Battery Comparison
Specific Energy  -  Specific Cost
 
Slide 6 of 13
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Notes:

We will not spend much time on this slide, but I think it provides a sense of were we are on battery technology.  Today, the only economically viable EV battery is the lead-acid battery.  But the NiMH battery is very close behind.  I don’t believe that anyone today is giving NiCD serious consideration, but I’ve included it for the sake of comparison.

The lithium-based battery is considered the holy grail of battery couples.   Lithium is the lightest of the metals, and it has a high electro-chemical potential, which gives it a very high theoretical specific energy capability.  A perfected lithium-based EV battery could result in a BEV with a range of up to 300 miles.   A practical lithium-based EV battery could become available as early as year 2000, which means that by 2010 they may very well become the predominate battery of production electric cars.  By year 2010 - maybe as soon as 2005 - we can expect that BEVs with a range of 250 - 300 miles will be rolling off production lines.  By saying that, I realize that when I come back to eat my words about the future of electric cars, I might be dining on my statements about Lithium batteries as well.

The next slide shows the construction of a lithium-polymer battery, which is being jointly developed by 3M and Hydro-Quebec, in conjunction with Argonne National Laboratory.