http://www.gizmag.com/britains-lightning-gt-electric-supercar/9059/

Altairnano has hooked them up

"Nanosafe's Li-ion cells using nano titanate structures instead of traditional graphite give the GT an incredible 250-mile range, a full recharge time of only 10 minutes, and a life expectancy of 12 to 20 years, or 15,000 charge cycles before the battery performance drops significantly (85%)."

Power density of 4000W/kg gives the vehicle a 0-60 in 4 seconds

Wow, who needs EEStor when you've got this shizzle?

Well, looks like they have some work to do. From their website they give these specifications:

Typical energy, 1C at 25°C 116 Wh & 72 Wh/kg

With 72 Wh/kg that car is going to be mostly battery (about 1620 lbs for the Tesla battery pack). Also, Altairnano had some very good promise back in 2005 when they introduced their technology but faded as they were unable to meet their hype. The energy density is horrible and their price is probably worse. However, if they could match the specifications that are listed for that car, which is a big IF, people would be willing to pay double, even triple the cost or more. You see, if they reach that level of performance it starts to enable new technologies that cannot be built today (yes, very much like EEstor). Thus, money is less of an object, especially for the military and the rich. Leno would have no problem dropping a few million dollars for that performance nor would Uncle Sam.

So, based on past Altairnano performance (company not battery) I cry BS until we see those new super batteries. Heck, don't even tell us the price. I don't care, I want that battery!




P.S. The car is nice but with that battery we could turn Hummers green.

2005 was an eternity ago in battery development years, the energy density isn't that big of an issue for vehicles like the Volt that only need 40 miles. Remember, the real energy density has to be based on USABLE energy density, so the batteries in the Volt are effectively half of the energy per cell because GM can only use 8kWh of the 16kWh. It also makes the batteries effectively cost twice as much per kWh and have half of the power density. They would be in good shape if they really get 15,000 cycles. If that's true, even if you charge these twice a day, 365 days a year for 20 years, you still have over 85% of the battery. Besides, even if they have to go down to 20-30 miles AER to fit the battery in (these obviously would still have the necessary power density to power the car), they still have a winner over LG Chem's batteries.

Bottom line is that longevity solves pretty much all issues.

Texas,

Altairnano has made shipments to bus manufacturers and power storage companies. I think Phoenix Motorcars is the company that failed to field Altairnano's tech in a vehicle.

Texas,

Altairnano has made shipments to bus manufacturers and power storage companies. I think Phoenix Motorcars is the company that failed to field Altairnano's tech in a vehicle.



Do you have any links that give more details of volumes and what they are being used in? Their website doesn't boast about this at all.

Do you have any links that give more details of volumes and what they are being used in? Their website doesn't boast about this at all.

I can't copy / post links on my BlackBerry. Just google search those keywords and the info will pop up. I think those sales were only in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I can't copy / post links on my BlackBerry. Just google search those keywords and the info will pop up. I think those sales were only in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.



Yes, I'm guessing only prototypes or short test runs only. No real contracts for production vehicles. Unless I'm wrong. At 72 W/kg it's like taking 5 NFL offensive linemen on a drive in your Tesla Roadster with you. (53 kWh = 1620 lbs / 5 linemen = 325 lbs per person). Might make turning a bit, shall we say, heavy. ;)

Even disregarding the cost of the Lightning GT ($300,000 base), the numbers don't work out on this car.

They claim a 250-mile range using a 36KWH battery. That comes out to 7 miles/KWH (assuming zero reserve), which is better than the 5 miles/KWH that a Volt, Leaf, or a "gently driven" Tesla gets. I noted "gently driven", because when Top Gear did the car test on the Tesla, and drove it 'pedal to the metal', it only got about 1.5 miles/KWH. What's the reason for buying a $300,000 supercar if you have to drive it like a Prius?

On top of that, the Lightning holds 36KWH of Altairnano batteries, and just the cells weigh 49LBS per KWH of energy, or about 1800lbs for just the batteries (excluding the case, cooling, connections, etc.). All-in, the battery pack for the Lightning GT probably weighs a ton or more, and that's going to have series effects on the acceleration and handling. A true $300K 'supercar' like a Pagani Zonda or Lamborgini Murcelago has a 650HP engine and weighs about 2500lbs for the entire car. The Lightning GT has a 700HP motor, but probably weighs in at over 4000lbs, so we're definitely not looking at supercar performance in this one.

If anyone on this blog has $300,000 to spare for an electric car, please buy one of these and let me know how it rides. :)