Envia Claims ‘Breakthrough’ in Lithium-Ion Battery Cost and Energy Density - NYTimes.com →
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Envia Systems, a battery maker based in California, announced on Monday what it called a “major breakthrough” in lithium-ion cell technology that would result in a significant increase in the energy density — and a sharp reduction in the cost — of lithium-ion battery packs.
This is encouraging if their results hold up and their cells are manufacturable, reliable, etc. etc. There’s a lot of steps left to go even if they claim they can be ready for production in 18 months. There have been a lot of these energy “breakthrough” claims over the years, and little to show for them.
Still, this is one of the biggest impediments to electric cars becoming more than a blip in the market, and a solution would be amazing. It’s really really hard to compete with the energy density of fossil fuels. After energy density? Recharge time becomes the next step, followed closely by availability of charging stations.