At Witz' End - It's the Battery, Stupid!

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, At Witz End

Research study says EVs have a tough road ahead

Those of us who love smooth, silent, energy-efficient volt-powered vehicles would love to see them capture a major share of new-car sales ASAP. Only one thing stands in the way:

The battery.

Lithium-ion batteries appear to be on track to power growing numbers of electric vehicle (EVs) from mainstream makers beginning when Nissan's electric Leaf and Chevrolet's range-extender Volt hit the road later this year. Li-ion carries four times the energy of lead-acid (pbA) and twice what nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) can carry. But li-ion is young and unproven in vehicle-size packs, competing chemistry variations offer different trade-offs, and it's expensive.

The Volt has long been rumored to retail for about $40K, and the Leaf will likely come in at a hair under $30K (now that Nissan has decided it will be sold battery included). The Volt should run about 40 miles on its 16 kWh pack - using just half its stored energy to head off safety issues and preserve its life - before its thrifty IC engine kicks in to keep it going. The Leaf promises "up to" 100 miles from its 24 kWh, depending (as always) on temperature, terrain, time of day, speed and driving style.

The going OEM rate for li-ion packs today is an estiimated $1,000-1,200 per kWh. At the lower end of that range, Volt's pack is a $16K bill and Leaf's $24K -- 80 percent of (my) estimated price for the car. Both companies insist they will not pay anywhere near that much, especially once they're building their own packs, but lop that in half to $500/kWh, and it's still $8K and $12K! Continue reading after the jump.

Gallery: 2011 Nissan Leaf

Continue reading At Witz' End - It's the Battery, Stupid!

At Witz' End - It's the Battery, Stupid! originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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