Seriously.  You ask any two car companies what the future of the electric car looks like and both will, with a straight face, give you two totally different answers and insist in the most strenuous fashion available that the other company is represented by a series of lying bastards who wouldn’t know the future of the electric car if it crawled up their pant legs and started licking them.

Some insist that there have been no major changes in technology.  Others claim that’s so much crockery and there HAVE been major changes, especially in battery technology.  Some claim that electric cars will never catch on anyway because they’re too quiet.  Too quiet?  How does THAT happen?  Well, for all my readers who live out in the country you know what the biggest threat to driving at night is–car-deer collisions.  Animals will be constantly running out in front of these electric cars because they CAN NOT HEAR THEM COMING.

For every solution, there’s a whole new set of problems.  And nowhere is this more clearly illustrated than with the electric car.

Tags: battery, battery technologies, battery technology, Electric, electric car, Tesla

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Leo Motors showcases its line of electric vehicles in San Diego County this coming July 7, highlighting its product lineup. Among those vehicles expected to be shown are the Leo-1000 and Hilless scooters. These products range in price from $2,900 to $4,000 and are eligible for the tax credits and deductions allowable for electric vehicles.

The event is expected to boost the sales and awareness for the company, something that has been proven from past years. To highlight Leo Motors, they have a standing purchase order of 3,000 Hilles scooters from South Korea which will be used as deliver service scooters. They are expected to launch their vehicles in the U.S. later this year.

“We are proud to introduce our zero emission electric scooters to the U.S. market at this historic venue,” said Dr. Robert Kang, President and CEO of Leo Motors, Inc. “Our scooters are the world’s first truly sustainable EV products offered in the scooter market. These are not electric toys; they are highly evolved EVs made possible as a result of Leo’s proprietary motor and battery technologies.”

(Source) Press

Tags: battery technologies, electric scooters, electric toys, electric vehicles, ev products, leo, san diego county, scooter market, showcases, south korea, tax credits, zero emission

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Perhaps two companies working together can come out and product a new battery product that is seen to become a demand in the coming years as BASF and Sion Power have combined to speed up the cause to accelerate the commercialization of Sion Power’s proprietary lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery technology, e.g., for the electric vehicle (EV) market and other high-energy applications.

The Sion Power / BASF collaboration targets the development of battery materials to improve Li-S battery life and to increase the energy density and thus extend driving range of future EVs beyond what is currently available with alternative rechargeable battery technologies. Li-S technology already offers significant energy density and weight advantages over those existing technologies.

Improved battery technology is a fundamental requirement for more efficient use of current and renewable energy sources. The recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides for $2 billion for the development and manufacture of advanced automotive batteries. All major automotive manufactures are vigorously pursuing the introduction of electric vehicles that are environmentally friendly yet provide the range and comfort consumers expect in an automobile, features that cannot be obtained with any currently available battery technology.

(Source) Press

Tags: basf, battery life, battery materials, battery technologies, battery technology, commercialization, driving range, efficient use, electric vehicle, electric vehicles, energy applications, energy density, fundamental requirement, high energy, lithium, rechargeable battery, reinvestment act, renewable energy sources, technology development

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GE Transportation continues its commitment towards developing and providing leading hybrid technology solutions with the announced plans to build a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant for advanced storage batteries.

The new battery business will be a part of GE Transportation and will serve customers in the rail, marine, mining, telecommunications and utility sectors. As the leading producer of diesel-electric locomotives, GE has a rich history of delivering breakthrough technologies that are today commonplace in the rail industry.

GE has invested more than $150 million to develop advanced battery technologies, including a high energy-density sodium-based chemistry battery that will provide energy storage for a variety applications, including GE Transportation’s ecomagination certified Evolution Hybrid Locomotive, mining truck drive system and tugboat electrification.

The new $100 million production facility will be located in upstate New York in the Capital Region and will create 350 new manufacturing jobs. New York State has partnered with GE in this project by pledging more than $15 million in incentives. GE also is in the process of filing an application for U.S. Department of Energy stimulus funding for this project.

(Source) Press

Tags: battery business, battery manufacturing, battery technologies, breakthrough technologies, diesel electric locomotives, electrification, energy density, energy storage, hybrid locomotive, Hybrid Technologies, hybrid technology, locomotives ge, manufacturing jobs, manufacturing plant, project source, rich history, storage batteries, tugboat, utility sectors, variety applications

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