Elon Musk rips into Nissan Leaf’s "primitive" batteries

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Nissan , Tesla Motors If there’s ever going to be a green car cage match, we can guarantee that one of the fighters will be Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, who apparently can’t pass up the chance to take on an competitor. His latest target? The lithium-ion battery pack in the Nissan Leaf , about which Musk had some critical things to say in a conference call with investors this week.

Nissan asking prospective Leaf owners how long battery warranty should be [w/Poll]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Nissan Carmakers don’t typically ask prospective customers how long the warranty should be on their new car.

Executives online for live webchat at 4pm today to discuss Chevy Volt battery news

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Chevrolet , GM Later today, General Motors will make some announcements* regarding the battery pack in the Chevrolet Volt . Volt marketing director Tony DiSalle and vehicle line director Tony Posawatz will be hitting the keyboards this afternoon to answer any questions from readers about the news. General Motors’ massive battery lab in Warren, MI has been cycling battery packs for more than two years through accelerated tests in order to have confidence that the packs will last for 10 years and 150,000 miles

Univ. of California issues $992K grant to study in-home use of EV batteries

Filed under: Etc. , EV/Plug-in , Green Daily A recurring question in the plug-in vehicle world goes something like this: When an electrical vehicle (EV) battery can no longer provide adequate power and range in its primary role of propulsion, then what? More specifically, what else are these partially spent batteries still capable of powering

Pentagon says Afghanistan might have world’s largest lithium deposits

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in The phrase “the Saudi Arabia of X” is not unheard of in the green car industry, with Shai Agassi telling Australia to become the Saudi Arabia of plug-in cars and Bolivia having the potential to become the Saudi Arabia of lithium . Bolivia might soon have some competition for that title with the recent Pentagon announcement that Afghanistan could have as much as $1 trillion worth of untapped mineral deposits and maybe the world’s largest lithium deposits

With new plants in China and Europe, EnerDel to triple li-ion production by end of 2011

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Manufacturing/Plants , Europe/EU , China EnerDel Inc. announced plans to open li-ion battery plants in both China and Europe in an effort to triple its battery production by the end of 2011 and meet the expected demand of new partnerships. Though the company currently holds deals with just two automakers ( Think and Volvo ), it plans to announce two additional customers by the end of the year, one hailing from Europe and the other from Asia

Nissan CEO Ghosn breaks ground for lithium ion battery plant

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Nissan Nissan Leaf factory rendering - Click above for high-res image gallery This morning Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn was in Smyrna, Tennessee to break ground for the company’s first lithium ion battery plant outside of Japan. The factory, adjacent to Nissan’s existing vehicle assembly complex there, will have a capacity for 200,000 battery packs annually after it starts production in 2012. The packs will initially be used for the Nissan Leaf , which will be produced alongside the Altima and Maxima in Smyrna

Researchers identify cause of li-ion battery fires, fast-charging an issue

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , Etc. , EV/Plug-in , Green Daily Safety is a common concern as the automotive industry moves towards electric vehicles. In particular, focusing on the potential risks involved with li-ion battery technology is crucial as automakers move away from NiMH packs and towards li-ion storage

Report: Toshiba working with automakers on lithium ion batteries

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in , Hybrid , Honda Toshiba is no stranger to the consumer electronics battery business, but now, like so many other companies, it wants a piece of the burgeoning automotive market. Ryuichi Nakata, head of Toshiba’s grid and battery unit, announced that the company is collaborating with several unidentified automakers to adapt its new super charge ion batteries (SCiB) for use in hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles. Toshiba currently has a plant under construction in northern Japan to produce the new cells

A123 Systems’ struggles highlight how hard it is to go green in America

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Hybrid Massachusetts-based A123 Systems has been one of the rising stars of the lithium battery field in the last several years.

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