Chevron not yet done trying to derail hybrids

[msquared48]

As there is obviously a long history to this subject, would some enlightened individual(s) mind posting any other links to actual news articles on the subject involving Chevron and their campaign against the Hybrid market?

[dogfriend]

If you look at the entries on Wikipedia for Cobasys and Ovshinsky and NiMH batteries you can get a summary of the history of the NiMH battery. Ovshinsky was the inventor of NiMH.

I did a Google search on Cobasys and found a couple of interesting links.

The press release for the settlement: Yahoo! Groups

Cobasys is currently in financial trouble:
Cobasys' owners push for sale of battery maker -

What you won't find is the terms of the licensing agreement(s) between Panasonic, Toyota and Cobasys, et. al. That is confidential, but the rumor is that it limits the capacity of the NiMH battery that Toyota (or other licensees) can use in automotive applications.

[hampdenwireless]

Originally Posted by dogfriend

If you look at the entries on Wikipedia for Cobasys and Ovshinsky and NiMH batteries you can get a summary of the history of the NiMH battery. Ovshinsky was the inventor of NiMH.

I did a Google search on Cobasys and found a couple of interesting links.

The press release for the settlement: Yahoo! Groups

Cobasys is currently in financial trouble:
Cobasys' owners push for sale of battery maker -

What you won't find is the terms of the licensing agreement(s) between Panasonic, Toyota and Cobasys, et. al. That is confidential, but the rumor is that it limits the capacity of the NiMH battery that Toyota (or other licensees) can use in automotive applications.

That is correct except there are some details of the agreement out there, check my link below.

LIon batteries are not covered by Cobasys patents. The patents expire in 2014. A good read is here:

Cobasys - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The world of electric cars will be a much better place after 2014. What a shame that this one company can do so much damage.

[hill]

Originally Posted by msquared48

As there is obviously a long history to this subject, would some enlightened individual(s) mind posting any other links to actual news articles on the subject involving Chevron and their campaign against the Hybrid market?

You mean like Chevron & other oilies blocking the spread of EVs by formng dummy "concerned citizens groups" (set up by the oil companies, containing no real people) that sought to block the installation of EV charging infrastructures ... claiming such infrastructure didn't serve society's needs? You can Google the issue, or just watch WKTEC.

[PriuStorm]

For something like this, we need the opposite of the Nobel Peace Prize to recognize individuals, politicians, corporations, etc. who have done acts such as these to the overall set-back of humanity in the name of corporate (greed) profit.

Right along with the Nobel Peace Prize Winners being recognized and awarded for their contribution to society, these other 'winners' will be ridiculed and shamed.

Now we just need a name for this prize....
How about the Nobel Booby Prize?

[dogfriend]

How about the Luddite Award?

Given to individuals or companies that stand in the way of the advancement of science or technology.

[YoDaddyAlex]

Originally Posted by viking31

OTOH, it is within Cheveron's right to do whatever they wish with the patent, whether it be sit on it, collect royalties, or manufacture the product themselves.

what is this obsession people have with so-called "rights"?

why do people confuse a social "right" like free speech and thought, religion, etc. with the "right" of a company to do anything for a profit? where did people get this idea that a business has freedom? corporate charters still can have as many limits as a state wants to set.

this obsession with market consumer freedoms while ignoring the real freedoms being trampled on is one of the many reasons America is on such a decline.

[Godiva]

The notion that a corporation has the same "rights" as an actual person is a typographical error in Supreme Court documents that has never been corrected.

[nerfer]

Originally Posted by AussieOwner

A friend of mine was telling me that based on the current demand on fossil fuel - coal, gas and oil - there is now only an expected 90 years before they ALL run out. He was mainly interested in coal, as he is in the electricity power station business and whereas 5 years ago there was some 195 years worth of coal reserves, this has dropped down to only 135 years of reserve as of last year.

Coal likes to tout their numbers of centuries of supply, but that's at the current (typically last year's) production rate. If you figure in a typical 3% annual growth, it drops by about a third, and if you assume coal gasification (coal to liquids) takes off because of a petroleum shortage, then you probably have less than 50 years supply. I don't have the real estimates, and business math takes me awhile to figure out (give me hexadecimal any day), but those numbers are roughly accurate.

Not to mention coal is a really dirty power source and involves nasty mining techniques, like mountain-top removal which destroys the habitat for centuries and topography for millenia.

[tochatihu]

Let us posit that Chevron etc. have acted in their own self-interest to inhibit demand reduction for their money maker, crude oil. May it not also be true that this stance has accelerated the development of cars like Prius, that clearly illustrate the efficiency increase that can be achieved with a '6.5' (small) battery?

As an unintended consequence, they caused Toyota etc. engineers to be exceedingly clever. Now we have a large and growing fleet of quite efficient vehicles, each one requiring not all that much nickel metal.

Somebody has to sing 'Kumbaya' in this dreary thread