Battery Breakthrough Could Help Speed Electric Cars to Market

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they have made a major breakthrough in lithium-ion battery technology, one that may enable an electric vehicle to be recharged in as little time as it takes to fill the tank at the gas pump.

"MIT engineers have created a kind of beltway that allows for the rapid transit of electrical energy through a well-known battery material, an advance that could usher in smaller, lighter batteries — for cell phones and other devices — that could recharge in seconds rather than hours," said MIT in a statement on Wednesday on its Web site.

Currently, electric vehicles, such as the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, are expected to take an overnight period to recharge.
MIT said the researchers believe the technology could "make it into the marketplace within two to three years" because the battery material used isn't new — the only change is in the way it's made. The only limitation thus far to the new technique is the amount of power available to a homeowner through the electric grid, according to researchers.
The breakthrough is reported in the March 12 issue of Nature.

"The ability to charge and discharge batteries in a matter of seconds rather than hours may open up new technological applications and induce lifestyle changes," say the researchers in their Nature paper.

The brain trust at MIT may have just hit upon a solution to one of the nagging concerns about slow-to-recharge electric vehicles.
Write By : Anita Lienert