This Monday, California-based Envia Systems made an announcement that could mean big things for the mainstream acceptance of electric vehicles. The company claims to have broken the world record for energy density in a rechargeable lithium-ion cell, with an automotive-grade battery that reportedly has a density of 400 watt-hours/kilogram (Wh/kg). Not only is that figure two to three times higher than what is currently possible with commercially-available cells, but Envia also claims that its battery should cost less than half the price of existing li-ion batteries.
Testing of the battery was performed by the Electrical Power Systems Department at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana. The tests were sponsored by ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency - ENERGY), a division of the U.S. Department of Energy.
According to Envia, the battery "demonstrated energy density between 378-418 Wh/kg for rates between C/3 to C/10 for a 45 Amp-hour (C/3) cell." Similar cells, which the company has had cycling in its lab for over 300 cycles, are also slated for further testing.
The secret to the battery's high energy density is said to lie in the company's proprietary cathode, anode, and electrolyte materials.
The chemistry of the High Capacity Manganese Rich (HCMR) cathode is a fine-tuned version of that of the "layered-layered" cathode, created at Argonne National Laboratory. It consists of nickel, cobalt, manganese and Li2MnO3 (lithium-manganese-oxide). Envia has introduced a patented nanocoating process to that mix, to enhance cycle life and safety. The HCMR is said to have twice the capacity of regular cathodes, and should be available for use in pilot vehicle projects later this year.
A low-cost silicon-carbon nanocomposite acts as the anode. The composition of the Envia-developed electrolyte isn't being revealed, although it is reportedly able to remain stable at higher voltages than currently-used materials.
General Motors, which recently invested US$7 million in Envia, will be performing further tests on the battery. It has also secured the rights to use the HCMR cathode in its electric vehicles.
Source: Envia Systems via IEEE Spectrum
Also note it appears for you it may not be a solution but if the ones being sold today are workable for a decent size market doubling the range could open the market up for significantly more people and other modes like motorcycles, bicycles.
Further, to say lithium batteries are more dangerous than gasoline is a very broad and unsubstantiated statement. There have been no real-life fires associated with electric vehicle crashes, but there are several hundred thousand gas vehicle accident-related fires annually. Google it.
Anthropogenic Global Warming Start by looking at the leaked emails.
Saying that the trivial number of lithium battery vehicles on the roads today not having had a catastrophic failure yet proves them equally safe to the hundreds of millions of gasoline cars on the road is ludicrous.
You think scientists don't get mad and say stupid things now and then? Get real, and then...get real. Quit letting Murdoch's monkeys pollute your brain with propaganda. You have doubts? Every denier's argument is nailed at skepticalscience.com. Read it and learn something.
I did I got tired of the lies.
The Climatic Research Unit of University of East Anglia destroyed their raw data (if they ever had any) rather than let anybody else see it. Given that they refused the request to see the data using the English equivalent of the freedom of information act this violated the law, unfortunately the statue of limitations ran out.
Remember the infamous hockey stick graph.
AGW maybe, but POLLUTION is definitely made by us. Look at any big city and see what human's are doing to the air!!! AGP should be the focus here not some wishy washy easy to discredit AGW arguement.
STOP AGP!!