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01/02/2007
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Future batteries for electric and hybrid powertrains will have to be small, light and a lot more powerful than they are now, writes Roger Bishop.
To this end, a German company has developed a lithium-ion starter battery weighing just 2.5kg that uses a separators made from an ultra-thin ceramic composite material. A conventional starter battery weighs 15 to 20kg.
The separator technology, known as Separion, is the brainchild of scientists at Degussa. The company also contributed high efficiency electrodes and electrolyte additives.
The new separators are said to make lithium-ion cells significantly more powerful and much safer. The cells have, for example, passed without any problem the extremely exacting overcharge and nail penetration tests. When conventional separator materials were used there were instances of smoke development and in some cases outbreaks of fire.
The new batteries are now being used in a racing car from British manufacturer Lotus but the technology clearly has implications for the mainstream automotive sector and, perhaps, hybrid vehicles with electric powertrains that store regenerative braking energy.
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Author
Roger Bishop
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