Nano-based Lithium Battery for Hybrids Closer

Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. reports that its battery research and development team successfully completed a testing program for lithium-ion battery cells containing Altairnano’s nano-structured lithium titanate electrode materials.

“The test results demonstrated that the performance of these lithium-ion battery cells exceed the system-level power requirements set forth by the U.S. Council for Automotive Research FreedomCAR Energy Storage System Performance Goals for hybrid electric vehicle, as well as those requirements published by major U.S. automakers,” said Evan House, Ph.D., program director, altairnano’s advanced materials and power systems business unit.

The battery cells developed for HEV applications demonstrate a useable state-of-charge range twice that of conventional nickel-metal hydride batteries presently used in hybrid electric vehicles. Nano-structured lithium titanate electrode materials offer a near-term promise of lithium-ion batteries that exhibit rapid charge and discharge, longer cycle life and more inherently safe performance than either currently available nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion batteries. These results support the feasibility of a power lithium-ion battery pack half the size of those currently being tested for HEV applications.

“We believe this phase of our testing program provides enough data to demonstrate that lithium-ion batteries utilizing our nano-structured battery electrode materials can have both the energy and power densities that exceed those of the nickel metal hydride batteries currently being used in HEVs,” said Altairnano president Alan J. Gotcher, Ph.D.

The battery testing programs for applications targeting HEVs and electric vehicles are under way at a specially equipped facility located in the company’s corporate headquarters in Reno, Nevada.