Revenge of the Electric Car

OCTOBER 23, 2008

The Volt contract is important because the batteries are the most important element of the car and their reliability will make or break GM’s gamble to be the first company to put a plug-in — or grid-rechargeable — hybrid into the market. Having two suppliers would help drive costs down.

Volt 100

Volt GM Batteries Battery 100

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 16, 2009

For the standard version, Tesla plans to use a battery that can recharge at a typical 220V outlet in about four hours. Earlier this month, researchers from MIT said they had developed a process that within three years could lead to electric car batteries able to recharge in as little as five minutes. I asked Mike Omotoso, J.D.

Electric Cars 28

Electric Cars Charging Cars 2009 28

Tony Karrer Delicious EVdriven

APRIL 16, 2009

Also, besides giving you the ability to charge at night when most utility rates are lower, future vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology may allow you to sell some of your stored energy back to the utilities. The demands on the grid would require a lot of infrastructure work without some sort of "energy reservoir" in place.

Charging 38

Charging Batteries Battery 2009 38