Toyota is going to recycle nickel-metal hydride batteries from old hybrids into energy management systems.

See on green.autoblog.com

McKinsey projects battery costs for electric vehicles will come down  enough to make them cost-competitive.  In a decade . . .

It will likely take a decade, but improvements to lithium-ion batteries could lead to much cheaper EVs.

By Kevin Bullis on November 9, 2012

Why It Matters

Electric vehicles could reduce petroleum consumption and curb greenhouse-gas emissions. But that will only be possible with better batteries.

Overcharged: Electric cars like the Nissan Leaf, shown recharging here, are expensive. Cheaper batteries could eventually change that.

There are plenty of reasons why electric cars aren’t catching on, but one problem is certain: the batteries cost far too much.

For electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to compete with gas-powered cars, battery prices need to drop by between 50 and 80 percent, according to recent estimates by the U.S. Department of Energy. Getting there might require inventing entirely new kinds of batteries, but there’s also a strong case that improvements to the lithium-ion batteries that power the current generation of electric vehicles may be enough.

The United States could have the capacity by 2015 to produce enough battery packs for 500,000 cars. But this year, due to high prices, plug-in vehicle sales won’t even reach a tenth of that in the United States. As a result, advanced battery makers in the United States have struggled. A123 Systems went bankrupt. Dow said its battery joint venture Dow Kokam had dropped markedly. And an LG Chem factory meant to supply batteries for the Chevrolet Volt has been built, but the factory is sitting idle, waiting for demand to pick up.

Electric vehicles cost less to operate than gas-powered ones, but that economic advantage largely disappears in the face of expensive batteries. The battery pack for the Chevrolet Volt costs about $8,000. The larger battery in the Nissan Leaf costs about $12,000.

The cost for the Leaf battery could drop to under $4,000 by 2025, according to a recent study by McKinsey, just by increasing the scale of battery production, forcing down component costs through competition, and approximately doubling the energy density of batteries, which reduces materials costs.

One startup, Envia Systems, has already built prototype lithium-ion battery cells that store about twice that of the best conventional lithium-ion batteries and can be recharged hundreds of times (see “A Big Jump in Battery Capacity” and “Should the Government Support Applied Research?”). And crucially, it’s similar enough to conventional lithium-ion batteries that it can be made on existing manufacturing equipment. The technology still needs work, and could take several years to start appearing in cars, the company says.

Jeff Dahn, a lithium-ion battery researcher at Dalhousie University, says cars like the Leaf and Volt use a special type of flat lithium-ion cell that is made with recently developed equipment that is still relatively slow. More conventional cylindrical lithium-ion cells cost roughly half as much to make because they use much faster equipment and are made at a larger scale. Dahn also notes that many of the components, such as a plastic film that separates electrodes in a battery, are overpriced. “You can’t tell me separator cost can’t come down.”

Read more at:  Advances in Lithium-Ion Batteries Will Make Electric Vehicles Competitive, But It Will Take a Decade | MIT Technology Review.

Tesla is on its way to developing a full line of electric vehicles.  Now a stylish SUV.

Electric car maker Tesla has scored a $10 million grant from the California Energy Commission to help it make its next-generation electric SUV/minivan the Model X, Forbes reports. The article says that Tesla will use the grant to hire another 700 workers in 2014, and Tesla will match the grant with $50 million of its own funds.

Tesla unveiled the Model X — a crossover vehicle with “falcon” wing doors (double-hinged doors) that could appeal to women and families — in February of this year. The Model X will be built on the Model S platform and will be priced in the same range as the Model S.

via Tesla scores $10M grant from CA for Model X — Cleantech News and Analysis.

Toyota does not think batteries are good enough for electric vehicles, yet, and so will offer lots of hybrids.  They think there will be lots of fuel cell powered vehicles in 2020s.

TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is boosting its green vehicle lineup, with plans for 21 new hybrids in the next three years, a new electric car later this year, and a fuel cell vehicle by 2015 in response to growing demand for fuel efficient and environmentally friendly driving.Toyota said Monday it will offer an electric compact called eQ, based on its iQ model, in Japan and the United States in December though the number of the vehicles made will be extremely limited — about 100 for special fleet use, according to the company.The car, which will be called the iQ EV in the United States is pricey at $45,000 and has a cruise range of 62 miles.In the United States, an electric version of the Rav-4 sport utility model, which Toyota worked on with US electric vehicle maker Tesla Motors, goes on sale this month.The fuel cell vehicle, which runs on hydrogen to produce electricity, will be offered from 2015.Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is gearing up for expansion after getting battered the last few years by the financial crisis and disasters in northeastern Japan and Thailand that disrupted production.The manufacturer is also counting on its reputation for green technology that it has built with its hit Prius, the world’s leading gas-electric hybrid, to woo buyers and fix its brand battered by the massive recall scandal in the United States a few years ago.But rivals are working on green offerings, too, such as Nissan Motor Co. focusing on its Leaf electric car. Another challenge is that customers in emerging markets, which are driving growth in demand for autos, are still not as interested in hybrids and other fancy — and expensive — technology.Takeshi Uchiyamada, the executive overseeing technology and new model development at Toyota, said the long-term potential for fuel cells was great, compared to electric cars, because of greater cruise range and shorter charging time. He said tens of thousands of fuel cell vehicles were likely to be sold in the 2020s.A good compromise at the moment is the plug-in hybrid, which works as an electric vehicle until the battery runs down, and then switches to its hybrid motor, so there’s less chance of being stranded than with a standard electric car.Toyota has sold 15,600 of the vehicles since launching it this year.Uchiyamada said the positive reception for new technology, such as the hybrid, surprised Toyota, underlining the deep interest the public has in reducing emissions and protecting the environment.Although annual hybrid sales were tiny when the Prius first went on sale in 1997, such sales have grown to more than one million a year worldwide, comprising 10 percent of Toyota’s global sales.In Japan, where green subsidies have been a big plus in recent years, hybrids make up nearly half Toyota’s sales, Uchiyamada said.

via Toyota plans expanded range of hybrids – Business – The Boston Globe.