Since early last year, two companies -- the Watertown, Massachusetts startup A123 Systems and Compact Power, Inc., a division of LG Chem -- have been battling for the contract to build lithium-ion batteries for General Motors's Hail Mary, the Chevy Volt, an electric car with a small gas engine on board for backup. GM has yet to officially announce the winner, but Reuters reports that Compact Power is the victor. From our current issue, here's a look inside the fight to power the Volt.
As far as the cap is concerned, I think we could all sacrifice 10 minutes for the sake of the environment. Now, I'm no environmentalist but the gains to switching completely to battery powered cars could be significant--especially if CNT batteries improve the current cap of 50-75 miles to something comparable to current gasoline caps (400-500 miles). If we want to help the environment, simply giving 10 minutes of our time to recharge a battery, which if the cap were improved to the current gasoline caps would only occur about once a week, could really make a difference. Since electric cars contribute about 30% less Carbon emissions, I for one believe electric cars (NOT hybrids) are a step in the right direction.
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