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Lithium-ion Battery

January 13th, 2007 | Posted in: Battery

The Volt is designed to use new lithium-ion battery packs, which hold a charge longer than the nickel metal hydride batteries currently in use. One problem is that these are known to overheat and catch fire. They are however lighter and already in widespread use in consumer electronics such as laptops and cell phones.

There is much talk on the blog circuit about the battery required for the Volt not being available.  Apparently an issue is the durability of Li-ion batteries, how long will they last? and cost, can a battery pack of this magnitude be manufactured fro a price that will be affordable.  Certainly the rapid advancement of technology and the commensurate price point drops that occur along with it will definitely make this happen, the question is when?

Posted by: Lyle

6 Responses to “Lithium-ion Battery”


  1. Cllr Martin Seymour
    Vote -1 Vote +1Cllr Martin Seymour     Says:
    January 15th, 2007 at 11:52 am

    Yes the question is only one of cost. The technology has been in use for some time in Tesla’s wonderful (if pricey) Roadster.

    An alternative could be Double Carbon batteries which are far more environmentally friendly on decommissioning after use.

    The real point of this full range, full performance car is the separation of the drive train from the fuel (whether it be sun-light, wind, hydrogen, used burger bar oil or what ever). Details of which battey / which fuel will change over time but the concept is a real and necessary turning point in independant motoring.  

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  2. LJ
    Vote -1 Vote +1LJ     Says:
    January 15th, 2007 at 7:16 pm

    Councilor
    Thanks for your interesting comment. It seems GM is ready to go production with this vehicle and a mainstream price is needed. Id bet they are planning to go with the best existing technology. I agree that many future options will be able to sub-in as the fuel source and the battery.

    This Double Carbon battery sounds interesting, are you referring to the nanofiber battery under development?  

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  3. Cllr Martin Seymour
    Vote -1 Vote +1Cllr Martin Seymour     Says:
    January 17th, 2007 at 9:21 am

    Probably. Carbon Nanotube Ultracapacitors (not strictly batteries).

    Double irony – carbon may be the answer to carbon emmissions and the GM Volt could end the dominance of Alessandro Volta’s battery design.

    There is a small unquoted company called the Double Carbon Batterey Company that clalms to have product ready for market. (Just ripe for a big car company to snap it up!)  

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  4. Don Raptor
    Vote -1 Vote +1Don Raptor     Says:
    March 15th, 2007 at 10:29 pm

    The Battery that is being incoporated in the Volt is NOT the same battery that is in a Laptop!! The newest 123 Battery is a Nano type battery that does not have the same fire hazard characteristics of an older laptop type battery. These batteries will NOT EXPLODE if dropped. This is the newest generation Lithium battery, safer, and will charge in minutes instead of hours without any Thermal Issues. I have been abusing a very close cousin of these batteries for over a year and have of yet gotten any of them to catch fire. If shorted these newest batteries have an internal disk that shorts and disables the batteries. It takes a lot of overvoltage and abuse to make these batteries pop the internal disk. They also do not suffer the extreme heat issues that the Laptop Lithium batteries experience. They have a cycle life that far Exceeds any nicad or nickle metal battery I have ever seen!  

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  5. storm connors
    Vote -1 Vote +1storm connors     Says:
    March 28th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

    The need for Li Ion batteries is total BS. This is a hybrid! Would Sealed Lead Acid batteries that had to be replaced every 5 years at $1,000 and only go 30 miles on battery power really be inferior to a “lifetime” battery that would go 40 miles and cost $20,000? Build the damned car now instead of waiting for advances that may never come.  

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  6. Anatole Maher
    Vote -1 Vote +1Anatole Maher     Says:
    August 26th, 2009 at 3:34 pm

    In our local paper today there was an article that some airlines want to prohibit cargos of lithium ion batteries, several small ones have caught on fire. All of these batteries were non-rechargeable. It was stated that rechargeable ones, such as proposed for the Chevy Volt are less dangerous
    Of course one has to compare the hazard of a 400 lb lithium iron battery against that of 80 lbs or more of gasoline, the latter has been used for many years.  

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