Electric vehicle battery - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An electric vehicle battery (EVB) or traction battery is a rechargeable battery

Rechargeable battery

A rechargeable battery or storage battery is a group of one or more electrochemical cells. They are known as secondary cells because their electrochemical reactions are electrically reversible. Rechargeable batteries come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging anything from a button cell to...

used for propulsion of battery electric vehicle

Battery electric vehicle

A battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a type of electric vehicle that uses chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs. BEVs use electric motors and motor controllers instead of, or in addition to, internal combustion engines for propulsion.A battery-only electric vehicle or...

s (BEVs). Traction batteries are used in forklifts, electric Golf carts, riding floor scrubber

Floor cleaning

Floor cleaning is a major occupation throughout the world. The main job of most cleaners is to clean floors.-Reasons for cleaning floors:The principal reasons for floor cleaning are:...

s, electric motorcycles, full-size electric car

Čar

Čar is a village in the municipality of Bujanovac, Serbia. According to the 2002 census, the town has a population of 296 people.-References:...

s, truck

Truck

A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...

s, and van

Van

A van is a kind of vehicle used for transporting goods or groups of people.In British English usage, it can be either specially designed or based on a saloon or sedan car, the latter type often including derivatives with open backs...

s, and other electric vehicle

Electric vehicle

An electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...

s.

Electric vehicle batteries differ from starting, lighting, and ignition

Car battery

An automotive battery is a type of rechargeable battery that supplies electric energy to an automobile. Usually this refers to an SLI battery to power the starter motor, the lights, and the ignition system of a vehicle’s engine...

(SLI) batteries because they are designed to give power over sustained periods of time. Deep cycle batteries are used instead of SLI batteries for these applications. Traction batteries must be designed with a high ampere

Ampere

The ampere , often shortened to amp, is the SI unit of electric current and is one of the seven SI base units. It is named after André-Marie Ampère , French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics...

-hour capacity. Batteries for electric vehicles are characterized by their relatively high power-to-weight ratio

Power-to-weight ratio

Power-to-weight ratio is a calculation commonly applied to engines and mobile power sources to enable the comparison of one unit or design to another. Power-to-weight ratio is a measurement of actual performance of any engine or power sources...

, energy to weight ratio

Specific energy

Specific energy is defined as the energy per unit mass. Common metric units are J/kg. It is an intensive property. Contrast this with energy, which is an extensive property. There are two main types of specific energy: potential energy and specific kinetic energy. Others are the gray and sievert,...

and energy density

Energy density

Energy density is a term used for the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume. Often only the useful or extractable energy is quantified, which is to say that chemically inaccessible energy such as rest mass energy is ignored...

; smaller, lighter batteries reduce the weight of the vehicle and improve its performance. Compared to liquid fuels, all current battery technologies have much lower specific energy

Specific energy

; and this often impacts the maximum all-electric range of the vehicles.

Batteries are usually the most expensive component of BEVs. The cost of battery manufacture is substantial, but increasing returns to scale

Returns to scale

In economics, returns to scale and economies of scale are related terms that describe what happens as the scale of production increases in the long run, when all input levels including physical capital usage are variable...

lower costs. Since the late 1990s, advances in battery technologies have been driven by demand for laptop

Laptop

A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...

computers and mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...

s, with consumer demand for more features, larger, brighter displays, and longer battery time driving research and development

Research and development

The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...

in the field. The BEV marketplace has reaped the benefits of these advances.

Traction batteries are routinely used all day, and fast–charged all night. Forklifts, for instance, are usually discharged and recharged every 24 hours of the work week.

The predicted market for automobile traction batteries is over $37 billion in 2020.

On an energy basis, the price of electricity to run an EV is a small fraction of the cost of liquid fuel needed to produce an equivalent amount of energy (energy efficiency

Energy conversion efficiency

Energy conversion efficiency is the ratio between the useful output of an energy conversion machine and the input, in energy terms. The useful output may be electric power, mechanical work, or heat.-Overview:...

). The cost of replacing the batteries dominates the operating costs.

Battery Types

Lead-acid

Flooded lead-acid batteries are the cheapest and most common traction batteries available, usually discharged to roughly 80%. They will accept high charge rates for fast charges. Flooded batteries require inspection of electrolyte level and replacement of water.

Traditionally, most electric vehicles have used lead-acid batteries due to their mature technology, high availability, and low cost (exception: some early EVs, such as the Detroit Electric

Detroit Electric

Detroit Electric was an automobile brand produced by the Anderson Electric Car Company in Detroit, Michigan. Nowadays, a Chinese British entrepreneur is leading Detroit Electric to develop affordable and high quality pure electric vehicles in mainland Europe...

, used a nickel-iron battery

Nickel-iron battery

The nickel–iron battery is a storage battery having a nickel oxide-hydroxide cathode and an iron anode, with an electrolyte of potassium hydroxide. The active materials are held in nickel-plated steel tubes or perforated pockets...

.) Like all batteries, these have an environmental impact through their construction, use, disposal or recycling. On the upside, vehicle battery recycling rates top 95% in the United States. Deep-cycle lead batteries are expensive and have a shorter life than the vehicle itself, typically needing replacement every 3 years.

Lead-acid batteries in EV applications end up being a significant (25–50%) portion of the final vehicle mass. Like all batteries, they have significantly lower energy density than petroleum fuels—in this case, 30–40 Wh/kg. While the difference isn't as extreme as it first appears due to the lighter drive-train in an EV, even the best batteries tend to lead to higher masses when applied to vehicles with a normal range. The efficiency (70–75%) and storage capacity of the current generation of common deep cycle lead acid batteries decreases with lower temperatures, and diverting power to run a heating coil reduces efficiency and range by up to 40%. Recent advances in battery efficiency, capacity, materials, safety, toxicity and durability are likely to allow these superior characteristics to be applied in car-sized EVs.

Charging and operation of batteries typically results in the emission of hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

, oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

and sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

, which are naturally occurring and normally harmless if properly vented. Early Citicar

Citicar

The CitiCar was produced between 1974 and 1977 by a U.S. company called Sebring-Vanguard, Inc., based in Sebring, Florida. The CitiCar and variants are the most produced electric car in American automobile history...

owners discovered that, if not vented properly, unpleasant sulfur smells would leak into the cabin immediately after charging.

Lead-acid batteries powered such early-modern EVs as the original versions of the EV1 and the RAV4EV.

Nickel metal hydride

Nickel-metal hydride batteries are now considered a relatively mature technology

Mature technology

A mature technology is a technology that has been in use for long enough that most of its initial faults and inherent problems have been removed or reduced by further development...

. While less efficient (60–70%) in charging and discharging than even lead-acid, they boast an energy density of 30–80 Wh/kg, far higher than lead-acid. When used properly, nickel-metal hydride batteries can have exceptionally long lives, as has been demonstrated in their use in hybrid cars and surviving NiMH RAV4EVs that still operate well after 100000 miles (160,934 km) and over a decade of service. Downsides include the poor efficiency, high self-discharge, very finicky charge cycles, and poor performance in cold weather.

GM Ovonic produced the NiMH battery used in the second generation EV-1, and Cobasys makes a nearly identical battery (ten 1.2 V 85 Ah NiMH cells in series in contrast with eleven cells for Ovonic battery). This worked very well in the EV-1. Patent encumbrance

Patent encumbrance of large automotive NiMH batteries

The patent encumbrance of large automotive NiMH batteries is the encumbrance of the commercialization of nickel metal hydride battery technology by corporate interests...

has limited the use of these batteries in recent years.

Zebra

The sodium or "zebra" battery uses a molten chloroaluminate (NaAlCl4) sodium as the electrolyte. This chemistry is also occasionally referred to as "hot salt". A relatively mature technology, the Zebra battery boasts an energy density of 120Wh/kg and reasonable series resistance. Since the battery must be heated for use, cold weather doesn't strongly affect its operation except for in increasing heating costs. They have been used in several EVs. Zebras can last for a few thousand charge cycles and are nontoxic. The downsides to the Zebra battery include poor power density (<300 W/kg) and the requirement of having to heat the electrolyte to about 270 °C (518 °F), which wastes some energy and presents difficulties in long-term storage of charge.

Zebra batteries have been used in the Modec

Modec

Modec was a Coventry, UK electric vehicle manufacturer, specialising in Commercial vehicles in the N2 category. It unveiled its first model in April 2006 and announced its intention to commence series production in March 2007, with the first production vehicles destined for Tesco...

vehicle commercial vehicle

Commercial vehicle

A commercial vehicle is a type of motor vehicle that may be used for transporting goods or passengers. The European Union defines "commercial motor vehicle" as any motorised road vehicle, which by its type of construction and equipment is designed for, and capable of transporting, whether for...

since it entered production in 2006.

Lithium ion

Lithium-ion (and similar lithium polymer) batteries, widely known through their use in laptops and consumer electronics, dominate the most recent group of EVs in development. The traditional lithium-ion chemistry involves a lithium cobalt oxide cathode

Cathode

A cathode is an electrode through which electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: CCD .Cathode polarity is not always negative...

and a graphite anode

Anode

An anode is an electrode through which electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. Mnemonic: ACID ....

. This yields cells with an impressive 200+ Wh/kg energy density and good power density, and 80 to 90% charge/discharge efficiency. The downsides of traditional lithium-ion batteries include short cycle lives (hundreds to a few thousand charge cycles) and significant degradation with age. The cathode is also somewhat toxic. Also, traditional lithium-ion batteries can pose a fire safety risk if punctured or charged improperly. These laptop cells don't accept or supply charge in cold conditions, and so expensive and energy inefficient systems are necessary to warm them up. The maturity of this technology is moderate. The Tesla Roadster

Tesla Roadster

The Tesla Roadster is a battery electric vehicle sports car produced by the electric car firm Tesla Motors in California. The Roadster was the first highway-capable all-electric vehicle in serial production available in the United States. Since 2008 Tesla has sold 2,024 Roadsters in 30 countries...

uses "blades" of traditional lithium-ion "laptop battery" cells that can be replaced individually as needed.

Most other EVs are utilizing new variations on lithium-ion chemistry that sacrifice energy and power density to provide fire resistance, environmental friendliness, very rapid charges (as low as a few minutes), and very long lifespans. These variants (phosphates, titanates, spinels, etc.) have been shown to have a much longer lifetime, with A123 expecting their lithium iron phosphate

Lithium iron phosphate

Lithium iron phosphate , also known as LFP, is a compound used in lithium iron phosphate batteries . It is targeted for use in power tools and electric vehicles...

batteries to last for at least 10+ years and 7000+ charge cycles, and LG Chem expecting their lithium

Lithium

Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...

-manganese

Manganese

Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...

spinel

Spinel

Spinel is the magnesium aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula MgAl2O4. Balas ruby is an old name for a rose-tinted variety.-Spinel group:...

batteries to last up to 40 years.

Much work is being done on lithium ion batteries in the lab. Lithium vanadium oxide has already made its way into the Subaru

Subaru

; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...

prototype G4e, doubling energy density. Silicon nanowires, silicon nanoparticles, and tin nanoparticles promise several times the energy density in the anode, while composite and superlattice cathodes also promise significant density improvements.

Battery cost and parity

The cost of the battery when distributed over the life cycle

Product lifecycle management

In industry, product lifecycle management is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal...

of the vehicle (compared with an up to 10 years life cycle of an internal combustion engine

Internal combustion engine

The internal combustion engine is an engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer in a combustion chamber. In an internal combustion engine, the expansion of the high-temperature and high -pressure gases produced by combustion apply direct force to some component of the engine...

vehicle) can easily be more than the cost of the electricity. This is because of the high initial cost relative to the life of the batteries. Using the 7000 cycle or 10 year life given in the previous section, 365 cycles per year would take 19 years to reach the 7000 cycles. Using the lower estimate of a ten year life gives 3650 cycles over ten years giving 146000 total miles driven. At $500 per kWh an 8 kWh battery costs $4000 resulting in $4000/146000 miles or $0.027 per mile. In reality a larger pack would be used to avoid stressing the battery by avoiding complete discharge or 100% charge. Adding a 2 kWh in battery adds $1000 to the cost resulting in $5000/146000 miles or $0.034/mile.

Scientists at Technical University of Denmark

Technical University of Denmark

The Technical University of Denmark , often simply referred to as DTU, is a university just north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's first polytechnic, and is today ranked among Europe's leading engineering institutions, and the...

paid $10,000USD for a certified EV battery with 25kWh capacity, with no rebates or overprice. Two out of 15 battery producers could supply the necessary technical documents about quality and fire safety. Estimated time is 10 years before battery price comes down to 1/3 of present.
Battery professor Poul Norby states that lithium batteries will need to double their energy density and bring down the price from $500 (2010) to $100 per kWh capacity in order to make an impact on petrol cars.

A solution to the range problem is detailed in an article on Battery Exchange and explains how the total battery needs would be reduced by using a battery exchange or battery swap system http://www.members.cox.net/rdoctors/evs.html. This requires substantial investment in setting up exchange stations but would allow for the use of lighter batteries as they would not be required to provide many miles of use. Lighter batteries make the ecar system far more efficient and lower overall costs.

The LiFePO4 technology has yielded batteries that have a higher miles/$ over the life of the packs but they require a complex control system. The manufacture of the batteries is still being developed and is not a reliable source.

Some batteries can be leased

Leasing

Leasing is a process by which a firm can obtain the use of a certain fixed assets for which it must pay a series of contractual, periodic, tax deductible payments....

or rented

Renting

Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for all property charges regularly incurred by the ownership from landowners...

instead of bought (see Think Global).

Toyota Prius 2012 plug-in's official page declare 21 kilometres (13 mi) of autonomy and a battery capacity of 5.2 kWh with a ratio of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) /(kW·h).

One article indicates that 10 kW·h of battery energy provides a range of about 20 miles (32.2 km) in a Toyota Prius, but this is not a primary source, and does not fit with estimates elsewhere of about 5 miles (8 km) /(kW·h). The Chevrolet Volt

Chevrolet Volt

The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. The Volt has been on sale in the U.S. market since mid-December 2010, and is the most fuel-efficient compact car sold in the United States, as rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency...

is expected to achieve 50 MPG when running on the auxiliary power unit (a small onboard generator) - at 33% thermodynamic efficiency that would mean 12 kW·h for 50 miles (80.5 km), or about 240 watt-hours per mile. For prices of 1 kW·h of charge with various different battery technologies, see the "Energy/Consumer Price" column in the "Table of rechargeable battery technologies" section in the rechargeable battery

Rechargeable battery

article.

Rechargeable batteries

Rechargeable battery

used in electric vehicles include lead-acid

Lead-acid battery

Lead–acid batteries, invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Planté, are the oldest type of rechargeable battery. Despite having a very low energy-to-weight ratio and a low energy-to-volume ratio, their ability to supply high surge currents means that the cells maintain a relatively large...

("flooded", Deep cycle, and VRLA

VRLA

A VRLA battery is a type of low-maintenance lead–acid rechargeable battery. Because of their construction, VRLA batteries do not require regular addition of water to the cells....

), NiCd

Nickel-cadmium battery

The nickel–cadmium battery ' is a type of rechargeable battery using nickel oxide hydroxide and metallic cadmium as electrodes....

, nickel metal hydride

Nickel metal hydride battery

A nickel–metal hydride cell, abbreviated NiMH, is a type of rechargeable battery similar to the nickel–cadmium cell. The NiMH battery uses a hydrogen-absorbing alloy for the negative electrode instead of cadmium. As in NiCd cells, the positive electrode is nickel oxyhydroxide...

, lithium ion

Lithium ion battery

A lithium-ion battery is a family of rechargeable battery types in which lithium ions move from the negative electrode to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging. Chemistry, performance, cost, and safety characteristics vary across LIB types...

, Li-ion polymer

Lithium ion polymer battery

Lithium-ion polymer batteries, polymer lithium ion, or more commonly lithium polymer batteries are rechargeable batteries...

, and, less commonly, zinc-air

Zinc-air battery

Zinc–air batteries , and zinc–air fuel cells, are electro-chemical batteries powered by oxidizing zinc with oxygen from the air. These batteries have high energy densities and are relatively inexpensive to produce...

and molten salt

Molten salt battery

Molten salt batteries or liquid sodium battery are a class of primary cell and secondary cell high-temperature electric battery that use molten salts as an electrolyte. They offer both a higher energy density through the proper selection of reactant pairs as well as a higher power density by means...

batteries. The amount of electricity (i.e. electric charge) stored in batteries is measured in ampere hours or in coulombs, with the total energy often measured in watt hours.

Cost Parity

The parity means that an electric vehicle does not cost more in the showrooms than a similar vehicle with an internal combustion engine. According to Kammen et al., 2008, new PEVs would become cost efficient to consumers if battery prices would decrease from $1300/kWh to about $500/kWh (so that the battery may pay for itself).

The Nissan Leaf

Nissan Leaf

Nissan introduced its first battery electric vehicle, the Nissan Altra at the Los Angeles International Auto Show on 29 December 1997. The Altra EV was produced between 1998 and 2002, only about 200 vehicles were ever produced, and it was mainly used as a fleet vehicle for companies such as...

battery pack will be sold at a price of $18,000. Nissan's initial price tag is at $750 per kilowatt hour which may exceed production costs in the first two years.

Range Parity

Driving range parity means than the electric vehicle has the same range than an average all-combustion vehicle (500 kilometres or 310.7 mi), with 1+ kWh/Kg batteries.

Japanese and European Union officials are in talks to jointly develop advanced rechargeable batteries for electric cars to help nations reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Developing a battery that can power an electric vehicle 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) on a single charging is feasible, said Japanese battery maker GS Yuasa Corp. Sharp Corp and GS Yuasa are among Japanese solar-power cell and battery makers that may benefit from cooperation.

The lithium-ion battery in the AC Propulsion tzero
AC Propulsion tzero
The tzero is a hand-made electric sports car that was produced in limited numbers by the U.S. company AC Propulsion. The tzero is based on the Piontek Sportech kit car, which consists of a fiberglass body built over a reinforced steel space frame with double wishbone independent suspension and rack...

provides 400 kilometre of range per charge (single charge range). The list price of this vehicle when it was released in 2003 was $220,000.
ZAP-X is claimed to have a 350 miles (563.3 km) single charge range.
Driving in a Daihatsu Mira
Daihatsu Mira
The Daihatsu Mira , is a kei car-type vehicle built by the Japanese car maker Daihatsu. It comes with a variety of options and chassis variations, with the latest variant having four models: "Mira", "Mira AVY", "Mira Gino" and "Mira VAN"...

equipped with 74 kWh lithium ion batteries, the Japan EV Club has achieved a world record for an electric car: 1003 kilometres (623.2 mi) without recharging.
Zonda Bus, in Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...

, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

offers the Zonda Bus New Energy with a 500 kilometres (310.7 mi) only-electric range.

Internal Components

Battery pack designs for Electric Vehicles (EVs) are complex and vary widely by manufacturer and specific application. However, they all incorporate a combination of several simple mechanical and electrical component systems which perform the basic required functions of the pack.

The actual battery cells can have different chemistry, physical shapes, and sizes as preferred by various pack manufacturers. Battery pack will always incorporate many
discrete cells connected in series and parallel to achieve the total voltage and current requirements of the pack. Battery packs for all electric drive EVs can contain several hundred individual cells.

To assist in manufacturing and assembly, the large stack of cells is typically grouped into smaller stacks called modules. Several of these modules will be placed into a single pack. Within each module the cells are welded together to complete the electrical path for current flow. Modules can also incorporate cooling mechanisms, temperature monitors, and other devices. In most cases, modules also allow for monitoring the voltage produced by each battery cell in the stack by the Battery Management System

Battery Management System

A battery management system is any electronic system that manages a rechargeable battery , such as by monitoring its state, calculating secondary data, reporting that data, protecting the battery, controlling its environment, and / or balancing it.-Monitor:A BMS may monitor the state of the...

(BMS).

The battery cell stack has a main fuse which limits the current of the pack under a short circuit condition. A “service plug” or “service disconnect” can be removed to split the battery stack into two electrically isolated halves. With the service plug removed, the exposed main terminals of the battery present no high potential electrical danger to service technicians.

The battery pack also contains relays, or contactors, which control the distribution of the battery pack’s electrical power to the output terminals. In most cases there will be a minimum of two main relays which connect the battery cell stack to the main positive and negative output terminals of the pack, those supplying high current to the electrical drive motor. Some pack designs will include alternate current paths for pre-charging the drive system through a pre-charge resistor or for powering an auxiliary buss which will also have their own associated control relays. For obvious safety reasons these relays are all normally open.

The battery pack also contains a variety of temperature, voltage, and current sensors. Collection of data from the pack sensors and activation of the pack relays are accomplished by the pack ’s Battery Monitoring Unit (BMU) or Battery Management System

Battery Management System

(BMS). The BMS is also responsible for communications with the world outside the battery pack.

Charging

Batteries in BEVs must be periodically recharged. BEVs most commonly charge from the power grid (at home or using a street or shop recharging point), which is in turn generated from a variety of domestic resources, such as coal

Fossil fuel power plant

A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...

, hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

, nuclear

Nuclear power

Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...

and others. Home power such as roof top photovoltaic solar cell panels, microhydro

Micro hydro

Micro hydro is a term used for hydroelectric power installations that typically produce up to 100 kW of electricity. These installations can provide power to an isolated home or small community, or are sometimes connected to electric power networks....

or wind

Wind power

Wind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....

may also be used and are promoted because of concerns regarding global warming

Global warming

Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...

.

Charging time is limited primarily by the capacity of the grid connection. A normal household

Household

The household is "the basic residential unit in which economic production, consumption, inheritance, child rearing, and shelter are organized and carried out"; [the household] "may or may not be synonymous with family"....

outlet is between 1.5 kilowatts (in the US, Canada, Japan, and other countries with 110 volt

Volt

The volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...

supply) to 3 kilowatts (in countries with 240 V supply). Many European countries feed domestic consumers with a 3 phase system fused at 16-25 amp allowing for a theoretical capacity around 20-30 kW. However, this capacity is also required to feed the rest of the location and hence cannot be used practically and will also not be supported "en masse" by the distribution network. At this higher power level charging even a small, 7 kilowatt-hour (14–28 mi) pack, would probably require one hour. This is small compared to the effective power delivery rate of an average petrol pump

Pump

A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...

, about 5,000 kilowatts. Even if the supply power can be increased, most batteries do not accept charge at greater than their charge rate ("1C"), because high charge rate has adverse effect on the discharge capacities of batteries.

In 1995, some charging station

Charging station

An electric vehicle charging station, also called EV charging station, electric recharging point, charging point and EVSE , is an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for the recharging of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric-gasoline vehicles) or semi-static and mobile...

s charged BEVs in one hour. In November 1997, Ford purchased a fast-charge system produced by AeroVironment

AeroVironment

AeroVironment Inc. is a technology company in Monrovia, California, and Simi Valley, California, that is primarily involved in energy systems, electric vehicle systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles . Paul B. MacCready, Jr., a famous designer of human powered aircraft, founded the company in 1971...

called "PosiCharge" for testing its fleets of Ranger EVs

Ford Ranger EV

The Ford Ranger EV is a battery electric vehicle produced by Ford Motor Company. It was produced starting in the 1998 model year through 2002 and is no longer in production. It is built upon a light truck chassis used in the Ford Ranger. A few vehicles with lead-acid batteries were sold, but most...

, which charged their lead-acid batteries in between six and fifteen minutes. In February 1998, General Motors announced a version of its "Magne Charge

Magne Charge

Magne Charge is a largely obsolete inductive charging system, also known as J1773, used to charge battery electric vehicles formerly made by General Motors, for vehicles such as the EV1, Chevy S10 EV, and other electric vehicles. It was produced by the General Motors subsidiary Delco Electronics....

" system which could recharge NiMH

Nickel metal hydride battery

batteries in about ten minutes, providing a range of sixty to one hundred miles.

In 2005, handheld device battery designs by Toshiba

Toshiba

is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...

were claimed to be able to accept an 80% charge in as little as 60 seconds. Scaling this specific power

Specific power

In physics and engineering, surface power density or sometimes simply specific power is power per unit area.-Applications:* The intensity of electromagnetic radiation can be expressed in W/m2...

characteristic up to the same 7 kilowatt-hour EV pack would result in the need for a peak of 340 kilowatts of power from some source for those 60 seconds. It is not clear that such batteries will work directly in BEVs as heat build-up may make them unsafe.

Most people do not always require fast recharging because they have enough time, six to eight hours, during the work day or overnight to recharge. As the charging does not require attention it takes a few seconds for an owner to plug in and unplug their vehicle. Many BEV drivers prefer refueling at home, avoiding the inconvenience of visiting a fuel station. Some workplaces provide special parking bays for electric vehicles with charging equipment provided.

Connectors

The charging power can be connected to the car in two ways. The first is a direct electrical connection known as conductive coupling

Conductive coupling

Conductive coupling is the transfer of electrical energy by means of physical contact via a conductive medium, in contrast to inductive coupling and capacitive coupling...

. This might be as simple as a mains

Mains electricity

Mains is the general-purpose alternating current electric power supply. In the US, electric power is referred to by several names including household power, household electricity, powerline, domestic power, wall power, line power, AC power, city power, street power, and grid power...

lead into a weatherproof socket through special high capacity cables with connectors to protect the user from high voltage

High voltage

The term high voltage characterizes electrical circuits in which the voltage used is the cause of particular safety concerns and insulation requirements...

s.The modern standard for plug-in vehicle charging is the SAE 1772 conductive connector

SAE J1772

SAE J1772 is a North American standard for electrical connectors for electric vehicles maintained by the Society of Automotive Engineers and has the formal title "SAE Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice J1772, SAE Electric VehicleConductive Charge Coupler”...

(IEC 62196 Type 1) in the USA. The ACEA has chosen the VDE-AR-E 2623-2-2 (IEC 62196 Type 2) for deployment in Europe, which, without a latch, means unnecessary extra power requirements for the locking mechanism.

The second approach is known as inductive charging

Inductive charging

Inductive charging uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects. This is usually done with a charging station. Energy is sent through inductive coupling to an electrical device, which then can use that energy to charge batteries....

. A special 'paddle' is inserted into a slot on the car. The paddle is one winding of a transformer

Transformer

A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...

, while the other is built into the car. When the paddle is inserted it completes a magnetic circuit which provides power to the battery pack. In one inductive charging system, one winding is attached to the underside of the car, and the other stays on the floor of the garage. The advantage of the inductive approach is that there is no possibility of electrocution

Electric shock

Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....

as there are no exposed conductors, although interlocks, special connectors and ground fault detectors

Residual-current device

A Residual Current Device is a generic term covering both RCCBs and RCBOs.A Residual-Current Circuit Breaker is an electrical wiring device that disconnects a circuit whenever it detects that the electric current is not balanced between the energized conductor and the return neutral conductor...

can make conductive coupling nearly as safe. Inductive charging can also reduce vehicle weight, by moving more charging componentry offboard. An inductive charging proponent from Toyota contended in 1998 that overall cost differences were minimal, while a conductive charging proponent from Ford contended that conductive charging was more cost efficient.

Recharging spots

In France, Électricité de France

Électricité de France

Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...

(EDF) and Toyota are installing recharging points for PHEVs on roads, streets and parking lot

Parking lot

A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....

s. EDF is also partnering with Elektromotive, Ltd. to install 250 new charging points over six months from October 2007 in London and elsewhere in the UK. Recharging points also can be installed for specific uses, as in taxi stand

Taxi stand

A taxicab stand is a queue area on a street or on private property where taxicabs line up to wait for passengers.-How stands work:...

s. Public charging has been described as costly, unmanageable, and resource-intensive.

Travel range before recharging and trailers

The range of a BEV depends on the number and type of batteries used. The weight and type of vehicle as well as terrain, weather, and the performance of the driver

Hypermiling

Hypermiling is the act of driving using techniques that maximize fuel economy. Those who practice these techniques are referred to as "hypermilers."...

also have an impact, just as they do on the mileage of traditional vehicles. Electric vehicle conversion

Electric vehicle conversion

An electric vehicle conversion is the modification of a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle to electric propulsion, creating an all-electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.-Elements of a conversion:...

performance depends on a number of factors including the battery chemistry:

Lead-acid batteries are the most available and inexpensive. Such conversions generally have a range of 30 to 80 km (20 to 50 mi). Production EVs with lead-acid batteries are capable of up to 130 km (80 mi) per charge.

NiMH
NIMH
NIMH or NiMH may refer to:*Nickel-metal hydride battery, a type of rechargeable battery*National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health...

batteries have higher energy density than lead-acid; prototype EVs deliver up to 200 km (120 mi) of range.

New lithium-ion battery-equipped EVs provide 320–480 km (200–300 mi) of range per charge. Lithium is also less expensive than nickel.

Nickel-zinc battery
Nickel-zinc battery
The nickel–zinc battery is a type of rechargeable battery that may be used in cordless power tools, cordless telephones, digital cameras, battery operated lawn and garden tools, professional photography, flashlights, electric bikes, and light electric vehicle sectors.Larger nickel–zinc battery...

are cheaper and lighter than Nickel-cadmium batteries. They are also cheaper (but not as light) than Lithium-Ion batteries.

Finding the economic balance of range versus performance, battery capacity versus weight, and battery type versus cost challenges every EV manufacturer.

With an AC system or Advanced DC systems regenerative braking can extend range by up to 50% under extreme traffic conditions without complete stopping. Otherwise, the range is extended by about 10 to 15% in city driving, and only negligibly in highway driving, depending upon terrain.

BEVs (including buses and trucks) can also use genset trailer

Genset trailer

A genset trailer is a range extending device for use with battery electric vehicles consisting of an internal combustion engine and an electrical generator . They run on traditional fuels such as gasoline or diesel and are sized to provide the continuous power requirements for the vehicle they are...

s and pusher trailer

Pusher trailer

Pusher trailers are gasoline or diesel fueled trailers with a traditional internal combustion engine and transmission which can be hitched up to battery electric vehicles and run from the cockpit to give the vehicle increased range....

s in order to extend their range when desired without the additional weight during normal short range use. Discharged baset trailers can be replaced by recharged ones in a route point. If rented then maintenance costs can be deferred to the agency.

Such BEVs can become Hybrid vehicle

Hybrid vehicle

A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles , which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.-Power:...

s depending on the trailer and car types of energy and powertrain.

Swapping And Removing

An alternative to recharging is to exchange drained or nearly drained batteries (or battery range extender modules) with fully charged batteries. This is called battery swapping and is done in exchange stations.

On the other hand, MIRA has announced a retrofit

Retrofit

Retrofitting refers to the addition of new technology or features to older systems.* power plant retrofit, improving power plant efficiency / increasing output / reducing emissions...

hybrid conversion kit that provides removable battery pack

Battery pack

A battery pack is a set of any number of identical batteries or individual battery cells. They may be configured in a series, parallel or a mixture of both to deliver the desired voltage, capacity, or power density...

s that plug into a wall outlet for charging. Also XP Vehicles uses extension-cord-free charging hot-swap battery ( removable power pack to recharge at home without extension cord

Extension cord

An extension cord, power extender, or extension lead is a length of flexible electrical power cable with a plug on one end and one or more sockets on the other end . The term usually refers to mains extensions but is also used to refer to extensions for other types of cabling...

).

Features of swap stations include:

The consumer is no longer concerned with battery capital cost, life cycle, technology, maintenance, or warrantee issues;
Swapping is far faster than charging: battery swap equipment built by the firm Better Place has demonstrated automated swaps in less than 60 seconds;
Swap stations increase the feasibility of distributed energy storage via the electric grid;

Concerns about swap stations include:

Potential for fraud (battery quality can only be measured over a full discharge cycle; battery lifetime can only be measured over repeated discharge cycles; those in the swap transaction cannot know if they are getting a worn or reduced effectiveness battery; battery quality degrades slowly over time, so worn batteries will be gradually forced into the system)
Manufacturers are unwilling to standardize battery access / implementation details
Safety concerns

Re-filling

Zinc-bromine flow batteries

Zinc-bromine flow battery

The zinc–bromine flow battery is a type of hybrid flow battery. A solution of zinc bromide is stored in two tanks. When the battery is charged or discharged the solutions are pumped through a reactor stack and back into the tanks. One tank is used to store the electrolyte for the positive...

can be re-filled using a liquid, instead of recharged by connectors, saving time.

Leasing

Three companies are working on battery lease plans. Greenstop has completed trials of their ENVI Grid Network which allows consumers to easily monitor and recharge electric vehicle batteries. Think Car USA plans to lease the batteries for its City electric car to go on sale next year. Better Place is creating a system for consumers to "subscribe" to a service that offers recharging stations and battery exchange.

Electric utilities

Electric utility

An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...

are considering plans which would include providing electric vehicles to users (at a low price) and get their profits from selling the energy.

V2G and afteruse

Smart grid allows BEVs to provide power to the grid at any time, especially:

During peak load periods, when the selling price of electricity can be very high. These vehicles can then be recharged during off-peak hours at cheaper rates while helping to absorb excess night time generation. Here the vehicles serve as a distributed battery storage system to buffer power.

During blackouts, as backup.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

The Pacific Gas and Electric Company , commonly known as PG&E, is the utility that provides natural gas and electricity to most of the northern two-thirds of California, from Bakersfield almost to the Oregon border...

(PG&E) has suggested that utilities could purchase used batteries for backup and load levelling purposes. They state that while these used batteries may be no longer usable in vehicles, their residual capacity still has significant value.

Lifespan

Individual batteries are usually arranged into large battery pack

Battery pack

s of various voltage

Voltage

Voltage, otherwise known as electrical potential difference or electric tension is the difference in electric potential between two points — or the difference in electric potential energy per unit charge between two points...

and ampere-hour

Ampere-hour

An ampere-hour or amp-hour is a unit of electric charge, with sub-units milliampere-hour and milliampere second...

capacity products to give the required energy capacity. Battery service life

Service life

A product's service life is its expected lifetime, or the acceptable period of use in service. It is the time that any manufactured item can be expected to be 'serviceable' or supported by its manufacturer....

should be considered when calculating the extended cost of ownership, as all batteries eventually wear out and must be replaced. The rate at which they expire depends on a number of factors.

The depth of discharge (DOD) is the recommended proportion of the total available energy storage for which that battery will achieve its rated cycles. Deep cycle lead-acid batteries generally should not be discharged to below 20% of total capacity. More modern formulations can survive deeper cycles.

In real world use, some fleet Toyota RAV4 EV

Toyota RAV4 EV

The RAV4 EV was an all-electric version of the popular RAV4 SUV produced by Toyota. It was leased from 1997 to 2003, and at the lessees request, many units were sold after the vehicle was discontinued. A total of 1,485 were leased and/or sold in California to meet the state’s mandate for...

s, using NiMH

NIMH

NIMH or NiMH may refer to:*Nickel-metal hydride battery, a type of rechargeable battery*National Institute of Mental Health, a part of the United States National Institutes of Health...

batteries, have exceeded 100,000 miles (160,000 km) with little degradation in their daily range. Quoting that report's concluding assessment:

"The five-vehicle test is demonstrating the long-term durability of Nickel Metal Hydride batteries and electric drive trains. Only slight performance degradation has been observed to-date on four out of five vehicles.... EVTC test data provide strong evidence that all five vehicles will exceed the 100000 miles (160,934 km) mark. SCE

Southern California Edison

Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...

’s positive experience points to the very strong likelihood of a 130,000 to 150000 miles (241,401 km) Nickel Metal Hydride battery and drive-train operational life. EVs can therefore match or exceed the lifecycle miles of comparable internal combustion engine vehicles.

"In June 2003 the 320 RAV4 EVs of the SCE fleet were used primarily by meter readers, service managers, field representatives, service planners and mail handlers, and for security patrols and carpools. In five years of operation, the RAV4 EV fleet had logged more than 6.9 million miles, eliminating about 830 tons of air pollutants, and preventing more than 3,700 tons of tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions. Given the successful operation of its EVs to-date, SCE plans to continue using them well after they all log 100,000-miles."

Lithium ion batteries are perishable to some degree; they lose some of their maximum storage capacity per year even if they are not used. Nickel metal hydride batteries lose much less capacity and are cheaper for the storage capacity they give, but have a lower total capacity initially for the same weight.

Jay Leno

Jay Leno

James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...

's 1909 Baker Electric (see Baker Motor Vehicle

Baker Motor Vehicle

Baker Motor Vehicle Company was a manufacturer of Brass Era electric automobiles in Cleveland, Ohio from 1899 to 1914.-History:The first Baker vehicle was a two seater with a selling price of US$850. One was sold to Thomas Edison as his first car. Edison also designed the nickel-iron batteries used...

) still operates on its original Edison cells. Battery replacement costs of BEVs may be partially or fully offset by the lack of regular maintenance such as oil

Motor oil

Motor oil or engine oil is an oil used for lubrication of various internal combustion engines. The main function is to lubricate moving parts; it also cleans, inhibits corrosion, improves sealing, and cools the engine by carrying heat away from moving parts.Motor oils are derived from...

and filter

Filter (oil)

An oil filter is a filter designed to remove contaminants from engine oil, transmission oil, lubricating oil, or hydraulic oil. Oil filters are used in many different types of hydraulic machinery. A chief use of the oil filter is in internal-combustion engines in on- and off-road motor vehicles,...

changes required for ICEVs, and by the greater reliability of BEVs due to their fewer moving parts. They also do away with many other parts that normally require servicing and maintenance in a regular car, such as on the gearbox, cooling system, and engine tuning. And by the time batteries do finally need definitive replacement, they can be replaced with later generation ones which may offer better performance characteristics, in the same way as you might replace old batteries from a digital camera with improved ones.

Safety

The safety issues of battery electric vehicles are largely dealt with by the international standard ISO 6469. This document is divided in three parts dealing with specific issues:

On-board electrical energy storage, i.e. the battery
Functional safety means and protection against failures
Protection of persons against electrical hazards.

Firefighter

Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...

s and rescue personnel receive special training to deal with the higher voltages and chemicals encountered in electric and hybrid electric vehicle accidents. While BEV accidents may present unusual problems, such as fires and fumes resulting from rapid battery discharge, there is apparently no available information regarding whether they are inherently more or less dangerous than gasoline or diesel internal combustion vehicles which carry flammable fuels.

Patents

Patent

A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....

s may be used to suppress development or deployment of this technology. For instance, patents relevant to the use of Nickel metal hydride cells in cars were held by an offshoot of Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation

Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...

, a petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

company, who maintained veto power over any sale or licensing of NiMH technology.

Research, development and innovation

R&D Magazine's prestigious R&D 100 Awards — also called the “Oscars of Invention”— for 2008:

Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory
Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States, receiving this designation on July 1, 1946. It is the largest national laboratory by size and scope in the Midwest...

has received an award for EnerDel/Argonne High-Power Lithium-Ion Battery for Hybrid Electric Vehicles – a highly reliable and extremely safe device that is lighter in weight, more compact, more powerful and longer lasting than the nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries that are found in today’s hybrid electric vehicle
Hybrid electric vehicle
A hybrid electric vehicle is a type of hybrid vehicle and electric vehicle which combines a conventional internal combustion engine propulsion system with an electric propulsion system. The presence of the electric powertrain is intended to achieve either better fuel economy than a conventional...

s.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , is a U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory conducting unclassified scientific research. It is located on the grounds of the University of California, Berkeley, in the Berkeley Hills above the central campus...

: Nanostructured Polymer Electrolyte for Rechargeable Lithium Batteries – a polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

electrolyte
Electrolyte
In chemistry, an electrolyte is any substance containing free ions that make the substance electrically conductive. The most typical electrolyte is an ionic solution, but molten electrolytes and solid electrolytes are also possible....

that enables the development of rechargeable lithium metal batteries with an energy density
Energy density
Energy density is a term used for the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume. Often only the useful or extractable energy is quantified, which is to say that chemically inaccessible energy such as rest mass energy is ignored...

that is high enough "to enable electric battery-driven transportation technology".

Carbon nanotube battery

Next-Alternative is developing a carbon nanotube

Carbon nanotube

Carbon nanotubes are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. Nanotubes have been constructed with length-to-diameter ratio of up to 132,000,000:1, significantly larger than for any other material...

lead acid battery pack that will, according to the company, deliver 380 miles (611.5 km) range and can be recharged in less than 10 minutes. They plan to extend current battery life times 4-fold with this technology.

Future

The future of battery electric vehicles depends primarily upon the cost and availability of batteries

Rechargeable battery

with high energy densities, power density, and long life, as all other aspects such as motors, motor controllers, and chargers are fairly mature and cost-competitive with internal combustion engine components. Li-ion, Li-poly

Lithium ion polymer battery

Lithium-ion polymer batteries, polymer lithium ion, or more commonly lithium polymer batteries are rechargeable batteries...

and zinc-air batteries

Zinc-air battery

have demonstrated energy densities high enough to deliver range and recharge times comparable to conventional vehicles.

Battery-operated vehicles (like the Nissan Leaf

Nissan Leaf

) are projected to have annual sales in 2020 of 100,000 units in the U.S. and 1.3 million worldwide — 1.8 percent of the 71 million cars expected to be sold in 2020. Another 3.9 million plug-ins and hybrids will be sold worldwide, bringing the total electric and hybrid

Hybrid vehicle

market to about 7 percent of all cars sold in 2020.

Bolloré

Bolloré

Bolloré is a French investment and industrial holding group headquartered in Puteaux, on the western outskirts of Paris, France. The company, a paper-energy-plantations-logistics conglomerate, employs 28,000 people around the world....

a French automotive parts group developed a concept car the "Bluecar

Pininfarina B0

The Pininfarina Bluecar is an electric car, designed by Pininfarina in collaboration with Bolloré, which was introduced at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It is not a concept car, but a production car that went on sale in 2009.The car incorporates a lithium polymer battery matched up with a...

" using Lithium metal polymer batteries developed by a subsidiary Batscap. It had a range of 250 km and top speed of 125 km/h.

Ultracapacitors

Electric double-layer capacitors (or "ultracapacitors") are used in some electric vehicles, such as AFS Trinity's concept prototype, to store rapidly available energy with their high power density

Power density

Power density is the amount of power per unit volume....

, in order to keep batteries within safe resistive heating limits and extend battery life.

Since commercially available ultracapacitors have a low energy density no production electric cars use ultracapacitors exclusively.

Promotion

US President Barack Obama has announced 48 new advanced battery and electric drive projects that will receive $2.4 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These projects will accelerate the development of U.S. manufacturing capacity for batteries and electric drive components as well as the deployment of electric drive vehicles, helping to establish American leadership in creating the next generation of advanced vehicles.

The announcement marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made. Industry officials expect that this $2.4 billion investment, coupled with another $2.4 billion in cost share from the award winners, will result directly in the creation tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. battery and auto industries.

The new awards cover $1.5 billion in grant

Grant (money)

Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...

s to United States-based manufacturers to produce batteries and their components and to expand battery recycling capacity.

Vice President Biden announced in Detroit over $1 billion in grants to companies and universities based in Michigan. Reflecting the state's leadership in clean energy manufacturing, Michigan companies and institutions are receiving the largest share of grant funding of any state. Two companies, A123 and Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls

Johnson Controls, Inc. is a company, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. It was founded in 1885 by professor Warren S. Johnson, inventor of the first electric room thermostat....

, will receive a total of approximately $550 million to establish a manufacturing base in the state for advanced batteries, and two others, Compact Power and Dow Kokam, will receive a total of over $300 million for manufacturing battery cells and materials. Large automakers based in Michigan, including GM, Chrysler, and Ford, will receive a total of more than $400 million to manufacture batteries and electric drive components. And three educational institutions in Michigan — the University of Michigan

University of Michigan

The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

, Wayne State University

Wayne State University

Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...

in Detroit, and Michigan Technological University

Michigan Technological University

Michigan Technological University is a public research university located in Houghton, Michigan, United States. Its main campus sits on on a bluff overlooking Portage Lake...

in Houghton, in the Upper Peninsula — will receive a total of more than $10 million for education and workforce training programs to train researchers, technicians, and service providers, and to conduct consumer research to accelerate the transition towards advanced vehicles and batteries.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu visited Celgard, in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...

, to announce a $49 million grant for the company to expand its separator production capacity to serve the expected increased demand for lithium-ion batteries from manufacturing facilities in the United States. Celgard will be expanding its manufacturing capacity in Charlotte, North Carolina, and nearby Concord, NC, and the company expects the new separator production to come online in 2010. Celgard expects that approximately hundreds of jobs could be created, with the first of those jobs beginning as early as fall 2009.

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson was in St. Petersburg, Florida, to announce a $95.5 million grant for Saft America, Inc. to construct a new plant in Jacksonville on the site of the former Cecil Field

Cecil Field

Cecil Airport is a public joint civil-military airport located in Jacksonville, a city in Duval County, Florida, United States. The airport is owned by the Jacksonville Aviation Authority and services military aircraft, corporate aircraft, general aviation, and air cargo. The Florida Army National...

military base, to manufacture lithium-ion cells, modules and battery packs for military, industrial, and agricultural vehicles.

Deputy Secretary of the Department of Transportation John Porcari

John Porcari

John D. Porcari is the current United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation. He was nominated by the Obama administration in April 2009 and confirmed by the Senate on May 21, 2009....

visited East Penn Manufacturing Co., in Lyon Station, Pennsylvania, to award the company a $32.5 million grant to increase production capacity for their valve regulated lead-acid batteries and the UltraBattery, a lead-acid battery

Lead-acid battery

combined with a carbon supercapacitor

Supercapacitor

An electric double-layer capacitor , also known as supercapacitor, supercondenser, electrochemical double layer capacitor, or ultracapacitor, is an electrochemical capacitor with relatively high energy density. Their energy density is typically hundreds of times greater than conventional...

, for micro and mild hybrid applications.

External links

Testing EV Battery Packs in a Manufacturing Environment
Car Traction Batteries - the New Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

2010-2020 (IDTechEx).
Glossary of Battery Terms and Definitions
2011 NACS Annual Fuels Report
Asian Manufacturers Will Lead the $8 Billion Market for Electric Vehicle Batteries (Pike Research),

Construction

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Battery Types

Lead-acid

Nickel metal hydride

Zebra

Lithium ion

Battery cost and parity

Cost Parity

Range Parity

Internal Components

Charging

Connectors

Recharging spots

Travel range before recharging and trailers

Swapping And Removing

Re-filling

Leasing

V2G and afteruse

Lifespan

Safety

Patents

Research, development and innovation

Carbon nanotube battery

Future

Ultracapacitors

Promotion

See also

External links

Construction