Thursday, July 24, 2008

Green cars in line for better lithium-ion batteries

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The lithium-ion battery, already a fixture in personal electronic devices, soon will become the answer to high oil prices and environmental concerns as it bulks up to power rechargeable electric vehicles, government, university and industry panelists predicted Monday.

But although the technology shows great promise, battery makers worldwide still are grappling with high costs, the impact of charging and depletion on battery life, keeping the batteries cool and other issues, according to panelists at the Plug-In 2008 conference in San Jose.

Tien Duong, who works in emerging battery technology with the U.S. Department of Energy, told the group he believes lithium-ion batteries are ready to start displacing the nickel-metal-hydride batteries now used in many hybrid gas-electric vehicles.

Full Story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25803020/

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