Toshiba Lithium-ion breakthrough offers hybrid hope
This is a revised post from a month ago on a previous blog I’ve since discontinued. I thought it was interesting enough to rehash and share again:
Toshiba says it has developed a Lithium-ion battery that can charge to 80 per cent capacity in about 60 seconds and to full within a few minutes. This is a significant breakthrough, and while it could pose a setback for direct-methanal fuel cells for use in electronics products, more important — and immediate — is Toshiba’s plan to use this new battery technology in future hybrid-electric cars.
“Initial applications will be in the automotive and industrial sectors… For example, the battery’s advantages in size, weight and safety highly suit it for a role as an alternative power source for hybrid electric vehicles,” the company said, adding that it will bring the technology to commercial products sometime in 2006.
If this battery lives up to the promise of being able to recharge 60 times faster than current Lithium-ion technology, the impact could be dramatic. One can imagine future hybrid vehicles having a plug-in option, allowing for quick recharge before hitting the road and giving the owner the option of minimizing gasoline use. One could also imagine, in addition to regenerative breaking, hybrid car batteries being recharged through solar cells integrated into car rooftops and hoods. If your car is sitting in an outdoor parking lot all day while you’re at work, why shouldn’t those hours of sunlight go toward topping up your battery?
Compelling stuff.
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
