Secret, horizontal lithium mines being dug in Canada

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in , North America There is a general consensus that the world’s lithium supplies are quite plentiful, with the metal found in Argentina , Bolivia and Russia , to name just a few places. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t some shady mining going on to find more of the stuff that is regularly seen as the most important advanced vehicle battery material for the coming decades. For example, there is a lithium rush going on in West Quebec, Canada that has some property owners discovering “unknown prospectors drilling horizontally onto their land in their search for minerals.” Yikes

EnerDel shows off battery production facility, plans for $237 million expansion

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Volvo , AutoblogGreen Exclusive , Th!nk (Think) EnerDel’s Fisher, IN facility - Click above for high-res image gallery Enerdel’s announcement of a big investment to make more lithium-ion batteries in Indiana - $237 million for the company’s third site in the state - gave Governor Mitch Daniels a chance to explain how his state can go through the same transformation on the advanced powertrain front that he himself has. “I’ve always been an internal combustion guy,” he said, “but I have been converted in every way to electric vehicles. They drive great, by the way.” The Governor was also confident that, “Indiana can be the capitol of this new industry.” Yes, the city that is home to the Indianapolis 500 is getting a lot of plug-in vehicle attention

Detroit preview: Details emerge about the Fiat 500 EV, maybe

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Chrysler , Fiat , Detroit Auto Show Fiat 500 - click above for high-res image gallery For the first time in living memory, Chrysler / Fiat won’t be holding a press conference at the Detroit Auto Show , which starts next week, and hasn’t given any confirmation of what it will be showing. However, it has been strongly rumored that one of the few new vehicles on display will be an all-electric version of the Fiat 500 .

Russia to get lithium battery production courtesy of Thunder Sky

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Manufacturing/Plants , China Looking to fill a gap in its energy technology profile, Russia is to get its first lithium ion battery production facility with a little help from China’s Thunder Sky Energy Group Ltd . The Russian Corporation of Nanotechnologies ( RUSNANO ), an entity formed to advance projects with “high commercial potential or social benefit,” has teamed up with the prolific battery maker to build a plant in Novosibirsk that will supply lithium ion-based energy storage for electric transportation, communications and other markets

Expert says lithium ion batteries better for hybrids than full EVs

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in , Hybrid Low-cost electric cars are waiting on nothing but a simple battery breakthrough. That’s been the long-held opinion of many experts for the last, oh, 50 years or so

Renault-Nissan announces location of lithium battery plant in Portugal

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Manufacturing/Plants , Nissan , Renault Renault and Nissan made it known many months ago that they intended to build lithium ion battery plants in Europe to supply all of the electric vehicles that they will be introducing in the next several years. The first battery plant will be going to Portugal and will be located at an existing Renault complex 155 miles north of Lisbon. The plant will have an initial capacity of supplying packs for 50,000 vehicles a year from 2012.

Porsche announces lithium ion starter battery

Filed under: Porsche Lithium ion batteries are all the rage these days with so many manufacturers planning to use them for hybrid and battery electric vehicles. Porsche today announced that it will be the first automaker to offer a lithium ion starter battery for conventional vehicles. The new battery will be available as an option for the 911 GT3, 911 GT3 RS and Boxster Spyder.

Mercedes-Benz to get €9M from German government for electric vans

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Mercedes Benz The German environment ministry has awarded Mercedes-Benz a grant of up to €9 million a field test of battery electric Sprinter vans. The money will be used to fund the research and development of the vans as well as the construction and deployment. Mercedes will produce up to 50 plug-in Sprinters that have no internal combustion powertrain at all

Renault partners with Atomic Energy Commission to build batteries in France

Filed under: EV/Plug-in , Renault The French half of the Renault-Nissan Alliance has reached an agreement with two partners to develop and produce lithium ion batteries in France. Renault, the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the French Strategic Investment Fund (FSI) will create a joint venture for EV batteries

REPORT: Bolivia will make its own lithium-ion batteries by 2018

Filed under: Emerging Technologies , EV/Plug-in , South/Latin America Asia and Michigan, watch out.

Next Page »

AutoGreen Latest

• Report: Feds probing Prius’ unintended acceleration incident, no new recall issued
• Do it for the kids us: vote in Treehugger’s 2010 Readers’ Choice Awards
• KAIST’s On Line Electric Vehicle draws energy from the road, now in use in S. Korea
• Ballard gets $6.2M in DOE funding for non-automotive fuel cells
• Owning an Electric Car prepares and enlightens
• AT&T agrees to buy at least two Ford Transit Connect Electric vans
• Turbocharging helps grow CNG vehicle market in Europe
• Second-gen Prius involved in unintended acceleration incident in CA
• eBay find of the Day: all-electric 1966 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa conversion
• Report: Nissan has 56,000 pre-orders for all-electric Leaf
• Volkswagen gets recognition for efficiency of its TSI engines
• A short history of recent plug-in vehicles, courtesy of CalCars
• BMW: Actually, we’re planning on more than 200 ActiveE units for the U.S.
• Report: Audi working on successor to A2 with electric drivetrain?
• Aston Martin: Cygnet helps us offer a "more sustainable product line-up"
• Mercedes picks Oscars to roll out S400 Hybrid ads