NREL, A123Systems to Improve Thermal Management in Advanced Transportation Batteries
June 26, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and battery-maker A123Systems have teamed up to develop safe, less expensive, more powerful and longer-lasting batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles, said NREL.
NREL and A123Systems have signed a three-year, cooperative R&D agreement to examine and develop techniques to improve thermal management in advanced transportation batteries (advanced nanophosphate-based lithium ion batteries).
According to NREL, hybrid-electric vehicles get as much as two times the fuel economy of comparable cars.
Plug-in hybrids will potentially use even less gasoline through the use of electricity for road transportation. To achieve these goals, affordable, high-performance, safe and long-lasting batteries need to be produced in large quantities, said NREL.
Propulsion batteries - batteries that power an electric motor to assist moving a car - are key components of hybrid-electric vehicles and will be more important in the plug-in hybrid and extended range electric cars of the future, said NREL.
By better understanding the thermal behavior of advanced batteries, NREL researchers will help A123Systems engineers design improved thermal management systems and optimize the design of the battery cell and develop a battery pack that's lighter, cheaper and more durable.
A123Systems is developing high power lithium ion batteries with nanophosphate cathodes under a contract with the US Automotive Battery Consortium and the FreedomCAR-Fuel Partnership.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).