Fuente: Physics Today News Picks
Expuesto el: lunes, 27 de febrero de 2012 20:25
Autor: Physics Today
Asunto: Company develops cheaper, more powerful electric-car battery
| New York Times: Envia Systems in California announced today that it had made a major advance regarding electric vehicles—a more powerful and less expensive lithium-ion battery. At half the current cost, the new cells will have an energy density almost three times greater than conventional automotive cells. To develop such a battery, Envia was awarded $4 million in late 2009 by the US Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy program. One of the company's innovations is its use of manganese in the cathode, which stores more energy per unit of mass. When the cathode delivers more energy, fewer cells are needed, which results in a less-expensive battery. Another benefit of lighter batteries is extended range, because cars can carry more of them. "If it's true, it's a huge breakthrough, because the main problem for battery cars has been cost," said David Cole, chairman emeritus of the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research in Michigan, in an interview with Jim Motavalli for the New York Times. |
