Lost In Translation: About That Miracle 600 Mile Battery...

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

Yesterday, we told you about that miracle battery, Toyota allegedly has developed. The Nikkei [sub] said it will double the range of an EV. The Tokyo wire quoted researchers as saying that they “may also be able to achieve a driving range of between 500km and 1,000km” (310 to 620 miles), You possibly noticed the skeptical tone when we reported on the report . As it turns out, the Nikkei was a bit – exuberant.

Checking in with Toyota this morning, we learn that Toyota’s researchers indeed have a new Sodium-Ion battery technology. However, research into this technology is in its very, very early stages.

A group of Toyota researchers (M. Nose, H. Nakayama, K. Nobuhara, S. Nakanishi, and H. Iba) presented a paper titled “Novel Cathode Materials of Sodium-Containing Metal Phosphates as Highly Voltage Sodium-Ion Batteries” at a symposium in Honolulu. After two of the researchers, Nakanishi-san, and Iba-san were interviewed by the Nikkei, some finer, but crucial points were either misunderstood or lost in translation.

Instead of targeting 2020 as the date of commercial release of the battery, the researchers think that commercialization can take anywhere between 10 to 20 years – if commercialization indeed turns out to be viable.

The researchers confirm that the new battery has the potential to extend driving range. However, they did not say, “We may also be able to achieve a driving range of between 500km and 1,000km.” What they said was that to be commercially viable, a next-generation battery should give an EV that range or one exceeding it. With that in mind, they are pushing forward with their research.

Bottom line: Take that sodium story with a big grain of salt.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 19 comments
  • El scotto El scotto on Nov 15, 2012

    It's Toyota, I wouldn't bet against them. 20 years ago if you told people that Toyota would build a mainstream hybrid people would have said "you so crazy". How big is their R&D budget for this and a whole bunch of other crazy stuff that won't bear fruition? The stuff that will be commercially viable will be marketed like crazy.

  • Blowfish Blowfish on Nov 15, 2012

    With our new Prius Apollo, drivers can now harness the energy of the Sun.” yes how much current can u harness? 150 milli amp or 10 amp/hr both are doing the same job. several yrs ago I was pretty naive to think one of these small panel 15 X 4 inches panel could re-charge a dead batt. well is going to adequately re-charge my night light thats about all. Not even enuf juice to power up the car radio system. And Tesla folks were claiming to build roadside quick charging stn to refill teslas' batt in as much time u take a pee pee, buy a fresh ground starbucks latte or check your stock online. Perhaps this is going to happen by 2045.

    • Luke42 Luke42 on Nov 16, 2012

      The Tesla roadside stations are supposed to deliver 100kw. Do you have any frame of reference for how much power this is? I've crawled through multi-megawatt computing facilities, and personally flipped the breaker on groups of circuits that are that big. It would take well over a hundred thousand of your 150 milliamp panels to deliver that kind of power. But that kind of power can easily be delivered. One tidbit that you may be missing is that the PV systems on the Tesla stations are grid tied. The panels just generate the average amount of energy that Tesla guesses will be used by their customers and sells it to the electric company. When a vehicle pulls up to the station, they buy back that energy - and bloody fast. It's not the same thing as what you were doing with your battery and panel, but most environmentalists seem to think it counts.

  • Master Baiter "That said, the Inflation Reduction Act apparently does run afoul of WTO rules..."Pfft. The Biden administration doesn't care about rules. The Supreme Court said they couldn't forgive student load debt; they did it anyway. Decorum and tradition says you don't prosecute former presidents; they are doing it anyway. They made the CDC suspend evictions though they had no constitutional authority to do so.
  • 1995 SC Good. To misquote Sheryl Crow "If it makes them unhappy, it can't be that bad"
  • 1995 SC The letters on the hatch aren't big enough. hard pass
  • Ajla Those letters look like they are from AutoZone.
  • Analoggrotto Kia EV9 was voted the best vehicle in the world and this is the best TOYOTA can do? Nice try, next.
Next