Green Tech

Lithium ion batteries used as energy storage for utilities will be a $1 billion industry by 2018, according to a report released Wednesday by Pike Research called "Energy Storage Technology Markets."

Much of the lithium ion battery development has been geared toward perfecting the batteries as power sources for electronics, and in recent years, cars. But the alternative energy industry is going to benefit from that research, too. Once that happens, there will be a surge in the sales of industrial-scale lithium ion batteries for power utilities, according to Pike research.

"Utilities will be the downstream beneficiaries of innovation and investment in lithium ion batteries for the transportation sector," Pike Research analyst David Link said in a statement.

The energy storage industry in general is poised to grow as more private and public organizations embrace wind and solar energy worldwide. Because wind and solar systems provide energy in bursts and their cycles are not usually in sync with local peak energy usage hours, power storage when using wind or solar will become an obvious necessity for utilities, according to Pike Research.

Out of eleven methods of energy storage, Pike Research found that lithium ion batteries for utility use will be the fastest growing segment of the storage industry.

Sodium Sulfur (NAS) batteries and kinetic storage systems like pumped hydro and Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) were seen as the next likely leading utility energy storage solutions.

The Watertown, Mass.-based company, which was spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, saw its share prices rise over 50 percent from its offering price to close at over $20.

A123 Systems' battery platform is being used for power tools, transportation, and power grid energy storage.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Through the initial public offering, the company is expected to raise over $400 million, Reuters reported. It had initially hoped to net $250 million but adjusted its offering price to raise more.

A123 Systems' IPO has been closely watched in the green tech community because it is one of only a few energy-related companies started this decade to go public. It currently supplies batteries for power tools and has built large, megawatt-scale batteries for utilities.

It's also eyeing the automotive sector, a potentially much larger market. A123 Systems received a $249.1 million grant from the Department of Energy to build a lithium ion battery packs factory in Michigan as part of a $2.4 billion investment in the plug-in electric car supply chain.

A123 Systems' IPO was the second most successful of the year, Reuters reported. A123 initially filed to go public in August of 2008.

Although it was a strong IPO, some energy storage experts say that lithium ion batteries, which will be used in a number of upcoming plug-in electric vehicles, need to come down in costs significantly for electric cars to be more mainstream.

Volkswagen has a test fleet of 20 plug-in Twin Drive Golfs on the road, but no word on an exact production date.

(Credit: Volkswagen)

Volkswagen may be late to the gate with hybrids and electric cars, but its recent partnership with Chinese automaker and lithium ion battery producer BYD shows that the German car company is a serious contender in the race to supply the masses with an electric car.

Volkswagen has already signed letters of intent with Sanyo and Toshiba as suppliers for electric batteries, and the company is currently exploring an arrangement with BYD to supply VW with lithium ion batteries for its upcoming plug-in and all electric vehicles, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

BYD is one of the largest manufacturers of lithium ion batteries. High demand and cost has made these batteries one of the road blocks to building affordable plug-in and electric vehicles.

However, the battery-maker-turned-car-manufacturer has been able to make stable and durable lithium ion batteries at half the cost of batteries produced in the west and Japan due to its safer, most cost-effective iron-phosphate-based lithium-ion technology.

Battery material made by Gerbrand Ceder and Byoungwoo Kang could lead to quicker charging portable devices.

(Credit: Donna Coveney/MIT)

Engineers at MIT have made a breakthrough that could translate into smaller, lighter, and faster-charging lithium ion batteries, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced Wednesday.

Gerbrand Ceder, the Richard P. Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT; aided by Byoungwoo Kang, a graduate student in materials science and engineering, have made a small battery that can be fully charged or discharged in 10 to 20 seconds.

A detailed explanation on how they did this has been published in the March 12 issue of Nature, but here is a brief recap of what they essentially accomplished.

While lithium ion batteries have high energy densities, they are also known for their inability to gain and discharge energy quickly. That is why it commonly takes hours to recharge the battery on a plug-in electric vehicle.

Electric vehicle proponents have been struggling with this battery issue, some coming up with clever ways around it. Better Place, for example, came up with the idea of drivers saving time by swapping-out discharged car batteries for fully charged ones at electric vehicle stations.

Ceder and Kang experimented with the way lithium ions move in and around lithium iron phosphate, a material commonly used in lithium ion batteries. They worked with it to develop a new surface structure that gets ions to move more quickly from one place to another. They compare their project to building a beltway that goes around a city to avoid traffic, but has tunnels that let you drop in to exactly where you need to be.

"The ability to charge and discharge batteries in a matter of seconds rather than hours may open up new technological applications and induce lifestyle changes," according to Ceder and Kang's paper in Nature.

In addition to being significantly faster, batteries made with their material degraded much less than usual lithium ion batteries after repeated discharges and recharges during testing. Because of that, they believe their batteries could be made with less material making them lighter and smaller.

Because their invention is not a completely new material, but rather a change to the way it's structured, the researchers said in a statement that their material could be implemented into commercial batteries within 2 to 3 years.

One of 22 modules that make up the 16-kWh, 330-volt lithium ion battery pack for the Mitsubishi iMiev. The module contains four battery cells.

(Credit: Mitsubishi Motors)

"Should Uncle Sam provide billions in loans and grants to a promising but unproven business? Or should the government wait for the market to sort things out before it backs a U.S. company?"

Those are questions posed in a BusinessWeek article last week. However, the questions are largely rhetorical: the U.S. Department of Energy already has a $25 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, and many car and battery companies are counting on these loans to aid their development and production of lithium ion batteries.

So it's not a question of "should," it's a question of "how?"

Lithium ion batteries will add at least $8,000 to the price of a production plug-in hybrid vehicle, according to BusinessWeek. However, that amount is probably on the low side when you consider that the Chevy Volt is predicted to cost a bit less than $40,000, a good portion of that price being the battery. Another manufacturer representative estimated that a lithium ion battery currently costs approximately $22,000, effectively putting the electric car out of reach to all but the well-heeled greenies.

The 1-2-3 seater Rinspeed iChange concept car

(Credit: Rinspeed)

Swiss automaker Rinspeed will debut at the 2009 Geneva auto show an electric concept car that changes shape to conform to the number of passengers on board.

The iChange is a lightweight, 4,280mm (approximately 14 feet) EV sports car with a teardrop-like silhouette designed to maximize fuel efficiency for the single passenger. But with the push of a button, the sloped rear of the car pops up to accommodate two additional passengers, if needed.

The concept sports car forgoes doors, opting for a very ADA-unfriendly clamshell roof. Rinspeed is obviously assuming that in the future, women will no longer wear skirts.

General Motors has decided to manufacture its own battery packs for its new electric vehicle, the Chevy Volt.

"GM is getting back in the battery business," CEO Rick Wagoner announced Monday.

The company also announced Monday that it has chosen LG Chem to provide the lithium-ion cells for the battery packs GM plans to manufacture.

GM announced in September that it had chosen a battery supplier, but would not reveal which company that was. LG Chem and A123Systems have long been involved in the development of the lithium-ion cells for the Volt's E-Flex electric drive train. While some speculated on other companies getting the contract, it should be no surprise that one of the developers was chosen to be the supplier.

Monday's announcement follows mixed December news on the Chevy Volt's progress. It was reported that because of the financial crisis facing the company, the plant for the Chevy Volt engine may be put on hold. GM followed that news up with an announcement that bringing the Volt to market is one of the company's highest priorities.

GM's Chevy Volt.

(Credit: GM)

Batteries have long been the technological hurdle in developing electric cars, the major showpieces for many car companies at this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Initially, GM had planned to purchase the battery packs--as well as the cells--from an outside supplier, but eventually it "decided that strategically it's in the company's best interest to move into the pack business," said Bob Kruse, GM's executive director of North American Engineering Operations.

The planned plant will manufacture the T-shaped battery packs for the Chevy Volt, which GM plans to make available by the end of next year. The Volt runs on batteries for 40 miles and then an on-board internal combustion engine runs a generator to recharge the batteries.

GM also tested batteries from A123 Systems, which lost out to LG Chem as a supplier. Kruse said that A123 Systems is in consideration for future work.

Construction of the plant is contingent on GM receiving tax incentives from the state of Michigan to build the facility, Kruse said. Right now, most battery production is done in Asia.

"I think there's an opportunity to create a supply base here in the U.S. but it's going to require some government leadership to say this is strategic," he said.

In tandem with the announcement, GM has also signed a deal with the University of Michigan to open a battery lab in the state. It will be the largest battery lab in the U.S, according to GM.

Automakers are able to work on low volumes of electric cars, but the industry lacks enough skilled personnel to manufacture on a large scale, said Anne Marie Sastry, a professor at the University of Michigan.

CNET News' Martin LaMonica contributed to this report.

A consortium of 14 U.S. technology companies is seeking $1 billion in federal aid to build a factory to manufacture advanced electric car batteries, according to a report Wednesday night by The Wall Street Journal.

Aiming to catch up to Asian battery producers that already dominate the market, the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is described as the most ambitious effort to date to meet automakers' increasing demand for lithium-ion batteries. The report noted that U.S. automakers such as GM and Ford plan to roll out plug-in electric cars by 2010, but that the U.S. lacks sufficient facilities to produce the lithium-ion batteries those cars require.

Batteries are the most expensive component in plug-in electric vehicles, a market being pursued by a few U.S. companies. But battery makers and analysts say that U.S. manufacturers lack the financial means to meet the anticipated demand of electric cars.

Last week, former Intel CEO Andy Grove joined other Silicon Valley elites in advocating for an industry shift into energy technology. Grove told the Journal that he is urging Intel to invest in battery manufacturing as a way to diversify from its core chip business.

Grove said Intel's "strategic objective is tackling big problems and turning them into big businesses." He said Intel, with its cash resources, can invest in battery technology and manufacturing to bring down the cost of car batteries, which would drive adoption of plug-in electric cars.

The Better Place Rogue is an all-electric version of the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.

(Credit: Better Place)

Hawaii has decided to partner with Better Place to bring car battery exchange stations for electric vehicles to the islands, Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced Tuesday.

Better Place stations, similar in concept to gas stations, offer drivers with electric vehicles an automated system that swaps out exhausted lithium ion car batteries for fully-charged ones. The swapping system is intended to be convenient for both drivers and local electric companies, since Better Place can recharge the exhausted batteries with excess electricity generated from renewable sources during off-peak electricity hours.

Lingle said the project is an example of Hawaii's efforts to gain independence from foreign oil, and to stimulate its economy through investment in energy technology.

Not surprising due to its geography, Hawaii spends about $7 billion a year on oil imports with its drivers facing some of the toughest prices at the pump in the U.S. The plan to implement Better Place stations coincides with the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) intended to change that. Signed in January, it sets Hawaii's renewable energy bar at 70 percent clean energy by 2030, as well as encouraging programs that foster local economic growth.

Shai Agassi, founder and CEO of Better Place, was also on hand at the plan unveiling in Hawaii on December 2. According to Agassi, Hawaii is the second state in the U.S., and the fifth place in the world, to adopt the Better Place electric-car infrastructure. Better Place stations have already been implemented in Denmark and Israel, with Australia and California recently announcing intentions to add them.

"Hawaii, with its ready access to renewable energy resources like solar, wind, wave, and geothermal, is the ideal location to serve as a blueprint for the rest of the U.S. in terms of reducing our dependence on foreign oil, growing our renewable energy portfolio and creating an infrastructure that will stabilize our economy," Agassi said in a statement to the press.

Hawaii Electric is also onboard. The state's electric utility signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Better Place which plans to power its public charging and battery-swapping stations with renewable energy resources.

According to the plan, Better Place will pull permits for its stations in 2009, offer electric cars within 18 months, and make both available for the mass-market in Hawaii by 2012.

Better Place has said it's in talks with major automakers and would like to offer swappable batteries for any electric vehicle regardless of which company makes the car. But right now the company's stations only service two electric vehicles: the Renault Megane and the Better Place Rogue, an electric vehicle based on the Nissan Rogue crossover SUV.

Hawaii's plan with Better Place is to install about 20 electric battery-swapping stations across its islands.

(Credit: Better Place)