| US companies Altair Nanotechnologies
and ISE Corporation are working together to develop rechargeable battery
packs for heavy duty hybrids.
Altairnano’s key product is NanoSafe, a coating applied to a lithium-ion
battery’s aluminium electrode. NanoSafe increases the surface area
of the electrode by a factor of 100.
The rapid charge and discharge involved in brake regeneration makes charging
efficiency important. Altairnano chief executive Alan Gotcher said: “NanoSafe
is 94 per cent efficient in storing brake energy; a normal lithium-ion
is about 30 per cent. A battery that would normally take between four
and eight hours to recharge instead takes just 10 minutes.”
The titanium-based coating is fully oxidised and so has good thermal stability
and durability. While most automotive batteries last about 1,000 cycles,
Altairnano believes its product is capable of 25,000 cycles and has a
15-year life.
ISE Corporation makes electric and hybrid-electric drive systems for heavy
duty vehicles. With Altairnano, it aims to supply cost-effective lithium
battery packs for buses, trucks and military vehicles.
Altairnano will provide NanoSafe cells and batteries and data on their
proper management. ISE engineers will design control systems using its
data on vibration criteria, duty cycles and operating environments.
|
|
