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Paraffin mix paves way for cooler electric car batteries

David Meyer — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 08:30:50 +0000

Electric vehicles may fast be moving from the future to the present, but there are still several elements that need to evolve before they become ubiquitous. The big one is the battery, which is thankfully attracting a lot of research. And while the development of better capacity and charging time tends to be the main focus, a new coolant called CryoSolplus looks to be a breakthrough result of a different kind.

CryoSolplus is made out of water, paraffin, surfactants and a touch of anti-freeze. It was developed by researchers at one of Germany’s Fraunhofer institutes, and it promises significant benefits over both air and water cooling.

Most importantly, the researchers say, it extends the life of electric car batteries. When these batteries can account for as much as half the cost of the vehicle, the importance of better coolants becomes obvious.

“The main problem we had to overcome during development was to make the dispersion [the coolant] stable,” said Tobias Kappels, a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology.

At the moment, not all electric cars employ cooling, including those where the battery gets swapped out at service stations for charged replacements. But most of those that do tend to use air, which is not very good at absorbing and conducting heat, forcing engineers to leave large spaces between the battery’s cells to allow circulation. Water is better at dealing with heat, but requires a limited supply to be carried around in a tank.

Space-saving

According to the Fraunhofer scientists, the tank can be much smaller with CryoSolplus, as the substance is around three times better than water at absorbing heat. In other words, compared with both air and water, it’s a big space-saver.

The reason it’s better at absorbing heat is the use of paraffin: as the heat comes in, the paraffin droplets melt; as it leaves, the droplets solidify again. This is where the surfactants, or ‘stabilizing tensides’, come in — they stop the paraffin from collecting and clogging up the pipes.

CryoSolplus is still very much in development, so don’t expect it to be cooling your car’s battery just yet. The researchers are still optimizing its heat capacity, heat transfer and flow capabilities, and they’ve not actually conducted field tests in a car yet.

However, the Fraunhofer folks seem adamant that the substance will keep battery temperatures “within an acceptable range even in extreme driving situations.” As a summer drive can push today’s electric car batteries well over the 95 degree (35C) ‘comfort zone’ upper limit, that would mean much longer-lasting batteries than the ones found today.

And in turn, that may mean cheaper and greener electric cars.

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There’s a severe oversupply of electric car batteries comin’

Katie Fehrenbacher — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:44:20 +0000

The supply of batteries for electric vehicles could far surpass the demand for electric vehicles over the next few years, estimates Lux Research. Lux calls it a “severe mismatch,” and one that will cause consolidation, the need for increased partnerships between battery makers and auto manufacturers, and the need for new markets for battery makers to sell into.

Part of the reason for the oversupply of EV batteries is simple: The market for electric cars is looking like it’s going to be a lot smaller than predicted, at least in the short term. The crunched market is something battery maker Ener1, which had a deal with electric car maker Think, and Johnson Controls, which has a battery partnership with Saft, have discussed publicly. Johnson Controls is looking to end, or expand, its deal to work on EV batteries with Saft, because it wants to pursue the power grid battery market. And Ener1 cut its losses on its investment and partnership with Think, partly because the EV market was looking slower than expected. Think eventually went bankrupt.

At the same time that the EV market is looking tiny, battery makers have been expanding capacity substantially for making EV batteries and new battery makers have been moving into the EV market. But Lux says even if oil prices jump to $200 per barrel, which could cause the EV market to grow substantially by 2020, five of the leading battery makers — LG Chem, GS Yuasa, SB LiMotive, AESC, and Sanyo — would have enough capacity to manufacture far more than needed to cover that market. That means there will be dozens of battery makers with way too much supply, particularly if gas prices remain low.

In fact, Lux predicts there will be only a few winners in the EV battery market, and some of the ones already ahead include LG Chem, SB LiMotive, and Chinese makers China BAK, China Aviation Lithium Battery (CALB), and BYD. Lux also gives Envia Systems props for its innovative technology and GM backing — there will be room for small, innovative tech developers to do licensing deals and be acquired, says Lux.

On the other hand, Lux says A123 Systems and Ener1 face “an uphill climb” — marking both of them as “caution.” Lux also issued caution takes for International Battery, K2 Energy Solutions, Valence Technology, Leyden Energy, Electrovaya, and gave a “strong caution” to Altair Nanotechnologies (ouch).

There are a few ways for these battery makers to survive the coming market crunch and consolidation. One is to find new partnerships — because the market is so immature, the partnerships that are already in place are relatively tenuous. Another survival method will be to find battery markets outside of pure EVs, like hybrid vehicles, e-bikes, and the power grid.

But there will be a significant amount of losers in the market. As an anonymous president of a battery material company says in the Lux report:

“If someone wants us to build out capacity, what happens if no one use it? If we return to just phones and laptops, then my investors are looking for new management because we’re bankrupt.”

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Battle of the Batteries: Comparing Electric Car Range, Charge Times

Josie Garthwaite — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 07:00:27 +0000

Your mileage will vary — that’s one of the basic truths about driving, and it’s not about to change for electric vehicles. Depending on the climate, terrain, your driving style, vehicle maintenance and other factors, you can eke out, more or less, miles per gallon of gasoline. With electric vehicles, these factors will affect how far you can drive before it’s time to plug in and juice up.

With a gas station always at hand, it’s easy not to sweat how many miles you get on a full tank of gas. But with the upcoming generation of plug-in vehicles, automakers are battling what’s commonly referred to as “range anxiety” — prospective buyers’ valid concern that they might get stuck with a fast-depleting battery without a charge point in sight. As these vehicles have progressed through the development process, some data and anecdotes have emerged about how real-world performance compares to the range promised for various models.

Most recently, BMW found in a survey of drivers participating in its demo of the electric Mini E last week that the model’s range has been coming in with about a third fewer miles than the automaker had estimated. Here’s the rundown on 12 upcoming and currently available plug-in models, their batteries and charge times, and some hints on what to expect as electric cars hit the road.

Vehicle	Battery	Claims	Real World?
BMW Mini E	35 kWh lithium ion. Air cooled.	Range: 156 miles (ideal conditions), 109 miles (normal city driving), 96 miles (normal highway driving). Charge time: 26 hours at 110V/12 amp outlet. 4.5 hours at 240V/32 amp. 3 hours at 240V/48 amp.	Drivers in BMW’s demo fleet have gotten closer to 100-110 miles per charge. In below-freezing temperatures, range has dropped in some cases to 55-80 miles.
Chevy Volt	16 kWh (plus 1.4L gas engine). Liquid cooled. Lithium manganese cells from LG Chem.	Electric range: 40 miles. Total range: “Hundreds of miles.“Charge time: 10 hours at 120V, 4 hours at 240V.	Former GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has said he got 28 miles worth of juice from the battery when he drove a Volt for a weekend in Detroit last winter, explaining that the car’s range, “can vary on any given day depending on temperature, terrain, driving conditions and so forth.”
Coda Sedan	34 kWh	Range: 90-120 miles. Charge time: <6 hours at 240V.	Expect data to start rolling in later this year when the car launches in California.
Fisker Karma	22.6 kWh (plus 2.0L gas engine). Lithium ion cells from A123 Systems.	Electric range: 50 miles. Total range: 300 miles.	Unknown. Expect more info during the next six months, as the Karma’s slated to launch in September 2010. As with the Tesla Roadster, Karma drivers tempted by the model’s sports car aspects may sacrifice some electric range for sportier performance.
Ford Focus EV	23 kWh. Lithium ion tri-metal cells from LG Chem.	Range: 75 miles (prototype) Charge time: 6-8 hours at 230V.	Unknown. Fleet trials underway; launch slated for late 2011.
Mitsubishi iMiEV	16 kWh	Range: 80 miles (half that if the heater’s used). Charge time: 12-13 hours at 110V, 7 hours at 220V, 2.5 hours fast charge.	Some reviewers driving at highway speeds and in mountainous terrain have drained the battery after about 55 miles.
Nissan LEAF	24 kWh	Range: 100 miles (city driving). Charge time: 8 hours at 220V. 80 percent charge in 30 mins with fast charge.	Darryl Siry, adviser to Coda Automotive and former Marketing VP for Tesla Motors, takes issue with Nissan’s 100-mile claim, as it’s based on the optimistic scenario of driving in stop-and-go city traffic in temperate climates. Expect data from earliest buyers and lessees by year’s end.
Smart Fortwo ED	16.5 kWh lithium ion	Range: 85 miles.Charge time: 3.5-8 hours, depending on starting charge level and voltage used (100V or 220V).	In early 2008, the UK’s Top Gear eked out only 22 miles in a road test “before the indicator was reading a paltry 30 per cent.” Update: Smart said the car in this test “was probably ill.”
Tesla Model S	42 kWh standard (larger premium batteries optional)	Range: 160 miles base model (230-300 miles with premium pakcs). Charge time: 3-5 hours at 220V/70 amp, 80 percent charge in 45 mins at 440V.	Unknown. Deliveries scheduled to begin in 2012.
Tesla Roadster	56 kWh lithium cobalt. Liquid cooled.	Range: 220 miles (combined city/highway). Charge time: 3.5 hours at high power.	Driven like the sports car that it is, the Roadster has delivered closer to 95-120 miles of range. Driven conservatively, the Roadster has in some cases delivered about 140 miles of range. Update: There are also examples of the Roadster getting much more range – in one instance up to 313 miles.
Think City	24.5 kWh lithium ion batteries from Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel.	Range: 160 kilometers (about 99.4 miles) in Europe’s ECE-R101 drive cycle. 112 miles for the U.S. market. Charge time: 8 hours at 110V. Working on 80 percent charge in 15 mins at 220V with Aerovironment.	Think City models sold in Europe have come with options to use either a sodium-based battery (designed for use in very hot or very cold climates) or lithium-ion. Drivers with the sodium battery reportedly have encountered few problems even after thousands of charging cycles.
Toyota Plug-in Prius	Three 96-cell lithium-ion battery packs: one main pack for hybrid operation and two sub-packs for all-electric mode.	Electric range: About 13 miles, depending on conditions and driving style. Charge time: About 3 hours at 110V, 100 minutes at 200V.	Demo vehicles now undergoing testing.
Volvo Electric C30	24 kWh	Range: 150 kilometers (about 93.2 miles) New European Driving Cycle. Charge time: <8 hours at 230V, 16 amp	50-vehicle test fleet slated for Sweden.

Images courtesy of the automakers

Toshiba to Boost EV Battery Production by 2010

Josie Garthwaite — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 23:00:09 +0000

The global market for electric vehicle batteries could grow to $19 billion by 2010, and Japan’s Toshiba Corp. wants an ample piece of it. The electronics giant stepped up the race to supply rechargeable batteries to automakers with news that it plans to build a second factory for its rapid-charge lithium-ion battery. Toshiba designed the so-called SCiB (Super Charge ion Battery) for cars and industrial equipment. It expects construction of the plant to begin next fall, with batteries coming off the assembly line in 2010.

Today’s announcement comes just a week after more than a dozen U.S. tech companies formed a coalition in an effort to compete with dominant Asian battery makers. With Panasonic and Sanyo joining forces last week, and Toshiba staying on track with its production schedule, Japan’s powerhouses, at least, are ready for the American group.

Toshiba’s latest move confirms the game plan it laid out for the SCiB battery just over a year ago: “Application in hybrid cars is also planned,” the company said last December, “with the intent of extending application to electric cars in the future, after advancing development of a high-performance SCiB cell.” This fall, Toshiba snagged its first supply agreement for the battery in a deal with Schwinn for electric bicycles.

A city in northwest Japan, Kashiwazaki, ranks as Toshiba’s “primary candidate” for the new factory, according to today’s release. Kashiwazaki offers subsidies for green car technology, and has applied for recognition under Japan’s “PHEV town” program, which would qualify it for incentives to build out hybrid and electric vehicle infrastructure.

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ExxonMobil Boosts Battery Biz With $325M South Korean Plant

Craig Rubens — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:30:41 +0000

ExxonMobil is reportedly set to invest some of its record-breaking oil profits into cleantech technologies with plans for $325 million plant in South Korea that will make parts for lithium-ion batteries for cars. TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K., ExxonMobil’s Japanese battery subsidiary, broke ground yesterday for a new the plant southeast of Seoul; it will manufacture the battery separator films that are critical to lithium battery development. Production, which is due to start next year, is expected to yield about 30 million square meters of film annually.

As demand for lithium-ion vehicular batteries has exploded, battery makers have been struggling to keep up. Currently many of the battery manufacturers in South Korea import their precious separator films from Japan. The country reportedly exported about 100 billion won (about $76 million) in 2006 to purchase those films. This new plant will provide much needed domestically produced film to South Korean battery makers like LG Chem, which has a contract with South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai, to provide next-gen lithium-ion batteries for Hyundai’s first hybrid, a Sonata sedan, expected in 2010.

ExxonMobil started showing off its new separator film at last year’s Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exposition and then debuted the latest iteration of the films specifically for vehicle batteries in May at the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference. The company says the film is made of high heat-resistant polymers allowing for safer, more efficient batteries.

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