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March 16th, 2007 at 8:43 am
| GM won’t answer: WHY NOT NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE? Bob Lutz fails to answer Originally sent to BOB LUTZ and KATIE MERX RE: GM shows inner workings of hybrid battery research lab Why did no reporter even ask GM why they don’t use the cheaper, longer-lasting, well-proven, still-running Nickel Metal Hydride (”NiMH”) batteries used in the 1999 EV1, Ranger-EV, Honda EV-plus and still in use in the 2002 Toyota RAV4-EV? In fact, NiMH is the only production EV battery used in all plug-in cars that attained an all-electric range of more than 100 miles for more than 100,000 miles. According to an assessment by the California Air Resources Board, NiMH costs from $225 to $350 per kWh, no more than $13,000 for a large pack for a full EV, including retail profit and all components. The Volt would only need a NiMH pack a third that size; moreover, part of the battery cost would be covered by not having to install a transmission, clutch, etc. Lithium costs $1000 per kWh and up for batteries represented to not have the thermal runaway problem, and even the riskier laptop batteries, with all the economies of mass production of hundreds of millions of batteries, cost over $400/kWh. NiMH does not require expensive research toward an uncertain goal that may never be found; but a Lithium wild goose chase does allow GM to divert attention from the very real existing plug-in EV cars. Why not ask GM’s Bob Lutz: “Why aren’t you using the cheaper, longer-lasting, most-tested, standard Electric car battery pack, the only battery proven to last longer than the life of a car?”. Doug Korthof 562-430-2495 [comment is awaiting moderation] http://www.thecarconnection.com/blog/?p=487 |
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