There is growing public support for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEVs) that could provide consumers with vehicles that get 100 miles a gallon, use no gasoline at all for local errands, switch to conventional fuel for long trips and quickly recharge at electric outlets at home. Automakers are touting the technology, but engineers are struggling with the crucial component: the battery.
General Motors is saying it will have its first plug-in Chevrolet Volt by late 2010. Toyota, which plans to announce several PHEV vehicles, recently said due to battery problems they would delay the roll out of its PHEV Prius until 2011.
The key to success of the PHEV is the lithium-ion batteries, so named for the material that forces electrons to flow. A true electric car would need more kick than the current versions in order to let the driver accelerate on highway and make quick stops. In theory, that could mean just strapping together more of the small battery cells that make up a single pack. The problem arises, however, in that predominant lithium battery technologies are prone to minor internal short-circuits that can cause the battery pack to ignite.
So, as carmakers push forward with the engineering and design tasks associated with detaching the internal combustion engine from the motor, battery teams labor on how to ensure the power pack will be an asset, not a massive liability.
One promising start-up company, called A123 Systems based in Watertown, Massachusetts, a spin-off group from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is working on a nanophophate lithium battery. Ric Fulop, A123's founder, said their technology avoids the internal short-circuits because when overheated, the components do not emit oxygen. A123 is now working with GM and other automakers. Their technology is already widely used in power tools, and it will be installed in Daimler's Orion 7 hybrid buses, due to go into production in 2008.