, of a plug-in lithium-ion Prius with Alan Shedd of Jackson electric coop. The Jackson coop and CRN converted the Prius in February '07 and has logged months of driving data. Below the fold is another YouTube video all about the car's conversion and the great publicity it gets. Alan gets 30 miles in electric-only mode, which is a lot better than the 2-mile range of the normal Prius.
Toyota just started testing plug-in technology in Japan and France. Toyota's test plug-in cars only have an 8-mile range in electric-only mode. The next phase for Toyota is a 40-mile range vehicle in electric-only mode which will probably use lithium-ion batteries. Alan showed me the data logger he has in the car and talked about his experience with plug-ins. Hey Toyota, save some money on research and give Alan a call!
EnerDel says they can make a lithium-ion battery for electric cars for just $1,500. That price for lithium-ion batteries is a lot lower than any price we have seen. Enerdel says it's hard to say right now how much they will cut prices but it should cost less or even half the price of traditional nickel-metal hydride batteries. The EnerDel battery chemistry is similar to Altair Nanotechnologies and has a lower operating temperature than A123 Systems.
Enerdel says you will start to see the batteries in cars by September 2009. USABC (United States Council for Automotive Research) in collaboration with the DOE awarded EnerDel $6.5 M contract to develop the battery for cars. Enerdel has already completed phase 1 of the 3-phase, 18-month program. Ulrik Grape, Chief Executive Officer of EnerDel says "we expect to deliver results that will meet and exceed the battery performance requirements of USABC and the DOE."
For AutoblogGreen's latest video round up we give you three interesting videos from AlwaysOn GoingGreen 2007. The video above is part of a panel discussion about electric cars with "Jessie Deeter, Producer, 'Who Killed the Electric Car?', Tom Gage, CEO, AC Propulsion, Gary Starr, Chairman, ZAP, Ian Clifford, CEO, ZENN Motor Company and Dennis Hogan, CFO, Phoenix Motorcars." Someone on the panel says a vehicle-to-grid system could earn electric car owners from $100 to $500 a month.
Below the fold are two more videos. The first is all about batteries with "Eric Wesoff, Greentech Media, David Vieau, CEO, A123 Systems, Saroj Sahu, CTO & Founder, Deeya Energy and Alan Gotcher, CEO, Altair Nanotechnologies." The second is about bio-fuels with "Peter Hanschen, Partner, Morrison & Foerster, Robert Walsh, President, LS9, Inc., Jonathan Wolfson, President & COO, Solazyme, Inc., John Melo, CEO, Amyris Biotechnologies and Steven Perricone, CEO & Co-Founder, BioFuelBox, Inc." Each video is between three and six minutes long.
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