Lithium Battery Development Efforts Ramp Up
E-mail
Written by Gregory L. Pacheco   
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
The race to develop and mass produce a powerful, cost efficient lithium ion (Li-ion) battery for hybrid and electric vehicles is heating up. Two separate consortia of industry, research, and academic organizations have been established in the past three months, with government support providing an additional boost.

Most recently, eighteen German companies and academic organizations formed the He-Lion partnership to accelerate the development and commercialization of Li-ion batteries for plug-in hybrids and other electric-powered vehicles, says BASF, whose Future Business company will head the group and work on material manufacture. The consortium will receive €21 million ($27 million) from the German Ministry of Education and Reform (BMBF), under a €60-million ($80 million) initiative to bring "higher performing, safer and above all affordable" Li-ion batteries to the market by 2015..

Similar efforts are underway in the U.S. market. In December of last year, fourteen lithium, battery, and advanced materials companies formed the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture (NAATBatt) with the Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory (Chicago). The group, which has since grown to more than forty companies, will work to develop and manufacture advanced Li-ion battery cells for transportation applications in the U.S. Participants include Rockwood subsidiary Chemetall and FMC.

NAATBatt will be applying for several million dollars in DOE funds under the 2009 Recovery Act, which included $2 billion to support construction of U.S. based manufacturing plants to produce batteries and electric drive components.

Under the terms of both the U.S. Recovery Act and BMBF, grant recipients must match government contributions.

Production of large, high power, lithium batteries used to power the latest generation of hybrid and electric vehicles is forecast to increase sharply from 2010, driving future demand for lithium. However, demand is 2009 demand is expected to be fiat due to the effects of the economic downturn on lithium demand for electronics batteries and industrial uses, analysts and producers say.

Lithium producers say they still have plenty to be optimistic about, however. Pharmaceutical applications have not slowed with the downturn, and government support of hybrid and electric vehicle development has not collapsed along with oil prices. "There is every sign that the Obama administration is serious about the fact that we need to be energy independent," says Seifl Ghasemi, chairman and CEO of Rockwood. Tightness in the lithium market will ease this year due to the downturn, but will go back to being short when demand returns to normal, Ghasemi says. Lithium market supply has been lower than expected because capacity additions in China did not come online as announced.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 14 July 2009 )