Here's an article quoting Nissan's R&D head. Hydrogen fuel cells...

Here's an article quoting Nissan's R&D head. Hydrogen fuel cells are another technology to watch that have already solved the range problem. Toyota has produced a fuel cell SUV that has a range of 830 km. The engineering challenge swith FCV are manly to do with bringing the cost down.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121320799221764997.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Newer Lithium Batteries
Improve Electric Car Range
By EDWARD TAYLOR
June 12, 2008 10:34 a.m.

Advances in lithium-ion battery technology will boost the range of electric vehicles to 400 kilometers (248 miles) by 2015, the head of research and development at Nissan Motor Co. said Wednesday.

Mitsuhiko Yamashita, Nissan's executive vice president for research and development, said advances in lithium-ion battery technology will dramatically boost the operating range of electric vehicles, potentially broadening their appeal. The breakthrough will come with so-called fourth-generation lithium-ion batteries that will be ready by 2015, he said.

The current generation of lithium-ion batteries have a more limited range, confining the use of electric vehicles to mainly urban commute distances of under 100 kilometers.

Speaking to reporters in Paris, Mr. Yamashita said the range of electric vehicles will be extended gradually with advances in battery technology. Second-generation lithium-ion batteries, available in 2010, will extend the range of electric cars to about 170 kilometers on one charge, and third-generation vehicles, ready in 2012, should give electric vehicles a range of between 290 and 300 kilometers, Mr. Yamashita said.

Mr. Yamashita said key factors, such as the duration it takes to charge the new batteries would determine how widely they are used in electric vehicles. Nissan is planning to launch electric cars in the U.S. and Japan in 2010, and globally in 2012.

In May, Nissan announced a joint venture with NEC to mass produce lithium-ion batteries. Production is set to start in 2009 with an initial capacity of about 13,000 units annually, a spokesman for Nissan said. Running at full capacity, Nissan hopes to raise production to about 65,000 units annually, but couldn't say when full production capacity is set to be reached.