nytimes.com — A123Systems, a start-up in Watertown, Mass., says it has created a powerful, safe, long-lived battery. If the cell fulfills the ambitions of its maker, that softer sound will be the future of automobiles. The goal for A123Systems’ battery for plug-in hybrid cars is to achieve 155 miles to the gallon and reduce demand for gasoline by 70 percent.
Mar 11, 2007 View in Crawl 4
fantasticflanMar 11, 2007
As has been stated before, a power plant can be more efficient than an internal combustion engine.
oldmanMar 11, 2007
@steven401Actually, the source of power is varied between some hydro power, some nuke, some coal, and some small amounts of wind, geothermal, solar (only personal AFAIK), and the ubiquitous other (pedal power?). Disclaimer this list is non-exhaustive I probably did miss many.
betacmag4uMar 11, 2007
One word : Ultracapacitors
tomblagMar 11, 2007
Mmm , why wait 3 years? You can already do this now with an off the shelf Prius. There are kits out there 2kish(?) that allow you to plugin your Prius to a normal 110 outlet. Last I read, the kits allowed you to run off the battery till you hit 60mph then the computer kicked back in and would swap like usual.
sanmanMar 11, 2007
lead-acid batteries have a low recharge cycle life.
Closed AccountMar 12, 2007
This is still a lithium based tech though - not something that is ideal. Hopefully EEstor will come up with the goods with their claimed batteries, see:<a class="user" href="http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/eestor-claims-battery-breakthrough-to-replace-electrochemical-batteries/">http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/eestor-claims-battery-breakthrough-to-replace-electrochemical-batteries/</a>
johnydMar 12, 2007
The EV1 did not fail because of its installed batteries. Watch "Who Killed The Electric Car" and you'll see how the blame falls on many groups including the oil industry, american politicians, GM (and the rest of the auto industry), and the consumers. Fantastic movie:<a class="user" href="http://imdb.com/title/tt0489037/">http://imdb.com/title/tt0489037/</a>When I have enough capital saved up I intend on purchasing a small vechile (Yarris preferably) and converting it to electric. If Honda or Toyota comes out with an affordable EV before that time then it will save me some trouble. I hope these batteries succeed.
happyscrappyMar 12, 2007
Yes, that's a failure.If the company selling them didn't make money, it's a failure, even if the few sold are well-saught after.There was no demand for an electric car. And of those who wanted it, few could actually use on due to factors like having to get your garage rewired (an impossibility for those who live in apartment and a huge expense for those who don't.).Give it time, some day there will be enough demand for the electric car, it's beginning to gain traction.
moghuaMar 12, 2007
Cool, I was just reading about the "Killacycle" electric drag racer that uses these very batteries.<a class="user" href="http://www.veva.bc.ca/features/killacycle/index.htm">http://www.veva.bc.ca/features/killacycle/index.htm</a>"The 2006 season saw the quarter in 8.76 at 145 mph with more potential in store. It does 0-60 in 1.4 seconds."
apeweekMar 13, 2007
What you said: "If the company selling them didn't make money, it's a failure"Are you paying attention? They refused to sell any of them.What you said:There was no demand for an electric car. "Marketing studies at the time showed demand. The 5,000 people on the EV1 waiting list may not sound like much, but that's just one corner of the country. Scale theat level of demand up to the whole world, and that's a big number.What you said:"And of those who wanted it, few could actually use on due to factors like having to get your garage rewired"I drive an EV that charges from plain old household current. Rewiring garages is not necessary.