First Lithium-Ion Car Battery Factory to Open in France
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 02. 2.08
Image courtesy of donibe via flickr
John Reed in the Financial Times reports that Johnson Controls and Saft, a U.S. supplier group and French battery producer, respectively, are set to break ground on a factory dedicated to the exclusive production of advanced lithium-ion batteries for cars. The facility, which will supply a range of automakers, including GM, Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz, is based in Nersac, France; its yearly production capacity will initially be 5,000 battery packs with the option to scale up if demand warrants it.
Lithium-ion battery packs, which are about half the size and weight of nickel-metal hydride batteries, will power the next generation of hybrid, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The factory plans to expand its operations over time to supply other facilities around the world, particularly in Asia. This follows recent announcements by Toyota, GM and Nissan that they plan on launching their own plug-in and electric vehicles within the next few years.
Good to hear, Saft makes large form factor Li Ion, so this is a big plus. They have made Li Ion for military applications (among other things) so if it meets military requirements, it's proven technology.
Does anyone know if they plan to allow their product to be bought directly by individuals? Depending on price, I wouldn't mind using some in my renewable energy systems.
www.rechargelt.org, which is on the URL on the back o f the Prius in the pic, directs you to a porn site.
http://www.google.org/recharge/ gets you to the right place.
rechargeit.org works for me.
How much more - joule for joule stored - does lithium cost compared to nickel-cadmium?? It all boils down to that.
cost per joule is a good thing to look into, but TRUE cost of the resources used is another area of concern. Mining nickel, which is sometimes (often?) associated with sulfur ore can cause long term devastating impacts to aquatic environments when the sulfur is exposed to air and water (to create sulfuric acid). Sufuric acid and aquatic biota don't really make a good mix, so if Lithium is a more benign resource as far as environmental impacts are concerned, then the joule per joule comparison loses some appeal to me.
The true costs of our technologies are never really fully evaluated and nickel mining is one of those costs. I actually drive a prius and the only pang of guilt I"ve had is from thinking about the nickel metal hydride battery pack. Nothing's perfect, I guess, but hopefully we're getting better with the battery thing.
If there are any Li Ion car batteries (large) available, could someone please post them or their release dates. Oh, and the Prius 62 mpg, great, but my festiva got 58 highway back in 92 and cost about 7 grand new. Advances? yes, in profit, perhaps...
I am very interested in the new Lithium batteries but am having difficulties finding a current source. Have also an interest in the new Lithium with Silicon anode batteries. I have a 1980 Tee Bird conversion w solar assist, and wish to add lower weight batteries.Anyone with data please contact me. Thank You.