"GM Volt is hitting the roads now in numbers and Sales are growing every month. GM moves forward and investing in advanced Lithium Batteries like Envia Systems and has produced the BEV Chevrolet Spark. Company should be ready for the Lithium Batteries break through on their Capacity and Cost, which will start the real transition to Electric Cars. Demand for Mobility is already there, once the pricing will be right we will have a mass market happening almost overnight."
GM Volt is hitting the roads now in numbers and Sales are growing every month. GM moves forward and investing in advanced Lithium Batteries like Envia Systems and has produced the BEV Chevrolet Spark. Company should be ready for the Lithium Batteries break through on their Capacity and Cost, which will start the real transition to Electric Cars. Demand for Mobility is already there, once the pricing will be right we will have a mass market happening almost overnight.
If we can marry Tesla's abilities and ambitions with new Lithium batteries for Electric Cars from Envia Systems we can have the US based mass market production base for the Electric Cars.
"Tesla Model S will bring Electric Cars into the headlines again. Responsible Luxury, High-End performance and Electric Car - it is all represented by Tesla Model S now. The next step will be the real Electric Cars for the mass market. Volume will bring down the cost of the lithium batteries, battery leasing schemes will reduce the entry cost of Electric Car ownership and then we can never look back on the 19th century technology of controlled explosions under the hood burning Oil."
One of the main barriers to mass EV adoption is range anxiety. Most electric vehicles have an 80-100 mile range. The key factor in determining the vehicle’s electric range is the energy density of the battery. Current technologies max out at 180 Wh/kg. Envia’s technology enables a 2-3X improvement in vehicle range compared to other Lithium cell chemistries.
Enhanced Safety
Another barrier to EV adoption is the perceived safety risk of lithium batteries resulting from recent post-crash fires of some electric vehicles. Thermal runaway in a lithium battery occurs when the cell exceeds the critical temperature above which an increase of the cell temperature is irreversible due to the exothermic heat associated with structural changes of the anode, cathode and the electrolyte. Although the thermal reactions are associated with solid electrolyte interface (SEI) decomposition at the anode¹, progressive reactions, which cause the cells to catch fire, are associated with the cathode.
Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is one of the techniques used to evaluate the heat associated with various components of the Li-ion battery. DSC is used to analyze the onset of the reaction, which is shown by an increase in an exotherm.
Layered cathode chemistries such as NCA have high specific capacities (although not quite as high as that of Envia’s HCMR cathode). As we shall see in the following discussion, the thermal stability of NCA is not as good as Envia’s cathode either.
The chart to the right shows the results of a DSC study² comparing NCA and a manganese-rich layered-layered cathode very similar to Envia’s cathode. Please note that the NCA material was only charged to 4.2V whereas the manganese-rich cathode was charged to 4.6V (for higher specific capacities).
In the DSC study, NCA shows one major exothermic peak around 275ºC followed by smaller complex exothermic peaks. However the major exothermic peak starts around 200ºC and
reaches its maximum at 275ºC. This is associated with structural changes in association with the oxygen loss. The following multiple peaks are associated with progressive decomposition of the cathode. However in case of the cathode material similar to Envia’s, only one major peak is observed around 275ºC with an onset temperature around 260ºC.
The higher onset temperature implies a higher thermal stability of the Envia-like cathode compared to NCA. The sharper peak in the manganese-rich cathode also implies the lack of a continuous reaction thereby reducing the amount of heat produced during any event and lessening the likelihood of a thermal runaway.
Envia conducted its own nail penetration testing using 20Ah and 40Ah cells per USABC test protocols to validate its material. Cells made with Envia’s HCMR™ cathode passed the nail penetration test while cells with other layered chemistries did not perform well.
FEBRUARY 27, 2012: World's First 400 Wh/kg Lithium-ion Battery Poised to Revolutionize Cost, Range and Safety in EVs
Next week at the ARPA-E summit in Washington, Envia Systems will announce that it has achieved world record energy density for lithium-ion batteries. Independent test verifications from the Electrochemical Power Systems Department at the Naval Surface Warfare Center verify the company's next-generation battery has achieved the highest recorded energy density of 400 Watt-hours/kilogram (Wh/kg) for a lithium-ion cell. This unprecedented energy density, combined with the use of low cost materials and manufacturing processes, is expected to slash the price of a 300-mile range electric vehicle by cutting the cost of the battery pack by more than 50 percent.
German automakers are better hurry now to be in time for the electric cars to take the market by storm. GM looks like has bought a ticket into the future breakthrough Lithium Battery technology with Envianews about its wonder battery with 400 Wh/kg Energy Density and the cost dropping to $125 per kWh. Envia talks about 300 miles range for electric cars in sight now and GM is backing the company in its research.
DBM Energy has been lost in translation recently - before German start up has announced ground breaking claims about the range and cost for its Kolibri Lithium Battery. Will this technology appear somewhere in the German cars now?
Renault Zoe 2014 reported could have 220 miles range and this has not been confirmed by the company yet, but by all means looks feasible now. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is adding fire to the sector with his own claims about the cost of Lithium Batteries dropping below $200 per kWh in the nearest future. With Oil prices pushing Gas prices higher by the day, interest to Electric cars and Hybrids is reported to be growing now and these breakthroughs in lithium battery technology will make Electric Cars for all very soon.
Our Lithium developers are waiting for this technology confirmation to break out from the consolidation stage now.
It looks like Warren Buffet will be right on the money again with his call on Electric Cars!"
Our Lithium developers are waiting for this technology confirmation to break out from the consolidation stage now.
It looks like Warren Buffet will be right on the money again with his call on Electric Cars!
"Oil Empire strikes back again? Every time when we have the potential breakthrough in Lithium Batteries technology and Oil prices are driving Gas prices up - we have a "news" about polluting Electric Cars or devastating battery technology flaws. For us, all these signs are very encouraging. Who would fight so hard the Electric Cars nobody wants? We are at the tipping point now for the mass adoption of electric cars."
A startup working on battery technology says it’s developed a key breakthrough that could one day lead to an electric car that has a 300-mile range and could cost around $25,000 to $30,000. Envia Systems, backed by venture capitalists, General Motors, and the Department of Energy, plans to announce on Monday at the ARPA-E conference that the company has created a lithium ion battery that has an energy density of 400 watt-hours per kilogram, which Envia CEO Atul Kapadia told me in an interview could be the tipping point for bringing electric cars to mainstream car owner.
The secret sauce
Energy density is how much energy a battery can store and provide for the car with a given battery size — the more energy dense the battery, the less volume and weight is needed. For electric cars it is particularly important to have a high energy dense battery because electric cars need to be as light weight as possible (any extra weight just drains the battery faster), and batteries that are smaller and use less materials can also be lower in cost.
Kapadia tells me that current lithium ion batteries deliver an energy density of around 100 to 150 watt-hours per kilogram, while Envia’s battery can deliver 2.5 times that energy with about the same weight as the current electric cars that have hit the market. To build a 300-mile range electric car with standard lithium ion batteries, it would cost around $40,000 just for the batteries alone, says Kapadia.
Envia says with an energy density of 400 watt-hours per kilogram, its battery cell costs could be at $125 per kWh. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said recently that he sees battery cells dropping in price to below $200 per kWh in the coming years. Current electric cars like the Volt have been reported to be closer to $500 to $600 per kWh, and the Nissan LEAF at $375 per kWh.
Envia, founded in 2007 in the Palo Alto public library, began its business by developing technology for a low-cost cathode. A battery is made up of an anode on one side and a cathode on the other, with an electrolyte in between. For a lithium ion battery, lithium ions travel from the anode to the cathode through the electrolyte, creating a chemical reaction that allows electrons to be harvested along the way. After Envia developed its cathode technology, it started working on a silicon carbon anode, and then paired these two innovations together, with a high-voltage electroloyte.
Kapadia says the innovation is also important because many scientists have thought that the lithium ion battery had certain limits on how efficient and cheap it could get: “The rumors of the demise of lithium ion batteries are greatly exaggerated.”
Kapadia also says: “Gone are the days of relying on ancient consumer batteries for automobiles and stifling this revolution by making expensive electric cars.” And in case you didn’t get this reference, Tesla Motors uses small format standard lithium ion batteries like the ones found in laptops for its cars.
Getting the battery into cars
Charging up the Volt
Envia is announcing at the ARPA-E conference that it has reached this 400 watt-hours per kilogram milestone in tests, but the company is still in the prototype stage, and an Envia battery will probably take about three years to move into the commercial auto market. Envia plans to work with battery and auto partners, potentially licensing or creating joint ventures to get the batteries manufactured. Kapadia tells me that Envia plans to avoid the capital intensive model of trying to be a startup that does all its own manufacturing.
General Motors is one of Envia’s high profile investors, and invested $7 million into Enviaabout a year ago. GM has said that Envia will provide battery technology for future generations of GM’s Volt electric car. Other investors in Envia include Japanese giant Asahi Kasei, Pangaea Ventures, and Redpoint Ventures.
Envia received a $4 million grant from the DOE’s ARPA-E program to attempt to hit the 400 watt-hour per kilogram milestone. Expect Envia to be touted throughout the ARPA-E event, as proof that its program is working to develop green innovation in the U.S.
Breakthrough 400 Watt-hour/kilogram Lithium-ion Battery Poised to Revolutionize Cost, Range and Safety in Electric Vehicles
PRESS RELEASE
Feb. 27, 2012, 7:00 a.m. EST
Envia Systems Achieves World Record Energy Density for Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries
Breakthrough 400 Watt-hour/kilogram Lithium-ion Battery Poised to Revolutionize Cost, Range and Safety in Electric Vehicles
NEWARK, Calif., Feb 27, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Envia Systems, a technology leader in high-performance, low-cost lithium-ion energy storage solutions today announced test results that verify the company's next-generation rechargeable battery has achieved the highest recorded energy density of 400 Watt-hours/kilogram (Wh/kg) for a rechargeable lithium-ion cell. When commercialized, this 400 Wh/kg battery is expected to slash the price of a 300-mile range electric vehicle by cutting the cost of the battery pack by more than 50 percent.
The testing of Envia's next-generation lithium-ion battery was performed by the Electrochemical Power Systems Department at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Crane, Ind., under the sponsorship of ARPA-E. Tests at various cycling rates at NSWC confirmed that Envia's automotive battery cell demonstrated energy density between 378-418 Wh/kg for rates between C/3 to C/10 for a 45 Amp-hour (C/3) cell. Similar cells have been cycling in Envia's test labs for over 300 cycles. NSWC Crane will also test these cells to validate cycling performance. [See excerpts of the test results here: http://enviasystems.com/announcement .]
"Since the inception of Envia, our product team has worked tirelessly and logged over 25 million test channel hours to optimally develop each of the active components of the battery: Envia's proprietary Si-C anode, HCMR cathode and EHV electrolyte," said Dr. Sujeet Kumar, Envia Systems co-founder, president & CTO. "Rather than just a proof-of-concept of energy density, I am pleased that our team was successful in actually delivering 400 Wh/kg automotive grade 45 Ah lithium-ion rechargeable cells."
"Envia's new battery technology represents exactly the kind of innovation and breakthroughs that ARPA-E is looking for from the American research and development community," said ARPA-E Director Arun Majumdar. "We hope that this low cost and high density battery technology enables wide spread adoption of electric vehicles across the country and around the world."
"In an industry where energy density tends to increase five percent a year, our achievement of more than doubling state-of-art energy density and lowering cost by half is a giant step towards realizing Envia's mission of mass market affordability of a 300-mile electric vehicle," said Envia Systems Chairman and CEO Atul Kapadia.
About Envia Systems
Envia Systems is the industry leader in high performance, low cost lithium-ion energy storage solutions. Based in Newark, Calif., Envia's patented cathode, anode and electrolyte materials enables its batteries to deliver high energy density, safety and calendar life. These systems are used by manufacturers developing Electric Vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. For more information, please visit www.enviasystems.com .
Envia was awarded grants by both the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and the California Energy Commission in 2010 to develop high energy density batteries for electric vehicles. General Motors Ventures LLC participated in an equity investment round of $17 million in 2011. For more information, please visit www.enviasystems.com .
