The sticking point to most electric car manufacturing is the battery. Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen are now working together to hopefully create a car battery that can stand up to most driving. The intention is that these Toshiba electric car batteries will help electric vehicles go much farther, charge faster and be more economical.
The biggest problem with batteries
The battery has been the question every since electric cars are around. An electric car relies on batteries for all of its power, and those batteries are notoriously heavy, short-lived and take a long time to charge. The Toyota Prius solved this problem by making a battery-gas hybrid. Within the push to try and have all-electric automobiles, however, the race to develop better batteries is in full swing.
Electric car batteries major players
Tesla motors is currently the big name in electric vehicles – and this is due to its battery technology. Tesla’s electric roadster that goes for $109,000 has a 300 mile range, but the high price tag is certainly a barrier. The Nissan electric Leaf is only $25,000, but the battery only lasts for about 100 miles. Toshiba and Mitsubishi have partnered up to create a SCiB — Super Charge ion Battery — that can be long-lasting and relatively inexpensive. Currently, Panasonic supplies batteries to Honda and Ford, while Hitachi supplies General Motors and NEC supplies Nissan.
Toshiba’s battery experience
The Toshiba push to create an electric car battery fits right to the technology the company has long been developing. Already, Toshiba develops and sells motors for bullet trains, machinery and elevators. By combining its SCiB battery technology with its engine know-how, the company is going to be building motors for a Ford hybrid in the next few years. Toshiba is also partnering with Mitsubishi to launch a Peugeot/Mitsubishi/Toshiba electric automobile in Europe within the near future. To make an all electric , Toshiba is partnering with Volkswagen.
Electric car technology is improving along with battery life. All around, good things for the zero or near-zero emissions vehicle market.
