Ener1 Announces Li-Ion Battery Breakthrough
I don't pretend to understand all the ins and outs of Lithium-Ion battery technology. I know the basics: they're smaller than the nickel metal hydride cells (as used by the Prius' Synergy Drive), potentially more efficient, catch fire from time to time and, when they do, they're more difficult to put out than my schnauser in a snowstorm. Battery maker EnerDel (owned by Ener1) is set to unveil the fruits of their Li-Ion labors tomorrow. Company Vice Chairman says they've nailed it; their 60 engineers and technicians have developed a hugely efficient, cool-running Li-Ion battery for automotive applications. In a telephone interview with TTAC [below], Charles Gassenheimer revealed some of the technical specs, discussed the company's safety tests and pointed-out that their patented technology is not [yet] applicable to plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles. And what of Toyota's Li-Ion work with Panasonic? Ironically enough, Gassenheimer says his competitor's efforts were recently dealt a blow by… a fire in their factory. [NB: EnerDel officials will be monitoring comments to answer your questions.]
More by Robert Farago
Comments
Join the conversation
They don't.
They have to be interested though, right?
Sigh. Well, if you were GM and you just hired 600 engineers and signed a multi-million dollar contract with A123 batteries for the same sort of technology, would you say, oops, looks like someone else has cracked it. Sorry guys! Don't hit your head on the door on the way out. And that's why you're not GM.
Ah, I had heard about that (here) and, apparently, forgot it.