GM Fires Up its Chevrolet Volt Battery Factory explains that General Motors began producing the 16 KW lithium-ion battery packs in quantity today. Over 200 individual battery cells are connected in the 400 pound battery pack. Just as GM will not announce the price of the Volt, they will also not disclose the cost of the battery pack. The Wired article estimates somewhere between $8,000 and $16,000 for the battery pack.
Something that has probably bothered most people who have had to replace a laptop computer battery - lithium-ion batteries wear out after a couple of years. How are car manufacturers going to avoid similar lifetimes? Can Smart Tech Keep Chevy Volt's Battery Running Longer Than Your Laptop's explains that the plan is to onl charge the battery to 80% capacity and to disable the battery when it drops to 30% capacity. By severely limiting the charge/discharge depth, electric car vendors hope to achieve a ten-year lifetime. That is the theory. Also, such limited battery usage means the car is carrying dead weight, roughly 50%.
The concept for the Volt is to provide roughly 40 miles of driving range from battery alone. After that, a gas-powered pony motor is started to recharge the battery. With a standard 120 volt power, the Volt can be recharged in about 8 hours. It only takes 3 hours with 240 volt power.
The Department of Energy is is promoting electric vehicles because it is perhaps the fastest transition from petroleum-based transportation to alternative energy. That alternative energy can be solar, wind, natural gas, nuclear, coal, etc., if static power generation is used to recharge batteries. The problem is - batteries have much lower energy density than petroleum and the lifetime and reliability is unknown. Sheeh. There is no good solution. The Department of Energy continues to issue grants and sponsor new battery technology. I hope we get there.
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