From the category archives:

Batteries

The Common Elements Of Innovation

by Admin February 12, 2010

by Jeremy Hsu – TECHNEWSDAILY – Published: Feb 12, 2010
Rare earth elements with exotic names such as europium and tantalum are crucial for future technologies such as hybrid cars, but their scarcity could thwart innovation.
But more common metals used in the tech industry could fare better, even if their prices rise due to worldwide demand. [...]

Read the full article →

The Electrification Coalition: The Dangers Of Logical Analysis

by Jack Lifton November 21, 2009

Yesterday at the Seeking Alpha Web site, John Petersen published an excellent article on the new Electrification Coalition, titled “Rapid Transition to Grid Enabled Vehicles Not Possible or Desirable.” I suggest you read this article right now, if you haven’t done so already.
To paraphrase John Milton, “logical analysis is a dangerous thing, drink deep or [...]

Read the full article →

China’s Rare Earth Metals

by Admin November 17, 2009

by PAUL MASON – BBC WORLD NEWS / NEWSNIGHT – Published: Nov 17, 2009
LONDON – Above ground, factories in China are churning out goods to be shipped around the world, below it, lies rare earth metals which are crucial to nearly every 21st century technology.
Paul Mason reports on a rare commodity in hot demand [features [...]

Read the full article →

Look north for critical metals, U.S. conference hears

by Admin November 6, 2009

by ALISHA HIYATE – THE NORTHERN MINER – Published: Nov 6, 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jack Lifton has an urgent warning for the United States when it comes to the supply of rare earth elements (REEs) — metals that are essential to everything from cell phones and LCD screens to military applications and hybrid cars.
Addressing attendees [...]

Read the full article →

As Hybrid Cars Gobble Rare Metals, Shortage Looms

by Admin August 31, 2009

By STEVE GORMAN – REUTERS – Published: Aug 31, 2009
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Prius hybrid automobile is popular for its fuel efficiency, but its electric motor and battery guzzle rare earth metals, a little-known class of elements found in a wide range of gadgets and consumer goods.
That makes Toyota’s market-leading gasoline-electric hybrid car and [...]

Read the full article →

Autoblog Misunderstood What Bill Ford Said About Batteries Used By Ford

by Jack Lifton August 20, 2009

I recently read an Autoblog.com article entitled “Chevy Volt’s 230 mpg rating, ad campaign comes under fire from Bill Ford, AdAge“. It was poorly edited, poorly fact-checked and poorly written. William Clay Ford, could not have said what the article attributed to him in the context described.
The Ford Motor Company has a first-class battery development group [...]

Read the full article →

Is The Chevrolet Volt Only A Fair Weather Car?

by Jack Lifton August 12, 2009

All the recent nonsense about the Chevrolet Volt’s fuel use and performance is just hot air, until the car is on the road and its actual performance under real driving conditions and with ordinary drivers is measured. I propose a side-by-side test of the Prius and the Chevrolet Volt to settle which is the more practical and [...]

Read the full article →

Is There A Primary Rare Earth Mine In Kazakstan? If Not, What Are The Japanese Doing There?

by Jack Lifton August 12, 2009

Bloomberg, for August 12, 2009, published the following report:
Sumitomo Corp. to Form Venture With Kazatomprom, Nikkei Says
By Fergus Maguire
Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) — Sumitomo Corp. will form a venture this year with Kazatomprom, the Kazakhstan government-owned nuclear power company, to produce rare-earth metals, Nikkei English News said, without citing anyone.
Annual output is expected to reach 3,000 [...]

Read the full article →

The Question Of Battery Swap Versus Fast Charging Uncovers The Core Problem Of A Lack Of Planning For National Vehicle Electrification

by Jack Lifton August 9, 2009

The cart is dragging the horse as the economically and electrical engineering clueless are now debating where to put the infrastructure for recharging (fueling) electrified motor vehicles. All we have to do, they say, is change the transportation fueling, the shopping habits, and the daily routines we have built up over the last 100 years as soon [...]

Read the full article →

Peugeot Expands Use Of Rare Earth Based Batteries With First Diesel Hybrid

by Jack Lifton August 6, 2009

French car maker, Peugeot, has matched its long history of making and marketing diesel cars, with the solid performance history of reliable and long-lived nickel metal hydride battery packs – similar to those made and used by Toyota in the Prius “full” hybrid – to introduce the first diesel hybrid powered car to enter the [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries