Several advanced EV battery technologies, but is there a breakthrough yet ?

Sales of electric cars in the US last month have been quite encouraging with The Wall Street calling it a ‘hot month’ for EVs.
By: EVHUB.IN
 
BANGALORE, India - Sept. 9, 2013 - PRLog -- Sales of electric cars in the US last month have been quite encouraging with The Wall Street calling it a ‘hot month’ for EVs. Some of the popular plug-in vehicles including Nissan LEAF, Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius plug-in posted their record monthly sales ever, totaling over 10,000 units. The number excludes sales from Tesla, whose Model S is a hot EV, though sales average at about 1,500 and 2,000 a month as Tesla gradually expands production to meet pre-orders.

Experts often accredit the improvement in sales to the pricing of a few models, which has been adjusted over recent months to become more attractive for a larger bunch of buyers; attractive financing options are equally helping sales. Nissan has slashed base price on LEAF by about USD6,000 while Toyota offered no interest five year loan on plug-in Prius last month, which helped mark a 65% improvement in sales over last year.

Even as market price cuts can give a temporary boost to the fledgling market, for electric car business to be actually successful over the long term, it needs to turn into a profit-making proposition for its market players, which is why cost of lithium-ion batteries needs to come down. At present, batteries for Nissan LEAF cost about USD12,000 according to industry estimates and those for Volt about USD8,000. According to the US Department of Energy (DoE), EV battery prices have already dropped by almost half over the past few years and by 2015, the price can expect to drop further to USD10,000 for a standard pack (like that of LEAF). This, according to DoE, will be largely triggered by economies of scale driven by increasing EV demand.

Industry experts however believe that innovation will be a stronger factor driving a more radical decline in EV battery prices. The DoE has spent millions in aiding projects aimed at improving range and reducing cost of various electric car battery types, more significantly lithium-ion – the one with immense promise in the near term. DoE has just announced a new round of funding, awarding USD45m to promote advancement in EV batteries for 38 projects. 3M, a major beneficiary in the award with up to USD3m, is working on developing advanced battery components including a core shell cathode and a silicon alloy anode with a special  conductive polymer binder. Access the entire list of awardees here:http://www.eere.energy.gov/pdfs/funding_selections_9-4-13.pdf

Another interesting technology being developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, in collaboration with GE, involves a water-based flow battery which could be just one fourth the price of the batteries powering EVs today, along with a range improved three times. According to Energy Harvesting Journal, the proposed flow battery ‘uses water-based solutions of inorganic chemicals that are capable of transferring more than one electron, providing high-energy density. Discharge and re-charge of such flow batteries occur in electrochemical cells separated from energy storing tanks, which makes them safer.’ The lab is looking to demonstrate a working prototype of this flow battery by next year.

A recent article in MIT Technology Review claims that a significant downsizing of current battery packs can be achieved by employing more advanced sensors which can monitor cells in a battery pack more closely and accurately. The USD30M-project is supported by Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), aiming to develop the necessary technology. The sensors could help collect a more in-depth data on the health of cells inside a battery, making it possible to extract more energy from these cells unlike today, when batteries are designed to not be charged all the way to prepare for some contingencies. At a Palo Alto Research Center, advanced fiber-optic sensors are under development which will likely add about 5% to the cost of current batteries but can lead to up to 25% reduction in cost and size of the battery.

Needless to say, several of these advanced technologies appear promising but it is still not known if any of them actually materializes into the much-needed breakthroughs for EV batteries. Until then, a more reliable promise appears in the slow but consistently growing demand of plug-in vehicles, which will help drive both the innovation in the battery sector as well as contribute to incremental reduction in battery prices.
End
Source:EVHUB.IN
Email:***@evhub.biz
Posted By:***@evhub.biz Email Verified
Tags:Electric Car, Battery Technology
Industry:Electric vehicles, Industrial
Location:Bangalore - Karnataka - India
Subject:Reports
Account Email Address Verified     Account Phone Number Verified     Disclaimer     Report Abuse
EVHUB News
Trending
Most Viewed
Daily News



Like PRLog?
9K2K1K
Click to Share