Douglas Korthof

DOE Report: Lithium-ion Batteries Are Not Ready for Prime Time

Another ignorant comment by a sockpuppet. Most successful EVs go 120 miles on a charge; the EV1 with NiMH went an EPA certified 140 miles, and would have done 200 with superior NiMH batteries.

But the whole point of the PHEV is that the gas or diesel engine-generator kicks on automatically to create electric if and when the battery is low (say, after 100 miles of driving), and the battery stands ready to absorb excess electric from the genset or from regenerative braking.

In fact, the energy curve of an EREV (serial hybrid) going up a hill and coming down that hill is identical to the EV, if the hill is low enough to ascend on battery power alone (you won't even fire up the genset, for example, ascending to Big Bear or Mt. Baldy); for higher hills, say 15,000 ft., the engine-generator cranks on when the battery is low, but shuts off when the car recharges on the way back down. You arrive in both cases with the battery charged, less 20%.


On Feb 16 08:05 AM Renzo wrote:

> Thank you for another concise analysis of the problems inherent to
> the use of lithium batteries in HEV’s and PHEV’s. There seems to
> be a consensus that a 40-mile range is adequate to make a PHEV commercially
> viable. I’d like to know where, exactly, people expect to drive these
> vehicles. A vehicle may have a 40-mile range in a moderate, costal

DOE Report: Lithium-ion Batteries Are Not Ready for Prime Time

LOL! It was BUSH who blew all our money (about $10T) down the toilet!! You are funny if not so ignorant.


On Feb 16 11:55 AM Paul Killinger wrote:

> The motto for the crew now in charge in Washington is to never let
> the facts get in the way of a good story. So they won't. If they
> can print enough new money, they'll buy one of these clunkers for
> each of us.
> Indeed, they can use the proceeds from their upcoming cap and trade
> scheme for funding. Fasten your seat belts everyone, we've only just
> begun!
>

DOE Report: Lithium-ion Batteries Are Not Ready for Prime Time

A123 batteries are not only too expensive, but they are apparently inappropriate for use in an EV. Any car that runs on batteries alone (such as the Chey VOLT for the first 40 miles) needs three things:
1. High power output (at least 50 kW, 400A at 120v; preferrably 100 kW or even more); this tends to break down some batteries, perhaps A123;
2. Deep cycling, putting out enough power to go 40 miles takes 10 kWh in an Electric car;
3. Long cycle life, at least 1000, or about 5 years.
GM chose the well-proven LG-Chem over A123, we know that LG only lasts 50K miles in the Tesla, but GM might hope to stretch that out by only cycling 30-80. They are battery ignoramuses, however, and will probably fail.


On Feb 16 04:04 PM speculawyer wrote:

> A123 batteries are expensive . . . but they are nice due to their
> high-power output and reliability. But, as with so many other things,
> China may knock out the US makers like Valence and A123 due to low
> cost (unless they do everything in asia too). The $0.50/wh Thundersky
> LiFePO4s can't be ignored. But since the whole market is under-capacity,
> it is hard to get good price numbers. Valence seems to be selling
> every battery they make.
>
> I'd like to see some successful Li-Ion makers from the USA (and manufacturing
> in the USA). But I'd rather buy Chinese batteries than Saudi oil.

DOE Report: Lithium-ion Batteries Are Not Ready for Prime Time

Actually, it's because Lithium reacts explosively with H2O, and the lithium metal (Lithium comes from Greek Lithos, stone) is so hard to separate out, it takes a LOT of electric energy plus working in either cryogenic or oxygen-free environments. Whereas, Lead and Nickel are relatively easy to recycle: once you have produced a metal, there is no need to discard it!! You need to recognize that all metals (except gold, which is found in nature) are, ipso facto, an artifact! It takes effort to purify them; that's why we use scrap iron for the modern electric furnace, because there is a "minefield" of existing scrap metals that can be reused.


On Feb 16 01:04 PM Advill wrote:

> Can somebody tell me why producing lithium batteries is SO Expensive?.
>
>
> Mining lithium salts is not more expensive that nickel, zinc or lead,
> I dont argument about DOE report for me it´s a fact.... but why?.
>
>
> The problem with cheap lithium right now is the geographically highly
> concentrated mines available (Bolivia-Chile and Canada-China), in
> my point of view there is not a clear case in the cost of lithium
> against other minerals (except strategic considerations as it was
> with oil at the begining in S.XX.).
>
> Perhaps here the lithium batteries. producers can explain in detail
> why they are charging 10,000 USD per car set of batts, for me the
> key is why they are charging so much.
>
> Regards

DOE Report: Lithium-ion Batteries Are Not Ready for Prime Time

Learn something: almost all lead-acid batteries are recycled, lead is a valuable industrial metal. Lithium batteries have no recycle value, since it's energy-intensive to produce the Lithium metal needed for the batteries. Li-po batteries are simpley thrown away, stupidly, wasting the effort to make them and refine the lithium.

NiMH also recycles, since Nickel is a valuable metal primarily used in stainless steel, monel, and for corrosive enviroments.


On Feb 16 01:54 PM Waterskius wrote:

> USABC is a conglomerate of the "not haves". These are all companies
> that are not there yet.
>
> If you contrast those companies to VLNC, ABAT, CBAK and PC you will
> find a different story. They are ready to go with the chemistry,
> investing in manufacturing and going to achieve lower price points
> with economies of scale. VLNC for one is offering 100 miles per charge
> in the commercial vehicles and a possible 10 year batter life (see
> Tanfield website). Iron Magnesuim Phosphate is much more stable (no
> fires) and can be disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
>
>
> The thing most people don't like with lead acid is they are environmentally
> unfriendly when disposed.
>
> Please enlighten me.

DOE Report: Lithium-ion Batteries Are Not Ready for Prime Time

<b>Nickel Metal Hydride</b> is the only proven successful EV and hybrid battery. It's lower initial cost, recycles (so the only real cost is manufacturing), is safe, lasts longer than the life of the car, even a Toyota car, and is the only battery chemistry owned by, and suppressed by, an oil company (Chevron owns control of the patent rights, having acquired them on Oct. 10, 2000 from General Motors).

So the bottom line is, if you aren't using NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE batteries, you are just bullshitting about Electric cars and/or hybrids.