Alliances drive the hunt for clean energy
Motor companies looking to perfect hybrid and plug-in electric cars as the solution to soaring oil costs and concerns about the environment see alliances as the way forward. Over the past few years a number of car makers have entered strategic research and development partnership agreements with battery, electronic and utility companies to find new forms of power and enable them to reduce emissions. As is the case in the biopharmaceutical industry, these alliances are scientific in nature, aimed specifically at improving the chemistry and technology involved in the development of batteries.
Today the majority of hybrid and plug-in electric cars on the market are powered by nickel-metal hydride batteries, but companies are investigating an alternative source of energy: lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, which contain electrodes made of lightweight lithium and carbon, are smaller and lighter than the nickel-metal hydride batteries, providing more power at a lower weight. They also have a longer cycle life and in the long-run could be cheaper.
Scientists, however, have a long way to go before lithium-ion batteries can be used in main steam hybrid or plug-in cars. Until now the motor industry has been wary of using lithium-ion batteries in such cars because of fears they could over-heat and catch fire as has happened in the case of lap tops and mobile phones. Other problems also hinder the use of lithium-ion batteries for motor vehicles. This includes their high rate of degradation regardless of whether they are used or not. In addition they are extremely sensitive to high temperatures, degrading fast where there is heat. They take a long time to be recharged and can be ruined if completely discharged. Added to this is the fact that no one model of lithium-ion battery fits all hybrid or plug-in vehicles. Much depends on the chemical make-up of individual lithium-ion battery packs as to whether they can be used in hybrids or plug-in vehicles. Lithium-ion battery packs also require on-board computers in order to be managed, so raising their cost. Additionally the chemical make-up of lithium-ion batteries is not as safe as nickel metal hydride or other batteries, so they require several mandatory safety devices to be built in before they can be used outside a laboratory. Quality control is another hurdle for the mass production of the batteries.
Research and development of lithium-ion batteries is not confined to the making and mass production of the batteries themselves. Much work has to be done to ensure the battery works seamlessly within the vehicle, ensuring it works in tandem with all a vehicle's major systems including its drive system. Overall the development and application of lithium-ion batteries to motor vehicles can take between three and six years from start to finish. Any company that can resolve the obstacles associated with lithium-ion batteries for motor vehicles could reap billions of dollars in the future.
One company beginning to research and develop rechargeable lithium-ion batteries is the Japanese car maker Toyota Motor Corporation through its joint venture with the Japanese consumer electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial Company. The joint venture started in 1996 for the research and development of nickel-metal hydride batteries. Called Panasonic EV Energy Company, Matsushita owns 60 percent of the venture and Toyota the rest. The venture already has two factories in operation in central Japan with a capacity of producing 500,000 nickel-metal hydride battery packs a year and is presently constructing another factory with an annual capacity of about 300,000 battery packs. In May 2008 the two companies invested a further US$193 million to build a new factory in north eastern Japan to produce batteries arising out of the venture for use in some of Toyota?s hybrid cars like the popular Prius. Overall the aim is for the venture is to be producing 1 million units of nickel-metal hydride batteries a year by 2010. In June 2008 Panasonic EV Electric announced it would start limited production of lithium-ion batteries in 2009 at its factory in central Japan, moving into full-scale manufacturing the following year. Toyota is backing the move by the creation of a new research team, currently comprising 50 engineers and expected to double in size in two years. This team is to be involved in lithium-ion battery research and aid the development of next-generation batteries, such as solid-state batteries and metal-air batteries, which are said to have higher energy densities and better safety than lithium-ion batteries.
Another important player in the lithium-ion batteries sector is Johnson Controls Inc, one of the world's largest manufacturer of automotive equipment and batteries. In 2004 Johnson Controls entered a partnership with the US Advanced Battery Consortium to improve lithium-ion batteries for hybrid electric cars. The Consortium, set up in 1994, includes Daimler Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. In 2005 Johnson Controls entered an alliance with the French battery producer Saft Advanced Power Solutions to create advanced lithium-ion batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, using each of the companies' research and development centres in the US, France, Germany and China. Among the motor companies now utilising batteries developed through the collaboration are German based Mercedes Benz, which is using the batteries in a luxury hybrid, and American based Dodge, which is using them in its Sprinter plug-in hybrid delivery vans. This year the Chinese based car maker, Chery Automobile, also launched a hybrid sedan model in China incorporating the batteries. In January 2008 the Johnson-Saft venture was extended to include Maxwell Technologies Inc, an American developer and manufacturer of energy storage and power delivery-related products. Together the three companies aim to make more effective and energy efficient electrodes for lithium-ion hybrid vehicle batteries.
Over the past year a number of other companies have signed alliances to join in the race to develop effective lithium-ion batteries for the hybrid and plug-in sector. In 2007 Nissan, Japan's third largest car maker, joined forces with the Japanese electronics company NEC Corporation and in May 2008 the two companies agreed to set up a Japanese factory to produce lighter and more powerful lithium-ion batteries for use in electric and gasoline-electric hybrid cars. Together the companies are investing US$115 million over three years in the venture. The purpose of the collaboration is to aid Nissan in its efforts to introduce its electric car on to the American and Japanese market next year and globally by 2012 and to provide batteries to other car makers.
In May 2008 the German motor firm Volkswagen AG also began a joint project with the Japanese company Sanyo Electric to develop a lithium-ion battery for next-generation hybrid vehicles. Sanyo is contributing US$764 million to the venture. The objective is to expand production of the batteries by 2015, aiming to supply between 15,000 to 20,000 batteries a year from a plant in Japan. Both companies have worked together on battery development in the past. In 2006 the two companies collaborated to co-develop next-generation nickel-metal hydride HEV batteries for Ford Motor Company and Honda Motor Company Ltd. Volkswagen is aiming to incorporate lithium-ion batteries in its car models as early as 2010. For Sanyo the alliance strengthens its already dominant position in the lithium-ion battery market.
Not to be outwitted by competitors in June 2008 the French based companies PSA Peugeot and Citroen signed an alliance with the Japanese company Mitsubishi Corporation for the development, manufacture and use of lithium-ion batteries in small urban vehicles. Mitsubishi has a joint venture with the Japanese battery company GS Yuasa Corporation, started in December 2007, to manufacture large capacity and high performance lithium-ion batteries.
Ford Motors, an American car maker, also began an alliance in lithium-ion batteries with the power utility company Southern California Edison. Started in July 2007, the aim of the partnership is to advance the development of rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles. Strategically the alliance is important because Ford's next generation of plug-in hybrids are designed to use lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged by car owners using regular household electrical outlets. Ford and Southern California Edison are working together to design testing procedures for the new vehicles, and aim to test up to 20 plug-in hybrid cars within 10 years. Another objective of the alliance is to explore whether the batteries used in the cars can be put to other uses, so reducing their cost, and enabling them to be used when the vehicle comes to the end of its life.
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