Altair Nanotechnologies plans to test an electric vehicle prototype that incorporate lithium ion technology. We use lithium ion batteries or the cousins lithium polymer in PDAs, digital camera, and laptops, amongst others, but because of lithium's energy potential the chemical could soon be powerin your car.
Altair Nanotechnologies of Reno, NV, has announced plans to start testing its new lithium batteries in prototype electric vehicles, with road tests scheduled to begin by year-end. The company says its new electrode materials allow higher bursts of power, longer battery life, and more available energy storage capacity -- and far quicker "fill-up" -- than previous lithium-ion batteries. Their goal: an electric car that performs as well as a conventional car.
Altairnano plans to incorporate batteries that use their new lithium-ion electrode material into a prototype electric vehicle. The batteries use a safe, stable structure that increases their lifetime by preventing the electrodes from expanding and contracting as the ions move in and out -- a principle reason for the eventual death of conventional lithium-ion batteries.
The batteries can also handle big bursts of power, which occur in both fast charging and quick acceleration. In fact according to Gotcher their batteries could charge in about the time it takes to fill a tank of gas and buy a cup of coffee and snack -- six to eight minutes.
Until next time - Dan Hagopian, Batteryship.com
