The company called Air Products, which deals in atmospheric gases and related matters, announced last week that it was awarded two patents (#7,311,993 and #7,348,103, and both called "Polyfluorinated Boron Cluster Anions for Lithium Electrolytes) for lithium-ion batteries. The patents involve Air Products' fluorinated electrolyte salts called Stabilife, which the company claimed in a statement "have been formulated to stand up to the difficult conditions expected from next generation portable power applications as well as hybrid electric vehicles" when used in li-ion batteries. Stabilife apparently boosts the lithium electrolytes and an Air Products VP said the patents mean Air Products will play a role in developing materials for next-gen hybrid vehicles. We can only assume the PHEVs will be affected as well. Chemistry fans will want to read the press release after the jump for details on the "poly- fluorinated borane cluster anions" and more.

The automotive li-ion battery world got a little cozier today, with the news that Continental has purchased a 16 percent stake in the Japanese "battery specialist" (Automotive News Europe's words) Enax. ANE says that the two companies will together develop "high storage batteries for automotive use." The company's official announcement on the new partnership says those batteries will be "lithium-ion cells especially for future hybrid and electric drives in automobiles" that will be safer, have a longer service life and provide better performance than today's li-ion batteries.

Based in Tokyo, Enax was founded twelve years ago and is an independent think tank that has been working on li-ion automotive batteries for over ten years. The company has over 80 employees and had sales of $10.5m U.S. in 2006. Conti also works with A123 Systems on batteries for the Chevy Volt and with Controls-Saft Advanced Power Solutions.

[Source: Automotive News Europe (subs req'd)]

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.

In an attempt to keep our readers up to date on the very latest developments in technology as it pertains to transportation and the lessening of our carbon footprints, we often burn the midnight oil and labor to understand technical papers until our brains cramp and ears bleed. OK, maybe I'm the only one with the ear thing but what I'm trying to get across is that we are not slackers (Not that there is anything wrong with that.) And it is in that spirit of brain-crampedness (and sore ears) we present you now with some of the latest news of breakthroughs
in the batteries that may one day power your hybrid or electric car.

We all know that our modern batteries do their thing (charge and discharge) by sending lithium ions back and forth between the anode (where the current comes in) and cathode (where the current goes out). This action is what eventually degrades your electrodes (anodes and cathodes). By improving the materials that bear this beating, scientists aim to increase the amount of energy batteries hold as well as the number of times you can recharge them. Hear about a couple of these efforts after the break.

The recent Tibetan independence demonstrations and the Chinese response have, in this Olympic year, turned the eyes of the world towards the "roof of the world." There have been some who have called for the boycott of the Olympic games and Chinese products as a result of the harshness of the "crackdown". Our own president has even gotten involved and has asked the Chinese Premier, Hu-Jintao, to hold talks between the the Dali Lama's representatives and the Chinese government, though I suspect even the suggestion of such a rapproachment wasn't warmly received.

What does any of this have to do with more-environmentally-sensitive transportation? Well, I came across this article recently that informed me that the source of much of the lithium in the batteries that power our laptops, cell phones and soon, our hybrid and electric cars, is mined at the Chabyer Salt Lake in the Tibetan Autonomous Region. This is the largest source of known lithium reserves in the world, according to the China-Tibet Information Center, and it has helped China become the largest producer and user of lithium ion batteries. Yes, we mine a lot of lithium here in the U.S. but that is used mostly for a host of other products.

In the process of mulling all this over during the past week I have read about the history of Tibet and its entanglements with other countries and contemplated the stances of the various "sides" involved. I haven't reached anything approaching a firm conclusion but the process has been a beneficial learning experience.

In the end, I can only offer this information as an example of how our actions in this modern, tightly-connected world might affect people living in distant lands and how "treading lightly" might prevent that boomerang of karma from sneaking up behind us.

[Source: Green Energy News]

The other day, Dr. Prabhakar Patil of Compact Power, Inc. was up in Vancouver, BC for the Auto FutureTech Summit. While AutoblogGreen wasn't able to attend the show, we did get a hold of Dr. Patil on the phone for about 15 minutes to talk about CPI's lithium ion batteries and get Dr. Patil's perspective on what the future holds for electric drive cars. As many readers probably know, CPI is one of the companies delivering batteries to GM for the Chevy Volt, so Dr. Patil is in the center of the lithium ion world. CPI is also working with other automakers (details are still secret, unfortunately).

You can listen to Dr. Patil using the audio widget below and we'll have there is a transcript of the discussion pasted after the jump later today now.

One of the enduring issues related to battery-powered cars is what becomes of those massive batteries when they reach end of life? As one of the first companies to utllize large-scale lithium ion batteries, Tesla is addressing this problem even before they start series production. In the latest entry on the company blog, Kurt Kelly talks about the battery recycling plan including a description of the pack's construction. The 6,831 individual cells are spread among 11 modules, each of which can be individually replaced if their capacity to hold a charge drops too low. Once modules or packs are declared no longer useful, Tesla has a recycling plan set up with KBI/Toxco. Tesla will ship expended modules to Toxco for dismantling and reuse, recycling. Kelly gives a full rundown of the process.

[Source: Tesla Motors]

If you've had a hankering for a full battery electric version of a MINI, PT Cruiser, Smart ForTwo or Toyota Yaris, the price tag just got a little more manageable. Lost Wages-based Hybrid Technologies has been doing EV conversions for a while now and apparently the cost of their lithium ion batteries has come down significantly so they are passing on the savings to the customer. Of course, this is no way meant to imply that any of their cars are inexpensive or affordable to the average consumer. The lineup now starts with an electrified Yaris at a mere $39,500. The battery-powered PT Cruiser has been slashed by $10,000 to a slightly less ridiculous $55,000. The MINI Cooper tops out the lineup at $57,500. If those price tags have not dissuaded you, you can check out the company and even place your order at the company's website.

[Source: Hybrid Technologies, thanks to Nick for the tip]

Johnson Controls and Saft have a partnership to produce lithium ion batteries for automotive applications. Among other projects they are one of the two suppliers chosen for GM's Saturn Vue plug-in hybrid program. Saft has also provided lithium ion battery packs for concept vehicles such as the Chevy Sequel and Ford HySeries drive Edge. The two companies are opening a new plant in Nersac, France to manufacture lithium batteries for a variety of car-makers including Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler and General Motors. The €15million plant has an initial capacity of 5,000 packs a year and will be able to scale up as demand increases. It is believed to be the first plant to be dedicated to automotive lithium ion batteries.

[Source: Financial Times]

At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week we were able to catch up again with Denise Grey, the Director of Energy Storage Systems for General Motors for another update on battery developments on the E-Flex program. As always, Denise filled us in as much as possible on what's happening without giving away too many secrets.

ABG: Denise, let's start off talking about the batteries for the E-Flex program. You've now received two battery packs from CPI. What's the current status of testing on those packs?

Denise Gray: They're currently being tested in my lab. We're working through a number of different tasks found. US06, Milford, grade test as if you're out here in Colorado or somewhere in the mountains. We're running through those different tests to stress the battery to confirm our assumptions on if it will going to give us power and energy that we need. Confirm the range. Can we actually go 40 miles with the combination of the different schedules and so far so good.

Keep reading after the jump to learn about the thermal performance, the Conti/A123 packs and more.

It appears Continental Automotive may be the first major company to start series production of automotive lithium ion batteries. According to an interview in German Magazine Auto Motor und Sport, Continental CEO Manfred Wennemer announced the company would start series production of automotive lithium ion battery packs in 2008. The article doesn't say who the cell supplier is or what customer the packs are intended for.

Continental is partnering with A123 Systems as one of two supplier teams producing prototype battery packs for the Chevy Volt program. When Mercedes-Benz announced their mild hybrid system at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, they stated that it would use lithium ion batteries although they didn't say who the supplier would be. Wennemer said initial production volumes be in the thousands rather than hundreds of thousands, but they expected it to grow quickly.

[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]

Stanford University Materials Science Asst. Prof Yi Cui had developed what is claimed to provide a breakthrough in electrical energy storage. Instead of having an anode comprised of a solid mass of silicon and carbon, Cui and his research team have developed one based on a bundle of silicon nanowires. The limiting factor of traditional designs is that the as the silicon absorbs the lithium ions during charging, it swells and then contracts during discharge. Over time this causes the anode to crack, reducing the battery's capacity. The work done by companies like Altairnano and A123 is based on the same principle of using nano-sized materials that can absorb the lithium ions and have room to expand. Cui is claiming his nanowire design can improve the battery storage capacity by a factor of ten. The photo above shows an anode before and after charging at the same magnification.

[Source: Stanford News]

In May 2007, Mitsubishi Motors announced that they would be collaborating with Mitsubishi Corporation and battery supplier GS Yuasa on the development of large format lithium-ion batteries for automotive applications. The three companies have now created a joint venture to pursue this work. The new company is called Lithium Energy Japan and the plan is to begin production at a volume of 200,000 units annually in 2009. The company hasn't announced publicly what type of chemistry they are using for their batteries.

[Source: Mitsubishi Motors]

At EVS23, AutoblogGreen had a chance to speak with the chairman of Ener1, Inc., Charles Gassenheimer, about his company's batteries and the future of Enerdel's lithium-ion batteries in automotive applications. He told us then that "We think 2008 is going to be a very exciting year for us." Now we know one reason why.

Yesterday, Gassenheimer told Fox Business News that his company's batteries will be on the market by the end of 2008. From what we know so far, it's likely that Th!nk will have the first vehicles featuring an Ener1 lithium ion battery inside (see links below).

According to a press release sent out by Ener1, here are Gassenheimer's comments to Fox:

Our batteries have already been tested by the United States Advanced Battery Consortium, which is General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. We are the only battery company today using this Lithium-ion technology, which has met or exceeded all of the Big Three's requirements, especially and most importantly best-in-class in safety. We have already announced a commercial contract with Think Electric Vehicle in Norway. It's the largest electric vehicle company in Europe. You will see our batteries in their cars by the end of 2008 (read the rest after the jump).

In the race to bring lithium-ion to the masses, Ener1 is not waiting around. Now, let's see what happens when these cars are on the road, preferably with us in the driver's seat.

Related:

• Ener1 first to integrate lithium-ion battery into HEV
• Ener1 shuffles management in preparation of battery commercialization
• Everything you ever wanted to know about Ener1's batteries
• Ener1 and Th!nk sign the largest contract for lithium-ion batteries in automotive history

[Source: Ener1, Inc.]

Prior to the opening of the LA Auto Show this week, AutoblogGreen sat down with Denise Gray of General Motors to talk about batteries. Denise is the director of Hybrid Vehicle Energy Storage Systems and oversees all the battery development going at GM for vehicles ranging from the new Two-Mode hybrid SUVs to the Chevy Volt.

AutoblogGreen: Why don't we get started with the current status of battery development for the E-flex program. Bob Lutz recently mentioned in an interview you have received the first pack from CPI. Where do things stand right now?

Denise Gray: Well, just to step back a little bit in the May-June timeframe, we got our contracts together, we worked with our two chosen suppliers CPI and Continental and we have been working those programs feverishly. We have come up with designs that are buildable, if you will, for our first mule build, or our first bench build that is probably the more proper name, what that design should be composed of and CPI delivered that on October 31. I was over in the lab, in fact, when they called and said, "Hey, they are here. They are at the grounds. Come on. But our security guys routed them to a different gate, so they will be here in ten more minutes."

So it was kind of like waiting for the birth of a baby. They brought it in, they had their big truck they brought it in. We had our forklift. The guys went and got it and I said make sure you handle it very well, so it was brought in.

Check out the rest our conversation after the jump to learn about how GM determines the state of charge of a battery and the current status of the PHEV Saturn Vue.