Posted on 11/28/2007 4:12:21 AM PST by thackney
Exxon Mobil Corp. believes it has found an answer to a problem that has bedeviled the auto industry in recent years: using rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, like those found in cell phones and laptops, to power cars and trucks.
This weekend, at a conference in Anaheim, Calif., Exxon Mobil will unveil a super-thin plastic sheeting the company says can improve the power, safety and reliability of lithium-ion batteries for use in automobiles.
Exxon Mobil considers the film a breakthrough because it allows battery makers to build smaller and cheaper battery systems — removing key obstacles that have kept automakers from building hybrid and electric vehicles on a wide scale.
"That desire to use batteries that are more powerful and lighter is something that the auto companies have yearned for for years," said Jim Harris, senior vice president at Exxon Mobil Chemical Co., a Houston unit of the Irving-based energy giant.
Today, most vehicles have toaster-sized nickel-metal hydride batteries under the hood. But battery makers and auto manufacturers have begun turning their attention to lithium-ion batteries because they are smaller, lighter, able to hold a charge longer and have a higher energy density.
"It's the natural next step for advanced battery technology," said Brian Corbett, a spokesman for General Motors Corp., which is developing models like the Chevrolet Volt that incorporate lithium-ion batteries.
Safety issues First introduced by Sony in 1991, lithium-ion batteries were designed to help slim down portable electronics devices. But automakers have struggled to adapt them for vehicles because of operational limitations, high costs and safety issues.
Last year, 6 million Sony lithium-ion batteries in Dell and Apple notebook computers were recalled because of overheating that in some instances resulted in fires.
That recall gave a boost to companies working on improving lithium-ion batteries, including Exxon Mobil Chemical, which has 20 years of experience in the field, and Boston-based Optodot Corp., which has also developed a separator film for lithium-ion batteries.
Separator films are membranes that keep the battery's positive and negative fields, which are wrapped in a jelly-roll configuration, from touching.
Exxon Mobil developed its film with Japanese affiliate Tonen Chemical. Invented in research labs at Exxon Mobil's Baytown complex, the film is the first to squeeze multiple layers of plastic into a single white sheet the width of a human hair.
The added layers enable the batteries to run at higher temperatures — and produce more power — while still protecting them from overheating, company officials said. It also incorporates features that cause it to shut down if there is a short circuit in the battery.
Exxon Mobil sees the separator film technology as more than just a chance to green up its image. Company officials said there is a legitimate business motive for pursuing the technology.
"Clearly, hybrid and electric vehicles are going to play a role in the future, and we want to be a part of that," Harris said.
This year, Americans will buy 354,000 hybrid vehicles, accounting for about 2 percent of total U.S. auto sales, according to J.D. Power and Associates in Troy, Mich. By 2012, hybrid sales will grow to 1 million, or nearly 6 percent of the market, the firm projects.
A hybrid, like the Toyota Prius, combines a gasoline engine with an electric motor to achieve better fuel economy and lower emissions than vehicles with only a traditional internal combustion engine.
But hybrids still cost roughly $3,000 more than their gas-powered counterparts, and can weigh up to 900 pounds more, leading to sluggish performance.
More practical If Exxon's film separator can reduce the costs and weight of battery systems, then hybrids could become more than a niche market, said Erich Merkle, auto analyst with IRN, an industry research firm in Grand Rapids, Mich.
"Quite honestly, that's the type of thing that's going to make hybrids much more practical, because right now there's some real economic factors that hold hybrid sales back," he said.
Exxon Mobil is working with the leading battery manufacturers to incorporate its film separator technology, Harris said. To date, the company has only produced test batches of the film but has the capability to begin mass production through its affiliate in Japan, he said.
Among the biggest lithium-ion battery manufacturers are Japan's Sony, South Korea's Samsung and Johnson Controls in Milwaukee, Wis.
But when asked if Exxon Mobil had contracts with those companies, Harris sidestepped, promising only that there is more news to come.
Interesting. Maybe the wasted heat can be put to good use. Too bad sterling engines are so bulky.
Ping...
This development, along with the new thin solar sheeting that can replace heavy solar panels on buildings, may finally signal the end of the oil era. With oil supplies currently in the hands of our enemies, we should welcome these break-through technologies.
bump
That includes environmentalists and democrats in this country. We should produce our own resources.
high energy density is the key.
Yes, it's called the Ford Pinto.
“high energy density is the key.”
Kind of like Algore, or more like Cheryl Crow?
Am I the only one thats skeptical about this? Batteries require a chemical reaction in order to work. That is ions must attach themselves to anodes and cathoses. Clearly the ions must be in some sort of solution (or emulsion) to be available for that. No one seems to notice the amount of chemical needed in a battery when the battery powers a flashlight or mp3 player. But I wonder how big a battery must be (with all of the chemicals) in order to move a one-ton auto 200-300 miles (up and down hills). I simply don’t believe that you can downsize a battery and get that sort of power from it.
And by "performance" they mean gas mileage.
But will they have any power?
Adam Smith was right, the “invisible hand” works
“”You do realize that electric cars have been around for a very long time, don’t you? Some countries even have battery powered buses. By going this thin, the surface area of the anodes and cathodes become huge compared to traditional batteries of similar volumes.””
You still haven’t addressed the basic issue...its the chemicals that contain the ions that need to be greater in size...not the anodes and cathodes. Thats why you can’t downsize the batteries.
I thought you basic doubt was the ability to have an automobile powered by a battery. That has been done quite a while ago. The Tesla's range is 245 miles. This battery is just an improvement.
Personally I would like to see the car body itself a solar cell but would not appear as so, it can be painted with a certain paint to simulate colors or graphics, just the car sitting in a car lot, shopping mall lot, at work or at home it can charge into a local grid.
Painting over a solar cell is going to block the light used to power the solar cell.
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