Battery technology

Lee,

Not much point in getting too excited about Toshiba's battery. It took almost 10 years to bring Li-Ion's to market after they were invented. Since this is (Hopefully) just an improvement to an already existing technology, it will likely not take so long.

I have an immediate use for some of these cells, so I'm going to keep my eyes open, but I doubt that I'll be able to buy individual cells anytime within the next couple of years.

Front runner? Don’t have a clue. Toshiba stated they would start selling their fast charge Li-Ion next year and they did say they were focusing on transportation, among other things. Apparently nanotechnology is at the root of these battery breakthroughs and Toshiba is not the only player.

Toshiba also clamed their battery maintained a greater percentage of its original capacity over time and operated better in cold weather conditions.

Can’t help but get a bit excited about those attributes, because if this comes true, it will change a lot of things about how we all live.

On the realistic side, there is no such thing on the market yet. But on an equally realistic note, Toshiba is no fly by night company. It’s hard to imagine them making this kind of an announcement without the ability to back it up.

Lithium Ion Chemistry has a couple of huge advantages: very high energy density and very good discharge performance over a very wide temperature range. MOST Lithium Ion Chemistries have a devastating disadvantage; the huge stored energy causes either tremendous outgassing or allows a defect to initiate a self sustaining fire of immense temperature when a single microscopic seperator defect gets into a LiIon battery. When I was designing portable radios for the military, I had to design the battery compartment to split, not fragment, and direct the blast away from the user's body. (The effort to eliminate bad batteries was intense, but could never be perfect for the LiIon chemistry involved.) The size of individual LiIon cells is limited since bigger cells would generate fatal size "events". Many other aspects of using LiIon cells requires great care. Rapid charging can only be done on a battery pack at the right temperature and with all the cells at that exact same state of discharge. Easy enough for a laptop, quite a feat for an electric/hybrid car.

The cause of the defective cells were manufacturing variations, microscopic holes in the seperators....something that is hard to keep perfect when making square miles of the stuff. So, the auto manufacturer's face a problem that must be solved, getting LiIon cells into vehicles that DO NOT Explode/Outgas/Ignite. When we are talking millions of 200-500 lb LiIon batteries, this is a tall order. Right now the key areas being worked are 1) using small existing cells and packaging for problem isolation (Telsa Motors), and 2) figuring out modifications to LiIon chemistries (Altairnano, A123, etc.) that reduce the chances of an "event". Please note that storing lots of energy in a small space (LiIon or Tank of Gas) will always require the safety engineering to be completed before the technology can be unleashed on the public....and some companies are getting pretty close. The hurdle is high, and so is the payoff.

Hello there, I have here an article which I lifted from the net which tells about the capacity of a hybrid car battery...Hope this might help...

LiMnO2 hybrid battery cells deliver longer life, higher capacity

By Paul O'Shea

Courtesy of eeProductCenter
(08/23/2007 3:34 PM EDT)

Fair Lawn, N.J. — Maxell Corporation of America has introduced its next-generation of lithium manganese dioxide (LiMnO2) cylindrical hybrid battery cells with longer life and higher capacity for automatic meter readers, security devices and RF applications. These advanced hybrid cells will operate for more than 10 years and offer about nine percent higher capacity compared to similar cells currently available.
The CR17450 and CR17335 cells, designed to industry standard sizes, are laser sealed and exhibit a low self-discharge making them suitable for long-term extended life applications of 10+ years. The wide operational temperature range of -40° to +80°C with an improved heatproof temperature of +90°C to 100° C and internal minute short-circuit prevention are said to make these cells intrinsically safe.
The CR17450 offers a typical capacity of 2600 mAh, while the CR17335 provides a typical capacity of 1750 mAh. The cells offer a voltage rating of 3.0 volts and feature a stable sloping discharge curve at various depths of discharge, allowing for accurate prediction of end of life.
The CR17450 measures 17 mm in diameter and 45 mm in length and weighs 22g. The CR17335 also has a diameter of 17 mm with a 33.5-mm length and weighs 16g.
The CR17450 and CR17335 cells will be displayed for the first time at the AMRA 2007 (Automatic Meter Reader Association) show in Reno, Nev., October 1-3, 2007. Maxell will also attend the AISI Security Show in Las Vegas, Nev., September 24-26.
As a hybrid car owner, I am well satisfied with its performance as well as with its auto parts like my honda cold air intake and of course, its battery and its other accessories...

Pricing: Samples are priced in the $5.00 range with a delivery of 60 to 90 days.
Product information: CR17450 and CR17335
Maxell Corporation of America, maxell.com

Yes, batteries can and should be recycled after they will no longer hold a charge.
One of the best discussions I've seen about battery recycling is Tesla's plan that they detail on their blog at:
http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=66

I think that the battery technology will always be improved.We just have to wait to reach the market.