According to an article published in Technology Review, a type of lithium-ion battery developed by A123 Systems, a company housed in Watertown, MA, could be the key to making electric and hybrid cars dominate the roadways in the very near future. A123 Systems is just one of many other similar companies who are burning the midnight oil (no pun intended) when it comes to coming up with technology to support our alternative fuel vehicles. This particular battery stores twice as much energy as a nickel-metal hydride battery, which (for those of us out there who know little about cars) is the type of battery used in hybrid cars today.

It is the hope of A123 Systems that this new and improved battery will help to boost the sales of the electric vehicle market, which at the moment only represents a small chunk of vehicle sales in the United States. The battery is currently being tested by General Motors, who is expected to begin selling vehicles that use lithium-ion batteries somewhere around 2010.

Battery Operated & Ready to Go!

There is no doubt that the people at A123 Systems are excited about their batteries. After all, the lithium-ion battery is a major step forward in technology. The batteries are much more durable than older, more conventional lithium-ion batteries which means that they will actually outlive your car. General Motors plans on using A123’s lithium batteries to power one of their new vehicles, Volt, which they plan on selling for around 35k in 2010. The way it would work is that the batteries would provide you with around 40 miles of driving. Anything longer than that would cause the small, gasoline engine to kick in. While the gas engine is operating, it is also recharging the battery, which extends the distance that the vehicle can travel to more than 400 miles. Pretty exciting stuff, if you ask me! What do you think?

For more information about auto transport, vehicle transport or car hauling, make sure you contact National Transport today!

Tags: auto news // 3 Comments »