Lithium Drive: Warren Buffett: BYD Electric Bus - Electric Dreamz Are Coming Back From China

  Despite of all bumps on the roads for its electric cars, BYD is pushing forward and introducing K9 Electric Bus to the markets. Company is already engaged in number of Chinese cities with its Electric Buses, has signed strategic agreement with Argentina on building Lithium Batteries and Electric Buses plants and has announced the new Brand - Denza for BYD and Daimler Joint Venture for developing electric cars in China.

Lithium Drive: Warren Buffett: BYD signs over another 1500 vehicles to Shenzen, making the world's largest electric vehicle fleet

"While some people would like to make us all think that electric cars are polluting more than ICE ones, China moves fast with its Electric Cars program. If you have noticed from the Envia news about Lithium Wonder Battery - actual cell production facility is based in...China. Chinese companies are claiming larger stake in Lithium Battery production market now and Lithium Materials production is already a home turf for Chinese companies.

  Companies like Ganfeng Lithium are staking their claims in Lithium Supply chain for the Green Revolution by investing in companies like International Lithium with world wide base of lithium projects.

    BYD had a very bad publicity last year and now company is coming back. Warren Buffett backs the BYD and latest lithium battery breakthrough can make the very fast adoption rate for electric cars in China. There is the question of not only the higher gas prices, but urban survival with pollution from ICE cars, which is already reaching a very dangerous levels in major cities even with still the very low rate of cars per capita in China. Urban mobility in China and India will be impossible in any meaningful numbers without electric cars now."

ELECTRIC BUS INTRODUCTION

The Electric Bus is another masterpiece of BYD's in the field of electrified transportation. The Electric Bus is 12 meters long, and the whole design is oriented around ease of customer transport. The specially designed in-wheel drive and the electronically controlled air suspension makes the Electric Bus with low-floor and ample space to allow easy passenger loading and unloading. The front windscreen occupies 2/3 of the front face of the bus for maximum viewing and safety. The silver body with black side windows gives the Electric Bus an elegant exterior, while the interior boasts exquisite adjustable leather seating for driver plus high-quality red and black leather seats for passengers. Carefully engineered sound insulation for a quiter cabin experience.

As BYD's first pure electric bus, the Electric Bus employs many advanced technologies developed by BYD itself. For example, The "Fe" battery. used on Electric Bus is non-polluting, and the chemical materials contained in the battery can be recycled. The solar cells installed on top of Electric Bus can supply more power to supplement the Fe battery. Also, the trip computer information to the driver to make the driver clear about every working condition while driving.

EASY CHARGING

The Electric Bus can be fully charged in 3 hours or 6 hours with two different chargers.

COMFORT AND SAFETY

Unitary construction body, 4-wheel disc brake, ABS, and ASR deliver passengers with standard safety elements.

Three passenger doors with low-entry and special footplates for wheelchair access, non-step inside gives the Electric Bus most practical use of space.

ECONOMY

The energy consumption of the Electric Bus is less than 100 kWh per 60 miles.

Lithium drive: Seoul Claims Commercial Electric Bus Service A World First tnr.v, lmr.v, rm.v, alk.ax, sqm, fmc, roc, lit, li.v, wlc.v, clq.v, res.v, ree, avl.to, nsany, f, gm, rno.pa, dai, byddf, hev, aone, vlnc

  Asia is taking Electric Revolution very seriously - today we have a very interesting development in Seoul: Electric Bus with lithium battery with 50 miles range in the mountainous location. Recharging time is 30 minutes - it must be the fast charging. Plan is to replace half of Seoul buses with electric ones.
  It is one of the steps among other all Asia-Pacific region is taking today towards its post carbon future.

  Study: Asia-Pacific plug-in vehicle market to exceed 1.2M by 2015

  After groundbreaking revelations from International Energy Agency this year, we know why Chinese are so keen on implementing their state-level plan for electrification of their transportation system. Why do we not hear about it on every corner now?  It is another question...

  Access to Strategic Commodities: Lithium and REE - will be the next game in town to make this transition from Oil to Electricity in mobility possible to happen on the mass scale.

IEA World Energy Outlook 2010:

"It s hard to overstate the growing importance of China in global energy markets. Our preliminary data suggest that China overtook the United States in 2009 to become the world's largest energy user...Prospects for further growth remain strong, given that China;s per-capita consumption level remains low, at only one-third of the OECD average, and that it is the most populous nation on the planet, with more than 1.3 billion people."

Just notice, please, Crude Oil: fields yet to be found - it is the political way to say Shortage of Oil. "Fields to be found" will require years to be put into production if and when they are actually found.


"The admissions about Peak Oil from IEA are groundbreaking for Energy Security, Electric Cars mass market and strategic commodities - it is the same magnitude of change as an invitation from the World Bank to discuss Gold standard - the real messages are still muted among different facts, but they are there, in the report from IEA! Unbearable truth must be impossible to hide any more - when will we start to act with the same scale as the problem we are facing in the nearest future?

"Those trashing Obama do know that it could be much worse - we guess that we are even closer to the real revelation of the Energy Short Squeeze, starting with liquid fuels and our politicians are preparing us now for this Oil Shock." 

Another surprise came with an endorsement to the Electric Cars from IEA: "Advanced vehicles will also have to make rapid gains in the coming years-to levels in the upper reaches of what most analysts believe is possible. By 2035, the IEA says that not only will 70 percent of new worldwide vehicle sales will have to come from advance technology plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles, but that that those cars will need to run mostly on electricity generated from nuclear and renewable sources rather than fossil fuels."

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Lithium and REE: House bill invests $2B in electric vehicles for Postal Service TNR.v, CZX.v, WLC.v, LI.v, RM.v, LMR.v, CLQ.v, SQM, FMC, AVL.to, RES.v

Commercial vehicle fleets will be crucial for EVs adaptation: they provide testing grounds and economics of electric car operations are going straight into the bottom line of this operators - with investment picked up by the government it is almost like printing money.

FedEx is among the most active members in Electrification as well.

"We have discussed Lithium and REE investment opportunity with the Big Picture investment approach in our Macro View on Micro Caps...

National governments will make this process even more destructive for margins: they will support by all means national automakers and once success for EVs will be apparent moves in the affordability could be very dramatic. It will be extremely positive for our Next Big Thing and development of EVs' Value Chain as a whole, but shareholders in these companies could wait for a long time to be actually rewarded. Brands which can position itself with pricing power could be the answer: Tesla and Fisker once public could be an example, but they will not be able to achieve economy of scale on the other hand. Once initial excitement for EVs will be settled and sales and profits will matter again you will have to do a very good homework in order to separate winners from the losers."

US Postal Office:


Electrification of Delivery Vehicles

FEDERAL TIMES:

House bill invests $2B in electric vehicles for Postal Service

By TIM KAUFFMAN Last Updated: December 18, 2009
The U.S. Postal Service would become the guinea pig for testing 20,000 electric vehicles under House legislation introduced Dec. 17.
If approved, the bill would help the Postal Service green its large mail delivery fleet and jumpstart the nation's electric vehicle industry, said Rep. José Serrano, D-N.Y., who introduced the legislation along with five cosponsors.
The bill would provide up to $2 billion for an Energy Department program in which vehicle manufacturers would compete for grants to build electric vehicles for testing by the Postal Service.
"Our nation must become a leader in green technologies and leveraging the enormous assets of the USPS provides us with a direct route toward that goal," said Serrano, who chairs the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Postal Service.
The Postal Service maintains the largest civilian vehicle fleet in the world with about 221,000 vehicles. Although the Postal Service has been purchasing alternative fuel vehicles and testing some electric drive vehicles, it has held off on replacing the bulk of its petroleum-powered fleet until one technology emerges as the leading replacement.
The bill won immediate support from the American Postal Workers Union, the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"It will be good for the Postal Service, good for the environment and good for the economy," APWU President William Burrus said."

Lithium and REE: Silicon Valley and Green mobility - Recharging the future Bull. TNR.v, TTM, SQM, ROC, DAI, NSANY, F, BYD, GOOG, RIMM, AAPL, HUI, XAU,

Our Next Big Thing is following previous technological boom: World Wide Web - Internet, standardisation will bring an explosive growth, inter connectivity and wide acceptance in the market place. Some Juniors are trying to join the hey days of start ups and innovations as well: talking about incubators and project generation models - minimising dilution and allowing fast strategic deals for project developments.

"An Open Platform for Electric Car-Charging Networks?

Some players in the market envision a Java-like platform to accelerate deployment and foster innovation
By Josie Garthwaite
Technology

A growing number of political leaders—from mayors on up to presidents and prime ministers —are taking up the electric vehicle (EV) torch, working on policies and incentives to spur widespread adoption of plug-in cars. In parts of the U.S., U.K., Japan, and elsewhere, initiatives to quickly develop networks of charging stations for the plug-in vehicles slated to roll out in 2011 and beyond are taking form—and running up against a key question on the road to a competitive green car marketplace: How do you accelerate deployment of today's technology while remaining open to future innovations?
On some level, this question is about the familiar issue of how (and how much) government should play a role in free markets. But it's also another example of how lessons from the history of computing can apply to cleantech innovations. According to the finance chief for London's climate change program, Padmesh Shukla, Sun Microsystems' Java platform—an ubiquitous system for software development for mobile devices, enterprise servers, and the Web—offers a model governments can use to craft guidelines for companies bidding on government-backed EV infrastructure projects.
Bottom line, Shukla said at a recent panel hosted by Think London, which works to attract direct investment in the city and help foreign companies set up business there, London wants to have EV infrastructure that looks more like Java, which software developers can use for free, than Microsoft's proprietary technology. "It has to be an open platform," Shukla said.
In software, open platforms allow third parties to add functionality to a basic framework—providing, as O'Reilly Radar explained back in 2007, tools and services that the platform provider has not gotten around to yet or has not done well. For electric vehicle infrastructure, Shukla explained that the London government, working in conjunction with larger U.K. initiatives, does not want to pick one technology or company to have a monopoly on charging infrastructure. Using the open platform model, the idea is to help foster development of common standards, tools, and practices for charge point developers, ensuring that all charging stations can operate with all electric models and generally create an environment in which electric car companies can prosper.
"It's a chicken-and-egg problem," Shukla said. Limited access to charge points drags down demand for electric cars, and a limited number of electric cars on the road drags down business for charge point developers. So London is trying to foster an EV-friendly environment with policies such as a mandate for all new residential developments above a certain density to have charge points in their parking lots. The city has also committed to investing in a public charge-point network with funds that it expects to be matched by the national government and again by private investors.
California utility San Diego Gas & Electric also envisions an open model. SDG&E Clean Transportation Manager Bill Zobel—who is working (among other things) on the utility's partnership with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to prepare its system for new demand from the automakers' plug-in vehicles—told us earlier this year that the utility is talking with several charging companies about how to integrate their hardware with the grid. But Zobel told us SDG&E plans to leave the selection of different charging hardware and services to its customers—whether public agencies, property owners, or businesses.
Through its talks with charge point developers, SDG&E is helping to set up an informal framework. On the other hand, Shukla's team in London, by establishing the guidelines for what technologies will qualify for government funds for the planned citywide charging network, is creating a more formal one. In both cases, we're in early days. SDG&E is months away from getting its first test fleet on the road, and London remains up to a year away from "fully baking" the details on how to bid for the charge point network buildout. But setting out with an open platform is a good way to start. Shukla said at the Think London panel that the idea is to "start building templates for the market to see that these things can be done," and then let it take over from there."

Gold, Silver, Lithium: Junior Mining Investment Cycle CS. TNR.v, CGH.to, FST.v, CZX.v, SBB.v, SNU.v, FVI.v, OK.v, MGN, ASM.v, RMK.v, JNN.v, RVM.to,

Lithium and REE Investment Manifesto and Next Big Thing in action:
San Francisco notes. (November 28th, 2009)

Blue sky is called blue sky because of its unlimitness, but the edge between the TenBagger and worthless dreams is very sharp and hurt a lot of people. First hole drilled with economic mineralisation normally brings excitement and flood of money compare to Junior's market Cap and average volume of trading - nobody really knows how big is that thing in the ground. Before that hole will make its way from our "3 of one Thousand" to boring and relatively safe producing mine, Junior Mining company drilled that hole will experience Investment Cycle we would like to write about today. We have discussed before Junior Mining economics and our Bullish case for the Real Things. There is no question for us that the big money will be made in the sector again, the big question is Where? We have discussed before importance of the Big Trend and its identification for our game against the odds, today we will demonstrate it with a few charts and will give you a simple, but powerful evaluation matrix for Junior Mining stories. As usual we are using Creative Commons approach and if somebody already written it better then we can do, we will use it. We hope that the authors are appreciating additional circulation and traffic brought to their web sites and always ready to take it down should they conclude that we use it in inappropriate way.

Chart above is from Ian Gordon, Long Wave Analyst. It is important to understand the cycle and our place in it at the moment. We will refer all readers to that web site to get a better understanding of The Kondratieiff Cycle and Cycles within the Cycle. We have identified two major trends for us:

1. We are riding the first one for a number of years, to be precise from 2002, and have a good company of FED, Jim Rogers, Jim Sinclair, Mark Faber, Peter Zihlmann, Jim Puplava and others: who are debasing the value of FIAT currencies (FED) or making money out of it (Others) and US Dollar Collapse is a prime example. Gold and Silver are in a Bull market as a Real Money and Real Store of Value here.

2. We have identified a new trend, Next Big Thing and a new Bull market recently and hope to be early into the game:

"Most bull markets have started when there was a significant fundamental displacement and destructive technology has emerged addressing this unsustainable conditions. We have identified for ourselves such a displacement and destructive technology: Peak Oil and Electric Cars. Next bubble to burst - is an unsustainable energy consumption and all western economies are built around it now. Lithium is becoming the matter of energy security and new oil for the next industrial revolution - mobility revolution based on electric cars."

Lithium, Copper, Zinc and Uranuim will be in Bull market here.

From the chart above you can understand recent history of Collapse and Value Dislocation, followed by flight to "safety" and Great Investment Delusion - Treasuries Bubble. Junior Mining stocks get killed and crashed last Fall, when risk perception was severely exaggerated. Those who stayed alive have a generational buying opportunity even now, when "End of the world" is postponed and swine flue can not get guys from Wall Street must be due to inherited immunity. Hedge Funds have received a Global Margin call last Fall and sold liquid positions with profit first, then Gold, then everything they can sell - Juniors where hit on every bid and in December guys like FVI.v were trading at 0.3CAD, TNR.v at 0.03CAD and CGH.to below 0.2CAD. They have doubled and triplied now, but we would like to share, why we think that we have a second chance to come back into Junior Investment Cycle with lower risk due to Mr Market risk averse valuation.

Normally, Junior mining Investment Cycle looks like chart above. Last Fall collapse gave us all generational opportunity if our big trends are still intact: we can get into the Green zone one more time with less risk, but with still all upside left. Valuations of Junior mining companies are so depressed, that Mr Market is giving valuations still with discount of 70-80 % compare to year ago. Brilliant research on Junior Mining valuations is done by Adam Hamilton and can be found here: Junior Resource Prospects.

It is a cherry picking game: not everybody has made it and not everybody will make it. Those with only dreams and without capital will vanish, others will buy out the first ones out or their properties to ride again the green zone. That is why it is so important to go where the Names are going, names when their reputation is more valued then MC of the particular Junior. Check always: who is behind the company, who are major shareholders, what team is in place, what kind of potential property or properties they have, do they have access to the capital? You will find evaluation matrix below, but we would like to add another very important observation: you should not be too much ahead of the time in your investment story, it is nice to be able to accumulate a cheap paper as much as you can in your own Risk/Reward matrix, but Mr Market better pay attention after that - you need to stay solvent at all stages of the game. Stronger stories will come out first from the crash and watching the radar screen you can find them sprinting back. If during the downturn they have managed to develop their properties, acquire other companies, strike new deals, attract new Major investors or even proclaim to be a part of the new Bull - you have a better chances and low entry risk in the potential Green Zone. Chances of us continuing to write about these stories are much higher as well: this is how we chose our stories. You can ride them through valuation matrix below.

"Producers vs. Explorers

(We will use here a Third party valuation matrix from Ian Gordon, so you can always apply it to the companies we are writing about).

If gold is a low risk investment during the Kondratieff winter, should we buy the gold producers or the exploration companies? Let's examine the 'pros' and 'cons' of each of them.

Gold Producing Companies:

Pros:

·Investment grade. Large Market Caps-appropriate for investment funds.

· Cash flow via production.

· Excellent liquidity.

· Share prices generally rise faster than the price of gold itself.

Cons:

· Depleting their resources through production. Difficulty finding sufficient reserves to maintain production at current levels; e.g. Newmont produces 7.2 million ounces each year. Approximately 9 million ounces is required to replace this production.

· Hierarchal management-slow to make decisions.

· Exploration subject to committee review and budgetary constraints.

· Limited exploration since 1998.

· Only a small number of companies to choose from.

Junior Exploration Companies:

Pros:

· Responsible for 70% of discoveries.

· Growing their gold.

· Quick response management.· Innovative geologists; prepared to see the unconventional.

· The onset of the Kondratieff winter suggests the largest bull market in gold in the entire cycle. In that environment share prices rise faster than those of their production counterparts.

· A major discovery positively impacts the share prices of most exploration companies.

· An ability to release regular news in progress.

· Management usually owns a large stake in the company and has a vested interest in achieving positive results on the behalf of all shareholders.

Cons:

· Management not trusted - think Bre-X

· Viewed as very high risk investments.

· Investors don't understand news releases, because they are usually not geologists-and are unable to evaluate a discovery in progress.

· Poor liquidity; small market caps-not suitable for most investment funds.

· Difficulty in raising money; major dilution at low share prices.

Evaluating Juniors:

The key is Management. The Long Wave approach, developed by my team at Bolder Investment Partners is subjective but still useful.

A Simple Evaluation System:

Management: 30 Points· History· Integrity· Technical skills· Management skills· Relationships· Ownership in the company

Properties: 20 Points· Grass roots/discovery/gold in the ground· Access/Power/Water

Blue Sky: 15 Points· How big could this be?

Political Risk: 15 Points · A, B, C, or F · A = Quebec · F = Venezuela, Ecuador Market Capitalization: 15 Points· Comparative values· Value of gold in the ground

Promotion: 5 Points· How well does the company get the word out?· Conservative versus flashy

I much prefer investing in juniors versus seniors in a gold bull market, because:

· There is significantly more upside price potential, because of the leverage.

· Easy to be selective. There are plenty to choose from. Follow the management.

· Exciting to follow progress; discovery-resources-reserves.

· Management is usually dedicated to enhancing shareholder value. It wins, too."

Lithium: Vauxhall Trixx: buy the Car and Lease the Engine - new ideas for fully Electric Town Car. TNR.v, SQM, GOOG, WLC.v, CLQ.v, BYD, CDNX, HUI, XAU

Problem of Entry cost, when the price of the batteries is still very high, is the main constrain for mass market penetration by Electric Cars. New, elegant and well known solution, could help our Next Big Thing to grow fast: while better place is using model close to mobile operators and standard batteries to be changed at better place stations - here idea is that it could be difficult to make Lithium-ion batteries standard without Design compromise - which is the main selling point of any car in triangle Design - Utility- Price. Help could come from the aircraft leasing business: Engines for aircrafts are sold and leased often separately and aircraft itself is leased as well. Next step will be to squeeze government by automakers for subsidies for financing the leasing operations for Electric Cars and, who knows, maybe the same financial giants involved in aircrafts leasing will move into this market one day.

"Vauxhall Trixx - Fully Electric town Car.

The Trixx was introduced to the world some years ago as a concept car, now AutoExpress UK has confirmed that the 2 + 1 car, that would rival the Toyota iQ, will go into production. In Vauxhall guise, the Trixx will feature the same powertrain that will be housed in the first Ampera.
Due to space constraints and weight saving measures the 1.4-liter engine used to expand the Ampera’s mileage will be ditched for a full blown electric powertrain. This will mean that it will run only 90 miles till the next charge up, as opposed to the Ampera which can go for 300 miles.
The problems being faced with the Trixx at the moment is its cost for production as according to AE, the lithium ion Batteries alone will cost £8000. This will bring up the total price of the car, which can see people being put off by the overall price.
Vauxhall might opt to lease the engines when it does come into production, which would mean you would buy everything apart from the engine which will still be owned by Vauxhall."

Lithium: Mercedes-Benz with its new Citaro G BlueTec hybrid bus with the world's largest lithium ion battery. TNR.v, SQM, BYD, TTM, ESLR, OIH, OIL,

It is not all Electric Bus, but it is Mercedes, it is on the road already and the company claims that they build the largest lithium ion battery. This is another Macro Trend of our Next Big Thing in its Growth and Demographic parts - Congestion is another serious road bump along with Pollution on Mobility road in China and India. Public Transportation build on Electric Mobility solutions will be a market driver on its own. These babies will need a lot of Lithium and are putting our Next Big Thing into a new level of industrial applications: technological solutions will allow to build more effective safe high density charge batteries for Electric Cars.

"Mercedes-Benz has begun demonstrating its new Citaro G BlueTec hybrid bus with what is claimed to be the world's largest lithium ion battery pack application

The new Citaro G is an 18-meter articulated bus with a series hybrid drive system. A smaller 4.8-liter diesel engine replaces the typical 12-liter engine used in such applications and drives a generator which provides electricity to hub motors mounted at the center and rear axles. The 771 lb lithium battery pack provides 180 kW and is charged both from the generator and from the regenerative braking. The bus can operate for short distances on battery power alone and reduces diesel fuel use and CO2 emissions by a estimated 30 percent compared to a standard bus of this size. [Source: Daimler]
PRESS RELEASE:New Mercedes-Benz hybrid bus in operation* 250 customers test the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid city bus* World's largest lithium-ion battery in vehicle operation* Diesel consumption and CO2 emissions reduced by up to 30 percent* Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid – future-oriented technology for the city* 40 years of Daimler hybrid busesMore than 250 customers from 15 countries recently had the opportunity to experience at first hand the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid articulated bus in operation for the first time. Experts from European transport operations praised a number of features of the 18-metre long hybrid city bus, including its completely emission-free operation on some stretches of the route, its quiet, practically jerk-free drive system, its unique vehicle concept incorporating four electric wheel hub motors, and also its use of the world's largest lithium-ion vehicle battery. This battery stores the energy from the diesel generator and the electrical energy recuperated during braking.As a result the Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid reduces diesel consumption by up to 30 percent, with a commensurate reduction in highly topical CO2 emissions. The new hybrid bus has successfully completed extensive practical trials over recent months, including several weeks of winter trials under extremely tough operating conditions near the Arctic Circle. The first vehicles will be delivered to the transport operators before the end of this year. Given appropriate public sector support for hybrid technology, market insiders expect a potential annual demand for at least 300 hybrid buses in western Europe, which would enable diesel fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and pollutant emissions in the cities to be drastically reduced. In North America the Daimler bus brand Orion already has 1700 hybrid buses in day-to-day operation, which makes it the world market leader for hybrid technology in commercial vehicles.Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec HybridThe Mercedes-Benz Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid has a technologically very sophisticated, serial hybrid drive system which allows emission-free driving under battery power alone over short distances. The drive system is installed in an articulated Citaro G bus, and drives the centre and rear axles by means of four wheel hub motors – a combination that makes this articulated hybrid bus unique.The diesel engine in the serial hybrid bus does not act as a primary drive unit, but rather drives the generator to produce electric power as required. This energy is stored by maintenance-free lithium-ion batteries mounted on the roof. The batteries are not only fed by the diesel ­generator, but also with energy recuperated during braking.The energy generated by recuperation when braking on the approach to bus-stops or traffic lights is used both to supply the vehicle at standstill and when moving off. This means that the hybrid bus is able to operate purely under electric power, and therefore practically without emissions, when stationary and under acceleration – with a significant reduction in noise as well.Power is transferred to the wheels of the Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid by four electric wheel hub motors on the centre and rear axles. Even under heavy operating conditions, the 320 kW total output of the wheel hub motors is ample for an articulated bus.Downsizing is among the greatest advantages of the serial hybrid system in the Citaro: instead of the large, 12-litre six-cylinder in-line engine normally employed in an articulated bus, a more compact unit with a displacement of 4.8 litres is used. As a result the engine weight is reduced from around 1000 kg to just 450 kg or so.World's first lithium-ion battery in this output categoryThe lithium-ion battery used in the articulated Citaro G BlueTec Hybrid is in an output category of its own. The battery system generates 180 kW and is com­para­tively light in weight at under 350 kg. Major advantages over con­vention­nal battery systems include a higher energy density combined with a high storage capacity and a low battery weight.Changes in the automobile industry are increasing the demand for clean, efficient and economical vehicles. According to forecasts, the market volume for powerful lithium-ion batteries is set to exceed the 10 bill. euro mark over the next decade, with the market for battery materials exceeding 4 bill. euros. In Germany alone, the government envisages at least one million electric cars populating the roads in the cities by 2020.40 years of Daimler hybrid busesWith diesel-electric hybrid vehicles from Orion in North America, Mercedes-Benz in Europe and Mitsubishi Fuso in Asia, Daimler not only has the longest, but also the most extensive experience with alternative drive systems for commercial vehicles. The new Citaro with hybrid drive is a major step towards great economy and emission-free driving. Despite fuel savings of up to 30 percent, this complex hybrid technology nonetheless requires incentive financing. The support of politicians and the public sector in the form of subsidies is required to make the one-third higher costs for this technology in large-scale production worthwhile for both customers and manufacturers."