Home Transportation Electric Vehicles

General Motors Hints at Electric Vehicle Battery With Triple Capacity

82
0
Future Electric Vehicles Could Increase Range Without the Extra Cost and Weight
Future Electric Vehicles Could Increase Range Without the Extra Cost and Weight

General Motors has been fairly tight-lipped about its future electric vehicle developments, but we do know they are working on an 200mi-range vehicle which could see the light of day by 2014.

The small battery pack in the Chevy Volt only has a range of 38 miles or so, after which the backup generator kicks in to keep things moving, but change could be on the horizon. General Motors has already hinted that they may begin to offer a Volt with a smaller engine to save on fuel. Interestingly, it has been rumored that the Chevy Volt might get a smaller battery to cut costs for drivers with shorter commutes, but what we’re more interested in is seeing more range out of the electric vehicle batteries.

General Motors has been fairly tight-lipped about its future electric vehicle developments, but we do know they are working on an 200mi-range vehicle which could see the light of day by 2014. What’s really interesting about this project is that General Motors is trying to make it affordable as well. Some have poo-pooed electric vehicles for their high-price and low-range problems, but it’s pretty much unavoidable, given the price of current lithium-ion rechargeable battery technology.

Add a little bit more to the rumor mill now, with a recent comment by Gary Smyth, director of General Motors Global R&D, “Today there are prototypes out there with 400Wh/kg.” The battery in the Chevy Volt is just 140Wh/kg and in the Tesla Model S is 240Wh/kg, so imagine a 285% increase in range [108mi] for the Volt, or a 500mi-range Model S?

Eagerly awaiting more news, but this looks like a promising step forward and whatever General Motors has up their sleeves for the next electric vehicle battery could very well change our perceptions of electric vehicles.

(Visited 92 times, 1 visits today)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.