Cheaper Batteries for Hybrid Cars - 10/20/08

http://www.beyondfossilfuel.com/hybrid/cheaper_batteries_102008.html
Cheaper Batteries for Hybrid Cars - 10/20/08
Australia has found a cheaper way to produce more powerful batteries for hybrid cars.

Developed by researchers at the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), is a new type of lead-acid battery. It will replace the nickel metal hydride batteries NiMH currently being used on hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius.

Lead acid batteries are inexpensive, but if they are repeatedly and rapidly discharged and recharged, which happens when used in a hybrid car their plates get coated with chemical deposits. This causes them to wear out faster than NiMH batteries.

Lan Trieu Lam with his team at CSIRO has developed what they call the UltraBattery, which combines a lead acid battery with a super capacitor. This combination will store more energy than a standard lead acid battery and not have the problems with deposits. The capacitor acts as a buffer during the discharging and recharging process allowing the battery to have a life span equal to a NiMH battery.

The new UltraBattery will last four times longer than a NiMH and produce 50% more power.

The test vehicle using the UltraBattery lasted 185,000 km before failing to recharge.

The UltraBattery will cost a third to one quarter of NiMH and one sixth of the lithium-ion batteries used in other electric cars.

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