Pursuing a Battery So Electric Vehicles Can Go the Extra Miles. New York Times: Science [Internet]. 2009 Sept 14 [cited 2009 Sept 20]. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/science/15batt.html?_r=1&ref=science
A lithium-air battery may be the power source of the future. Lithium-ion batteries are currently used in hybrid and electric cars. However, this type of battery has limited energy capacity. Lithium-air and lithium-sulfur alternatives are high energy and low weight. They could match the power of gasoline vehicles today and drastically broaden the market for electric and solar cars – as long as their safety concerns are overcome.
Although the power of this new type of battery has not yet been proven, companies like I.B.M believe that it may enhance battery storage by up to ten times, within as little as ten years. While I.B.M is not directly in the battery business, it does have a vested interest in very light but powerful battery technology to run its hardware.
Battery experts from around the world met at a conference at the Almaden Research Center last month. The meeting highlighted the promise of this new type of battery technology, as well as several other types. Conference sessions also touched upon the obstacles faced when developing batteries, like safety concerns and the cost to customers. Currently, one of the main barriers to a greater market acceptance of hybrid cars is the cost: the battery alone adds thousands of dollars to the price.
Overall battery research is very optimistic, as new methods are constantly emerging and evolving.
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