Lithium Technology Corporation (LTC) is out to demonstrate the wide range of vehicles its batteries are suited for. A Gumpert Apollo, configured as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) for the HHF Hybrid Racing team, used a 9 Kwh version of their Gaia battery to cross the finish line with during the recent contesting of the Nurburgring 24 hour race. Well, maybe "contesting" is a bit strong since the team finished about 150 places below the top spot and their fastest lap of 9.24.885 is only slightly quicker than what Miley Cyrus could probably manage in her custom Smart.

As with any new technology with little pre-race testing, there were some powertrain issues to grapple with, though they did finish and that alone says a lot. The battery has already proven itself a capable race competitor with its integration into the record-setting Thunderstruck electric drag bike. To learn more of the Lithium Technology Corporation and the Hybrid Racing teams recent effort, hit the jump for a press release.

Yeah, you've seen plenty of companies add plug-in capability to the Toyota Prius. Generally speaking, the battery pack is enlarged to allow for greater range when operating in electric only mode and a charging system is added which allows the vehicle to be charged by plugging into a standard outlet. Of course, this is all harder than it sounds! The standard Prius is only capable of charging its batteries using the on-board internal combustion engine or under regenerative braking and is equipped with nickel metal hydride batteries. The standard batteries are usually swapped for a new pack of lithium ion batteries, which carry a greater energy density than the older nickel based batteries.

Lithium Technology Corporation has gone one step further and used a new type of lithium battery that they have developed. The composition of the batteries is different and they are known as lithium iron phosphate cells, and are considered to be safer than the more common types of lithium ion batteries. These batteries are not completely new, but have never been made in sizes this large before. With these new batteries, LTC was able to demonstrate 125 miles per gallon equilavent with their converted Prius. No price was mentioned in the article, but I expect that the batteries added a substantial amount of money to the cost of the car.

[Source: Gizmag]