| The Volt's Batteries? A123 Systems |
| Written by Hank Green | ||
| Saturday, 13 January 2007 | ||
Are the batteries for the Volt here already? If GM wants to get new technology into a car within the next five years, the batteries need to be ready today so that they can get into the business of making them cheaper and high-performance in series.
And if the batteries are here today, it is likely that the nanoscale electrode A123 li-ion batteries are them. These things have higher power density, lower weight, won't explode in an accident and opperate from -20 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. These batteries are already being used in power tools. Interestingly, hobbyists have already started using those power-tool batteries to create their own electric cars.
Signs seem to be pointing to A123's batteries as the source of the power for GM's next generation hybrids and beyond. Not the least of those signs is the announced partnership between A123 and GM. All of this adds up to a pretty positive scenario for the Chevrolet Volt. The only question now is: how long before these things cost less than $10,000 a pack?
Comments
(3)
A123
written by Ian , January 14, 2007
you want a123 cells for the average joe?
written by Helg , July 23, 2008
"and they seem to have no interest in selling to the common man"
Eat your words: http://www.a123racing.com/ http://www.rclipos.com/A123.htm
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written by Ian George , October 23, 2008
Helg, you're correct... a year after I made that comment they are offering them more easily to the common man... but in that year they still only have ~100wh/kg ... I can get 75% more power out of the same weight of batteries with other types , and pay less to get it ... I still stand by my original points... they are good for what they do... but there are other Batteries that beat the snoot out of them for many things.
But I will agree the one thing about them has changed... they are more available to the common man 1 year later. | ||
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I personally don't see the justification for the A123 Hype... by all acounts thier company only seems interested in producing small capacity less than 3Ah cells... and they seem to have no interest in selling to the common man ... yes they have wonderful characteristics at that size ... but do they keep them when they get larger, if they can even make them larger ??? but 3Ah cells will not cut it for a PHEV unless you are doing the thousands of cells that the Tesla / T-Zero style systems use... And we will see how well those work over the next few years... If they work well like the T-Zero has then thier is no need for the A123 as 18650 cells were used in the T-Zero and if they don't then the A123 has to produce equal quality larger capacity cells, which there are no signs of ... The A123 only has ~109Wh/Kg of capacity compaired to the over 200Wh/Kg Capacity of the less expensive per Wh 18650 cells... and for larger capacity Li Cells like those at www.lithiumtech.com you can use far fewer batteries for you pack which any battery person will tell you is a better idea since every Li cell needs monitored by the BMS and due to lower complexity of design and you can still get better Wh/Kg than the A123 get the www.lithiumtech.com Offer up to 120Ah Cells up to 173Wh/Kg...
... as for the fire proof... I don't see the reason for the hype .... Gasoline is very flamable is only housed in the most basic containers and people don't seem to care that much about it ... It cost far less to make a Li Battery comparably safe to gasoline than to try to make it safer.
Wh/Kg per $ has been the one thing holding back EVs and PHEV for years... T-Zero showed how to lower that barrier useing 18650 cells ... and so far it has worked better and is cheaper than any alternative system, which is why it is being used in the Tesla ... but if you don't want thousands of cells than you don't want the A123 either as it doesn't have the capacity required to run a PHEV for 30+ Miles without having thousands of cells.
A123 Are great for breaking the Battery discharge and recharge barriers ... they are the cross between a Li battery and a Capacitor and for that they are great don't get me wrong... but ~109Wh/Kg and under 3Ah per cell has major limitations that every article about them always seems to gloss over and or ignore.... For those of you who say ... "All they have to do is make a bigger one" ... Well if it were a simple thing they would have done it and posted the spec sheet on thier site to show it... but the only cell they seem to have done is the small capacity ones.
Just my 2 bits...
Like I said they are great but for PHEV and EVs there are better batteries available.