German supplier Bosch recently made clear its intentions to challenge the Japanese for dominance in the world of hybrid and electric drive systems and those plans are moving ahead. Bosch Automotive CEO Bernd Bohr indicated in mid-May that the company would be partnering with another supplier to produce automotive-grade lithium ion cells. It now turns out that Samsung SDI will be forming a new joint venture with Bosch called SB LiMotive Co. Ltd.

The new company will set up shop in South Korea with operations expected to start in September of this year. Bosch and Samsung will each own 50 percent of the new company and have equal representation in management. The new JV will focus on the development and commercialization of lithium ion batteries for automotive applications. Samsung SDI has already been producing lithium cells for consumer electronics and power tools while Bosch has expertise in the power electronics and battery management systems. The companies have not indicated what types of battery chemistry they intend to pursue or when the JV will begin producing automotive batteries.

[Source: Bosch]

Even before its first production vehicle ships with a lithium ion battery, Toyota is already making plans for the next wave of energy storage technology. We expect to see Toyota and Lexus products with lithium ion packs sometime around 2010, and Toyota is said to believe that the technology will last about twenty years. Therefore, a replacement will be needed around 2030. For this reason, Toyota has set up a new team of fifty people this month to begin working on the next-next generation of electric power, which could use chemical batteries, capacitors or some combination of the two.

Whatever the next technology for energy storage turns out to be, Toyota doesn't want to be caught off guard. Considering that battery supply is already one limiting factor when it comes to how many hybrid vehicles the Japanese giant can produce, we are hardly shocked that Toyota has plans to stay on the cutting edge in battery technology.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Subaru R1e

News comes by way of the Japanese news resource Nikkei that Hitachi Maxell is currently hard at work on a new lithium-based battery which does away with the problematic cobalt ingredient. We've gotten pretty used to seeing some very wild claims when it comes to new battery tech, so it may be hard to get too excited about this particular announcement until we actually see some goods to go along with it, but the idea of a battery with twenty times higher energy capacity is surely an exciting claim. Instead of the cobalt, manganese is being cited as the other main ingredient.

Along with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Nagasaki University, Fuji Heavy Industries is said to be involved. As you are probably already aware, Fuji is the parent company of Subaru, which has previously announced its interest in offering electric cars for sale. If they came with batteries this powerful, and at a reasonable price, color us very interested indeed.

[Source: Nikkei - sub. req'd via Engadget]

Click image for a hi-res gallery of the Golf TDI Hybrid Concept

Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn has announced that the company will be partnering with Sanyo to further develop lithium ion batteries for automotive applications. Earlier this month, the group's Audi division announced that it would use Sanyo's nickel metal hydride batteries in upcoming Q7 hybrid. This agreement goes beyond that with the focus being on lithium for both hybrid and all electric vehicles. In the past nine months, VW has shown two concepts using lithium ion batteries, the A1 project Quattro and the Golf TDI Hybrid. Volkswagen's target is to get a lithium ion battery hybrid to market by 2010. That time line is also likely to be when the first VW/Audi hybrids start coming to the U.S. market. When I spoke to Audi engineers in Europe last month, they indicated that they didn't plan launch a U.S. market hybrid until they could do a lithium ion battery. Eventually the VW Group plans to introduce full battery electric vehicles, probably powered by Sanyo lithium batteries.

Nissan admits that it has fallen behind when it comes to eco-friendly automobile technology, and it's working hard at rectifying that situation. With all of Nissan's ambitious plans for electric and hybrid vehicles in the coming years, it is going to need lots and lots of batteries, lithium ion batteries in specific. To that end, the NEC and Nissan joint venture will be opening a new plant for the mass production of its batteries. Initial output is expected to be roughly 13,000 units per year, but we're unclear if that means individual cells or total packs ready for the vehicle. Total planned output hovers at 65,000 units by 2011. To make that output a reality, Nissan's total three-year investment will be a hefty 12 billion yen, or about $115 million for those of us who count in U.S. dollars. While that investment seems pretty heavy, Nissan Executive Vice President Carlos Tavares says, "We are going directly to zero-emissions vehicle positioning, and we are trying to go there as fast as we can."

[Source: Nissan, Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The folks at Optibike have been building electric bikes for a few years and that experience now manifests itself in their ultimate creation, the new OB1. It takes the signature Optibike part, the patented Motorized Bottom Bracket (MBB) that uses a derailleur system to give you the optimum gear ratio and mates it with a 850W continuous brushless DC motor powered by 20ah of lithium ion batteries housed inside an aluminum monocoque frame. Add to that handlebars, brakes, derailleur, chainring, and cable ferrules made of carbon fiber. Suspend it with Fox Racing shocks and forks connected to TAG Dupont resin wheels and let it light up the night with twin 10W halogen lights. All done? Not even close. It has a fully integrated wireless PDA to monitor things like battery state of charge, motor temperatures, and expected range. You won't need to worry about getting lost either since there is also GPS satellite navigation.

According to their website "Your OB1 will be custom painted to your specifications by an artist at Gunslinger Custom Paint and the entire bike is covered by a 2 year full warranty". The battery is covered for 3 years or 30,000 miles and the wheels, frame, and Chris King Headset are guaranteed for life. Every flight of fancy has its price and the OB1 will set you back $12,995 if, of course, you act fast enough because quantities are very limited.

Optibike has a range of models besides the OB1 that are more than adequate for us mere mortals. Hit the jump for some videos of them in action doing craziness like traversing Breckenridge and climbing Pike's Peak.

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.

[Source: The Car Connection]

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.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

EnerDel, the subsidiary of Ener1 Inc that recently got some cash from the Department of Energy for battery development will be making a big announcement next Tuesday. The company plans to show off a new lithium-ion battery pack that they have developed for hybrid vehicles. The pack is initially intended to go into hybrid vehicles but it will be developed further for use in plug-in hybrids and full battery electric vehicles. EnerDel is jointly owned by Ener1 and Delphi with the latter holding a minority 19.5 percent stake. The announcement will be webcast on the company's website. The pack to be shown is functional and will now be put into a test vehicle which they expect to have running by December of this year.

[Source: EnerDel]

In our reports on the Mercedes-Benz S400 and S300 Bluetech hybrids we mentioned that the cars use a lithium ion battery. Both of these cars, as well as the C-Class hybrid that Mercedes is displaying at the Frankfurt Motor Show, use a new mild hybrid system. The mild hybrid system was co-developed with BMW although the Munich brand has yet to show any of their applications. A mild hybrid system can't drive the vehicle on electricity alone so it doesn't need as much battery capacity as a strong hybrid like the Two-Mode system in the ML450.

In order to optimize the packaging of the system to allow it to be easily installed in many vehicles, Mercedes is placing the battery pack under-hood by the engine. Limited under-hood space means a nickel metal hydride battery was out of the question. The lithium pack is being supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft which is also one of the development suppliers to the Saturn Vue PHEV program at GM. Since GM has indicated that they have no interest in pursuing lithium metal oxide chemistries (those are the kind used in laptops that have nasty thermal problems), it's likely the JCS unit for Mercedes doesn't use this type either. The first of the Mercedes S400 hybrids is due to launch in 2009 at about the same time as the PHEV Saturn Vue. It remains to be seen which one makes it to market first.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. req'd]

General Motors is forging ahead with lithium ion battery development for both the plug-in hybrid Saturn Vue
and the Chevrolet Volt. Meanwhile Toyota's executive vice president for R&D, Kazuo Okamoto is insisting (subs req'd) that they are still too hazardous for automotive use.

Toyota is still working on getting better performance out of the nickel metal hydride batteries they use in their current hybrids. Plug-in hybrids do more cycling of the battery as they charge and discharge than current hybrids. That puts more strain on the battery and raises temperatures. For now, Toyota is testing plug-in Priuses with higher capacity NiMH batteries and won't give a timeline for moving to lithium. Okamoto also listed cost as an additional factor limiting lithium.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req'd]

Zap has been talking for some time now about offering optional lithium ion batteries on their three-wheeled Xebra vehicles. The Xebra currently uses a lead acid pack the that offers a claimed range of 25 miles. The company has announced that they have lab tested a Xebra truck with a lithium ion pack and achieved a range of 100 miles.

Danish technology company Lithium Balance has two Xebras that they are using for battery and management software development. Zap CEO Steve Schneider recently cut a deal with Chinese company Advanced Battery Technologies to lithium batteries for Zap vehicles.

[Source: Zap]

Click on the photo for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Hybrid-X concept

For some time now the third generation Toyota Prius was expected to debut in the fall of 2008 carrying a lithium ion battery pack and and very possibly plug-in capability. In the past week it has been reported that neither the lithium energy storage or the plug-in capability would be there and now it looks the timeline has slipped as well.

Of course, since Toyota never officially announced a launch date they are refusing to call the slip to a spring 2009 debut a program slip or even acknowledge the new or old date. By the time the new Prius hits the market there will be several new competitors available including the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan hybrids and the plug-in version of the two-mode Saturn Vue is due that same year.

It looks like Toyota's decision to stick with their local supplier might have come back to haunt them. Panasonic currently supplies the NiMH hydride batteries that Toyota uses and they have been focusing on LiNiCoAlO2 cathodes which are considered to be the least thermally stable of the currently available lithium chemistries. Other companies like A123 use materials such as doped iron phosphate and other materials that have better thermal stability. At this stage of the program Toyota might actually better off going to a new source for lithium batteries rather than reverting to NiMH.

[Source: Reuters]

Click on the photo for a high-res gallery of the Toyota Hybrid-X concept

A couple of weeks after reports first came out of Japan that the next generation Toyota Prius would stick with nickel metal hydride batteries instead of switching to lithium ion; the Wall Street Journal finally noticed. The tendency of lithium ion batteries to run hot seems to be Toyota's main concern, especially in light of their recent quality issues such as the Tundra engine failures. The lithium batteries have the potential to substantially improve mileage and emissions, an advantage which will be sacrificed for quality and safety concerns.

[Source: The Car Connection via Hugg, thanks to Linton for the tip]