the rebirth of the electric car - lithium battery suppliers

David bogup
2007 last Sunday, my report on the rebirth of electric vehicles aired on "CBS News Sunday Morning.
"You can see it here.
CBS gave me a long time. -
But the truth is that there is enough good material to fill up the mini-drama.
Like the car interview.
Bob Lutz, an industry superstar, is currently an executive at GM (
Vice chairman of global product development)
, And the driving force between the upcoming Volt electric vehicles.
He is a funny, smart, charming guy, although he certainly has the interests of GM in mind.
But since I have an e-
Newsletter, you can enjoy the luxury of the scroll bar, here is: a longer part of that interview.
David Boger: as far as I know, the voltage has both gas and the engine and the motor.
But it's not Prius, is it?
Bob Lutz: No.
In traditional hybrid cars, there are very few batteries, they are designed to provide electric power.
This is a constant interaction between gasoline and batteries.
Volt is basically an electric car.
There's a series--
We have to shoot at least 40 miles.
Then, when the battery reaches a certain minimum charging state, there is a very small internal charge
Type 4 internal combustion engine
Start the cylinder engine.
It could be small diesel.
It can run on ethanol.
Can run on compressed natural gas.
It can be anything.
But that engine never drives a car.
It is not connected to the wheel.
Imagine it as a portable generator that can restore your battery.
Now, if you want to make a long trip from New York to Chicago, you can do so.
But once you're out of battery range, then the small piston engine may work for the most part and your mileage will drop.
But whether we have critical data shows that in the United States, 82% of the trips per day are less than 40 miles.
So, I think a lot of people will find that they will never burn a drop of fuel in a month. DP: Got it. Now [
Bone model to go to voltage]
We have this cool one. -BL: Cutaway. DP: --cutaway.
Hey, I don't know where you got this invisible chassis material from, but it's great.
Give me a quick tour--
Yes, okay.
This is a small gasoline engine.
These look like a bunch of blue CDs to simulate lithium. ion batteries.
Now, when we work with lithium-ion suppliers, there may or may not be this shape for the battery.
In fact, one of the vendors is even considering using small foil bags, just like those of the airline's toilets.
Except you pull them all over the accordion. -DP: --
And it's not so useful when wiping your face.
No, you don't want to wipe your face.
Although lithium. . .
You know, you can eat your battery if you are a bipolar. (LAUGHTER)
DP: So what about torque and speed?
Are all measurements different?
Yes, the battery has huge performance and torque.
Our performance target for Volt is to reach 0 to 60 in about five or six seconds.
For a limited period of time, the maximum speed is 120 miles per hour.
Hundreds of miles per hour is sustainable.
DP: What about mileage?
BL: if electricity is produced in a renewable and non-renewable way
Fossil fuel, mileage is unlimited.
According to our calculations, if a person does 60-
To help the internal combustion engine in the past 20 years, we have calculated that the equivalent mileage per gallon is about 150 miles.
DP: Well, I heard you have a special program for journalists to get Volt for free? BL: Yeah. (LAUGHS)
In fact, the reporter's plan is. . .
We had a lot of doubts about this project.
Some are cynical, some are our competitors, and they say, "Don't be fooled by what GM shows you.
They have no intention of building this thing.
It's just smoke and mirrors that take everyone's attention away from their sports facilities, "and so on.
To mitigate this situation, we will introduce media members at all stages of the program.
I hope we can run the first rough prototype as early as the spring of 08, which will allow media members to drive 30 or 40 miles purely on batteries and listen to the internal combustion engine.
But you understand why people are skeptical.
I mean, you're still lobbying to keep the federal mileage requirements from going up, etc.
Well, we're with Toyota! And Honda. And everybody.
You know, the media like to say, "the Detroit giants are fighting the fuel economy proposal. " No, no, no--
The whole auto industry is fighting! Why?
Because it's impossible.
The advertising means that it's easy for the Senate to say, "you know?
35 miles per gallon sounds good.
Then someone else said, "Oh, why don't we say 40 ? "?
"I mean, these are crazy numbers.
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They never talk to us and actually ask us, "What can you do without raising the price of the car by six or seven or 8,000 dollars?
Unfortunately, logic does not always have the upper hand.
What if Congress passed a law that would protect the nation's road infrastructure from 2017 and cars would no longer be allowed on the road?
They have to float 2 inch on the road!
Say, "Hey guys, we have a responsibility.
It won't work.
Actually, I heard that Toyota has a prototype. (LAUGHTER)
Okay, let's get back to Volt quickly.
Are you still looking forward to the release of 2010?
BL: either 10 years late, or 11 years early, but we still put everyone's feet on the fire 2010.
DP: What are the technical barriers?
BL: The problem is that no one has made the lithium ion battery pack so big.
But our battery supplier said, hey.
Don't say that.
We told you the battery would be fine.
"In October, we got the first experimental package from two development vendors.
Then we can start testing.
DP: when the lens rolls, do you mean, at this moment, do you firmly believe that this puppy will see the light of the day?
Yes, I believe that.
Many of us think this is the most interesting and fascinating technical challenge of our entire career.
I mean, this car is more important to me than anything I 've been in this business for 42 years.
I think it's because it's transformative.
Everything else is a better version that someone else has already done.
Dodge VIP is very exciting, but its target is Chevrolet Corvette.
Chevrolet ZO6, we said, "Well, we're going to do better.
"You always benchmark things that already exist.
This advertisement. .
It does not exist.
It's all new and that's why it really excites us.
DP: What about the price?
BL: You know, my personal goal is still to bring this car to the market at a price of just under $30,000.
If we do that, it will really be a viable solution.
If we're going to charge 60, 70, or 80, then it's going to be bought by Hollywood celebrities and other entertainment figures, as well as strange politicians attending the rally, that's it.
DP: what exactly will this prototype look like? BL: A lot.
Obviously, it's not like 22-or 23-inch wheels.
But you always do it with a display car.
Your wheels are much bigger than the ones you put into production.
It will be close enough to the display car and when people first see a display car on the road, they say, "That's the Chevrolet Volt.
"It will be completely different from any other GM and I think it's part of the Prius secret.
Everyone knows by driving Prius, "Oh, that person is concerned about the environment.
"It was noted that you were driving a very powerful driving force.
Okay, one last question.
From the big picture, a few decades ago, among all these competitors --
You know, biofuels, hydrogen and electricityWhat did you see?
BL: Well, I have to separate my personal point of view from the official company point of view.
They are not so inconsistent.
The company's view is that we think ethanol is the best, and we think it will grow.
Maybe not as fast as we hoped.
Diesel must have a place for some applications.
But this is not a cheap and easy solution.
I think the traditional hybrid, gas-electric hybrid will have a lot to play with and we are working on it with all our strength
Large sports facilities, pickup trucks and many other vehicles.
Again, unfortunately, a fairly expensive system.
In many cases, I think, the traditional gasoline engine will continue to exist, although its form is more complex and complex, in order to save more fuel economy, many devices and mechanical complexities are built in.
This is not free, of course.
Fuel cells may play some role, although this depends to some extent on the speed of the fuel
The refueling infrastructure of the community has been disseminated. So--
DP: But you don't mention electricity.
That's because I left the best things to the end. DP: Oh. (LAUGHTER)
BL: Electric cars will play a big role.
Many answers to your question depend on how we commercialize Volt.
Will it fulfill the promise of an electric range of more than 40 miles?
Can the battery be used for ten years?
Can we bring it in at a price that most people can afford?
If all these answers are yes, then I think the future of electrical is absolutely unlimited.
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