How is GM going to address the Volt's heat issue from the Lithium Ion batteries?

They don't have to address the heat issue if they never build the car.

 

Maybe they will offer an optional automatic fire suppression system.

 

They won't address it at all and will simply allow the car's reliability to suffer. It's the GM way!

 

Weird. My friends in Boulder are building 35 Mile PHEV's out of Prii (and Hybrid Escapes) using A123 cells. They have so little heat coming off the packs that the existing cooling system is unneeded on both cars.

I think it is hogwash from GM.

Nate

 

Yeah, the Killacycle generates 400HP from A123's... and while the runs are pretty sure, they're also as intense as you'd want. No real heat issues. It is all about choosing just the right kind of "battery that hasn't been invented yet, but is already in use."

 

From what I have read, GM and A123 are not joking about Volt.
It is just a matter of when.
Read this article from IEEE Spectrum magazine.
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/sep07/5490
That is a professional magazine for electrical engineering.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ceric @ Sep 15 2007, 06:32 PM) [snapback]513169[/snapback]</div>

Excellent article. It provides a lot of insight into what some of the problems/solutions are.

 

GM is contracting with so many battery companies.....I have to wonder if they are doing so just to keep the technology away from others.

 

My favorite part of the article is this:

"If a lithium-ion powered minivan carrying a family were to burst into flames, the resulting fiasco could set the industry back a decade. And it’s no use arguing that something like 250 000 gasoline-powered cars catch fire every year in the United States alone. New products are held to a higher standard."

So true. People ask me all the time if I'm worried about the scary batteries. "Compared to what?" I ask. "The insanely dangerous 20 gallons of gasoline in your car that you happily park in your attached garage every night?"

Mostly folks are just worred about anything that's different. Imagine if we were just trying to commercialize gasoline today!

 

:lol:

Well.... GM and Ford need not worry about Minivans "burst into Flames" since they don't build one!!!!!

Problem will not exist then....

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Sep 17 2007, 01:59 AM) [snapback]513565[/snapback]</div>

Doesn't anyone remember the Pinto?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(darelldd @ Sep 17 2007, 01:59 AM) [snapback]513565[/snapback]</div>

I remember talk about the "green rays" coming from microwave ovens! :lol:

Tom

 

GM will address their imaginary car's battery problems with the same sollution they used to 'create' the car ... they will come up with imaginary batteries, and an imaginary cooling system, making HUGE imaginary profits.

 

I just spoke with a guy who is converting an S-10E from Lead Acid to LiIon. I asked about the heating/ cooling of the pack, and he said they aren't using it since the batteries don't have issues with heat.

Nate

 

Yup, the new lithium-ion chemistries have charge/discharge efficiencies in the 98-99% range. This means there is very little waste heat (unlike the 70-80% efficiency of earlier battery types).

Altair recently charged a 35 kWh pack in just 10 minutes at a press conference and the pack only barely got warm.

 

Toyota has concerns with the Lithium-Ion battery but I thought it was if the vehicle was in an accident, not normal use. Temperature control during charge and discharge is controllable by controlling current flows and cooling the pack as in the Prius but if the battery pack is damaged in a collision there may be no current control across a short circuit.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Sep 14 2007, 07:22 PM) [snapback]512847[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Sep 16 2007, 10:18 AM) [snapback]513342[/snapback]</div>

I agree with Godiva on both counts. They'll never build the car, but they'll try damn hard to monopolize battery technology to prevent other companies from building one either.

As for the heat of lithium batteries, the Tesla Roadster has a liquid cooling system for its battery pack. As a result, the car is far noisier than a Prius. It's even noisier than my Xebra. But the heating issue is not really a problem. It just means it needs the cooling system.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Sep 14 2007, 07:22 PM) [snapback]512847[/snapback]</div>

I like your sense of comic. You should be on their board of directors.