good car modification

When SQM cuts Lithium prices we would love to think that it could anchor technology for Electric cars with Lithium ion, but actually it will only bring some demand for SQM supply. Further development for lithium batteries itself, with billions invested in battery manufacturing and millions miles on the roads soon, will become that anchor to build green mobility revolution upon. Lithium became now an industry's energy storage technology of choice and we can talk about doubling capacity and cutting prices by half in five year period of time. Industry insiders at Frankfurt Motor show 2009 pointed out to price vs capacity as the main obstacle at the moment for mass market. All advanced Hybrid models and all Plug Ins BEVs are using Lithium, including Toyota which has sighted high Lithium batteries cost as a reason to continue its old range of Hybrids with Ni batteries. Safety is not a concern: according to Mercedes Electric Smart with Tesla's lithium batteries to be on the road by December 2009 - all batteries are tested by drop from 10 meters high, cutting the battery, putting needles into it and etc. More and more battery makers are moving towards solid electrolyte solutions. Software battery systems are monitoring every cell in the battery for overheating and will shut down the battery in case of malfunction. This news from Panasonic brings ability to manage batteries with ability to shut down only faulty parts and still have capacity to use the battery. High cost at the moment could be overcome as in better place and Renault solution: leasing the battery to the owner. Price for the car itself is promised to be at the level of similar conventional model.

New high energy, high reliability lithium-ion battery module from Panasonic.


Lithium-ion based batteries have found widespread popularity in all kinds of consumer electronics thanks to their high energy-to-weight ratios, lack of memory effect, and slow discharge when not in use. These attributes have also made them attractive to the burgeoning areas of battery-powered cars and storage of energy generated by home-use photovoltaic (PV) systems and fuel cells. This rise in popularity, and the increase in storage systems using lithium-ion batteries, has also led to a demand for systems with higher capacity, output, reliability, safety and improved cost performance. Now Panasonic says it has developed a 1.5 kWh battery module that meets these demands.

The new module has a volume of approximately seven liters, weighs eight kg (8.6 lbs), has a voltage of 25.2 and a capacity of 58 Ah. Multiple units of the module can be connected in series and/or parallel to construct battery packs for a range of applications. The high-energy module is constructed from 140 pieces of 18650-type (18 mm in diameter x 65 mm in length) lithium-ion battery cells - seven serially-connected rows each made of 20 parallel-connected battery cells. This structure enables the prevention of a serious loss in system performance such as system shutdown, even if some individual cells fail.

Panasonic says the 18650-type lithium-ion batteries are highly reliable and safe, and offer good cost performance - and the company has already developed and commercialized an 18650-type lithium-ion battery with the industry's highest level of capacity.

To develop the new module, Panasonic employed high-capacity and high-durability cell technology utilizing a proprietary nickel-based positive electrode material that boasts high capacity and excellent durability. Additionally, its cell safety technology uses a heat-resistant metal oxide insulating layer between positive and negative electrodes to prevent short circuits and overheating, which can occur when foreign particles get mixed into the battery cell.

Panasonic will have a prototype of the new battery module on show at CEATEC JAPAN 2009, which runs October 6-10, and at the New Energy Industry Fair Osaka, which runs from October 7-9."