lihtium battery not yet applicable for hybrids, page-8

Oil is on record high and will keep moving up IMO. If price is not the main issue, the main concern is then most of the oil producers is cutting their production because reserve is drying up. Whether they are going to survive and be success largely depend on the outcome of their new oil finding. On the other hand human nature is not going to give up mobility. Car manufacturers are rushing to develop new version of next generation vehicle. I believe people will eventually go into car station and swap battery in and out of their vehicle (except heavy vehicle) instead of pumping petrol. In my opinion, we may see lots of new electric cars on the road in a few years time. Car manufacturer will be having a bull run again. ADY would definitely have great potential in their Lithium future.

please see support article from SMH

Toyota to boost hybrid car production
Email Print Normal font Large font May 24, 2008 - 7:34AM

Toyota plans to build two plants in Japan to produce batteries for environmentally friendly gas-electric hybrid vehicles, a news report said.

The joint venture that Toyota has with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, the electronics company that makes Panasonic brand products, will set up the battery plants, The Nikkei business daily reported without citing sources.

One plant will produce nickel-metal hydride batteries while another will produce lithium-ion batteries, which are planned for future ecological cars, the report said.

Toyota Motor Corp spokesman Paul Nolasco did not have an immediate comment on the report.

Japan's top automaker, which leads the industry in gas-electric hybrids with its hit Prius, has said it will rev up hybrid sales to one million a year sometime after 2010.

Hybrids reduce pollution and emissions that are linked to global warming by switching between a gas engine and an electric motor to deliver better mileage than comparable standard cars. But they are still a relatively niche market.

Toyota's Prius, which has been on sale for more than a decade, recently reached cumulative sales of one million vehicles.

Lithium-ion batteries, now more common in laptops, produce more power and are smaller than nickel-metal hydride batteries, which are now used in the Prius. Toyota has said the lithium-ion batteries may be used in plug-in hybrids, which

can be recharged from a home electrical outlet.

The world's other major automakers are also working on environmentally-friendly cars, and the race is on to produce the best batteries to power them.

Earlier this week, Honda Motor Co, Japan's second-biggest automaker, said it will boost hybrid sales to 500,000 a year by sometime after 2010. Honda said it will introduce a new model sold solely as a hybrid next year, so the Tokyo-based company will have four hybrids in its lineup.

Nissan Motor Co, which still hasn't developed its own hybrid system for commercial sale, said it will have its original hybrid by 2010. Nissan is focusing more on electric vehicles, promising them for the US and Japanese markets by 2010.

Nissan said this week its joint venture with electronics maker NEC Corp. will start mass-producing lithium-ion batteries in 2009 at a plant in Japan.

© 2008 AP