GM Volt E-flex test lithium-ion from A123Systems and LG Chem

Big news out of General Motors, where Vice Chairman Bob Lutz says engineers have started road-testing Chevrolet Volt test mules with lithium-ion batteries and the company has "growing confidence" the car will be in showrooms before the end of 2010.

Maximum Bob let the battery tidbit slip during an interview with the Detroit News where he told automotive editor Manny Lopez, "We've got the first car running (with lithium-ion batteries) ... and what the guys get on 'sightings' is a picture of an old Malibu with black wheels and a very long extension cord."

We're not sure what he meant by the sightings crack but figure it must be reference to the excitement generated by spy-shots that supposedly showed a Volt test mule testing the E-Flex battery-electric powertrain. GM tells us those pictures, snapped by a photographer for Brenda Priddy and Company, actually showed a chassis development mule.

We've known for awhile that GM is testing lithium-ion battery packs from LG Chem and A123Systems and has put some E-Flex drivetrain components in test mules, but this is the first report that the engineers have li-ion batteries in a road-going car (even if it is a three-year-old Malibu). GM spokesman Robert Peterson said he couldn't comment on the batteries, so we'll take Maximum Bob at his word.

Lutz is cracking the whip hard to get the Volt built by 2010, and CEO Rick Wagoner told reporters at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition that GM will go "down to the wire" meeting that deadline. Still, Lutz told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) GM should begin production of the Volt by November, 2010. He says the Volt has a "pretty good shot of getting over 100 mpg" but GM doesn't plan to use the E-Flex powertrain technology in a compact car, although it could be placed in a "small pickup truck" if tightening fuel economy rules require it.

Lutz also dropped this bomb in the Detroit News interview, and it's sure to hack off EV 1 fanatics:

"The only things that were wrong with the EV1 (GM's first electric car) was that it was way too expensive to make; it was only a two-passenger; and the battery technology was not ready," Lutz said. "It was a noble effort, but it was a technological force job and at a time when nobody cared. We could not find more than 800 buyers for that thing no matter how hard we tried or no matter how much we dropped the price. Finally we had to lease them out."

Let the flaming begin.

http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/gms-road-testin.html

Thanks to Lyle Dennis, editor of GM-Volt.com, for the pic he snapped of the Volt test mule. He's got more pictures and details

GM CEO Bob Lutz and $3000 China Patag

I lifted this image from Part 2 [youtube video], of GM CEO Bob Lutz and his talk to the GM troops about new trends and new models.

GM is heavily invested in China and this set of wheels sells for about $3K.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH0zUS-WGWo&feature=related

That*s what you will hear Lutz say in the video. He also says the designers in China have caught up and the example he shows proves he is correct. He says he is glad GM is part of the China output.

EV Battery Charge Range Compared

Remember, that while 250 miles can seem limited at first glance, every last owner of the 135 mile range EV1 loved their EV and would have bought it from GM if GM had allowed sales instead of reclaiming them all back off lease.

EV Electric Vehicle vs Hydrogen

GM Flex EV $30K to $60K ? and no fuel to buy.

[Both photo credits: AutoBlog.com]

GM Flex Hydrogen One Million Dollars and what does fuel cost?

This seems like a no brainer. Looks like the EV is a shoe-in. One has to wonder about hydrogen when storage is such a challenge at 5000 psi.= TG

GM and lithium-ion battery begging

[Credit = Autoblog.com photo gallery]

By NORIHIKO SHIROUZU
April 13, 2007; Page B1

Wall Street Journal

General Motors Corp. executives -- blue over their company's less-than-green reputation and envious of eco-darling Toyota Prius -- began searching the world for advanced batteries they hoped would power a new generation of gas-electric hybrid cars.

Most roads led them to Japan, the leader in battery technology and #HYPERLINK *http://online.wsj.com/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=tm*

WSJournal

Toyota Motor Corp.'s home turf. Several GM engineers and executives describe their experience at Panasonic EV Energy Co. Ltd., one of the top makers of hybrid-car batteries, as typical of the reception they received there: When GM team members asked for detailed information about the company's most sophisticated automotive lithium-ion batteries, Panasonic EV refused.

A Panasonic EV spokesman says that as a matter of company policy it only discloses that kind of information to its parent company, Toyota.

Facing growing pressure to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions, U.S. auto makers are increasingly worried that the critical battery technology they'll need to compete is getting locked up by Japanese rivals who moved more quickly to develop gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

*It's important to have the knowledge base on advanced automotive battery technology and manufacturing capacity right here locally in the U.S.* says Beth Lowery, GM vice president of Environment and Energy.
======== Wall Street Journal

Guess crunching the EV-1 in 1993-95 was not too smart.
Now GM is worried about Toyota killing off the new GM Volt with an EV that will go twice as far for less money. = TG

GM and Cobasys sign Battery Contract

Cobasys Confirms Production Contract for 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Sedan

Orion, MI, March 13, 2007–Cobasys, a leading supplier of advanced integrated energy storage solutions, today confirmed that they have been chosen to provide their NiMHax® Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) battery system for General Motors’ redesigned 2008 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid Sedan unveiled at the 2007 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The Chevrolet Malibu arrives in showrooms in fall, 2007 and will feature the same hybrid system that powers the Saturn Vue Green Line SUV and 2007 Saturn Aura Green Line mid-size sedan. The Malibu hybrid combines sophisticated controls and a unique electric motor / generator mated to their 2.4L Ecotec four-cylinder engine and the Cobasys NiMHax®battery system, leading to substantial fuel economy gains.

Coabasys website

Gas engine vs Electric Motor or EV [vehicle]

Gas engines lose efficiency at every junction from drilling crude, pumping, refining, storage, tanker loading, transport, unloading , pumping at retail sales points and it burns at about 22% energy efficiency. [Ethanol has much lower efficieny and costs more, but does help displace some barrels of crude imports.]

Not so with electric engines:

[ Hydro power is derived from gravity pull of water through a turbine spinning a generator and fed directly by wire to your wall plug. Battery charging normally occurs from 1 to 6 am during off peak demand.]

When the power gets flipped on, the engine goes. Delivery of power to the engine is not as big of an issue. Most electrics also only have two gears, forward and reverse, so drivers don't get stumped by a mis-shift. Additionally, very little of the energy gets lost.

Mr. Wright, engineer of the X1-EV said . .
*Of the energy you take out of the wall, almost all of it ends up on the road,* he said. *They are so close to nearly perfect that there is no point in inventing anything else.*

This is the link


Electricity is also comparatively cheap. The X1 consumes about 220 watt-hours per mile in city driving. That's the equivalent of 170 miles per gallon: The vehicle's vanity license plate reads 170 MPGE.[+-42 MPl.]

It can be charged from a 110-volt wall socket and will be compatible with the faster chargers Tesla will bring to market.

The problem is the batteries, which effectively serve as the gas tank on an electric car. The 538-pound battery in the X1 can hold about the same amount of energy as three liters of gas.
As a result, electric cars can only travel so far without recharging. The EV1 from General Motors could only go 130 miles before it needed a recharge, and it needed a special charger. [ All drivers LOVED their EV-1s in spite of the short range. =TG]

The all-electric Xebra from ZAP doesn't go on the freeway. The Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car coming from Tesla Motors, can go 200 miles before its 6,831-cell lithium ion battery peters out.
The X1 can go around 100 miles under regular conditions and might only go 25 miles in racing conditions before it needs a recharge.

*Batteries are also intrinsically expensive things,* Wright said. *There's a lot of R&D involved.*

The *Better Battery* could come from Chevron , as they hold the patents [from Ovonics], for the *Large Format NiMH battery*. But, I suspect Chevron bought the rights in order to keep the efficient battery from cutting into fuel sales.

Rumours mention that the secretive German based firm, Eestor is onto a *Super Battery*. Question is; will the designer of the better new battery sell the rights to Exxon or Chevron for quick profits, or will they actually go into production? = TG

GM volt EV plug-in

General Motors will roll out its new Chevrolet Volt Concept later today. The sedan is powered by GM’s new E-flex hybrid system. The plug-in four-seater has a brace of lithium-ion cells that can be fully charged in six hours using a standard 110-volt outlet, giving the Volt a range of 40 city miles.

When the batteries are depleted, it then employs its turbocharged, 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine to replenish the cells, theoretically giving the Volt up to 150 miles-per-gallon. According to GM’s car czar Bob Lutz, “More than half of all Americans live within 20 miles of where they work (40 miles round trip). In that case, you might never burn a drop of gas during the life of the car.” Like seemingly every new GM car these days, the Volt’s tri-banger is also amiable to running on E85, giving it even greater credibility among the environmentalists.

http://news.windingroad.com/concept-cars/naias-gm-rolling-out
-volt-plug-in-hybrid-concept-today/

Winding Road Mag

=== Winding Road Magazine = TG