Sanyo to Begin Mass Production of Li-ion Systems for Power Storage and Light Electric Vehicle Applications
13 November 2009
| Sanyo Li-ion systems for power storage (left) and light electric vehicle (right) applications. Click to enlarge. |
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. has developed two new lithium-ion battery systems and will begin mass production of the new products in March 2010. Initial monthly production for each system will be 500 units.
The Standard Battery System for Electric Motors (EVB-101) can be used to power light electric vehicles that are in the R&D or small-scale mass production stages. The rack-mountable Standard Battery System for Energy Storage (DCB-101) can be easily incorporated into existing systems as part of hybrid schemes using solar cells, to store electricity generated by wind power, or for electrical output stabilization. It can also be used as a back-up power source for servers or mobile phone base stations.
Both systems are based on 18650-size cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (18 mm in diameter x 65 mm in height). Sanyo has developed parallel and series battery control technologies for the basic components of the new products, based on its experience with laptop battery packs. The company has also added more of its own technologies to ensure additional reliability and thermal management.
The voltage and capacity of the products can be customized, as multiple units are connected in parallel and series, according to the application.
| Sanyo Li-ion Systems | ||
|---|---|---|
| Standard Battery System for Electric Motors EVB-101 | Standard Battery System for Power Storage DCB-101 | |
| Format | 14 in series, 6 in parallel, 18650-type | 13 in series, 24 in parallel, 18650-type |
| Output voltage | 50.4 V (42.0 V to 57.4 V) | Average 48V (39V to 52V) |
| Battery capacity | 10.8 Ah | 33.6Ah |
| Charging voltage (max) | 57.4 V (4.1 V / cell) | 52V |
| Power generation | 544 Wh | 1,613 Wh |
| Max. output | 5.2 kW (peak) / 1.5 kW (continuous) | Approx. 1.5kW |
| Max. discharge current | 120 A (peak) / 35 A (continuous) | 30A |
| Size | 366 × 213 × 66 mm (approx. 5.2 L) | 438 × 386 × 80 mm (approx. 13.5 L) |
| Weight | Approx. 7 kg | Approx. 19 kg |
Panasonic Corp. launched its tender offer for Sanyo Electric Co. on 4 November—which the Sanyo board supported. Three major shareholders—US-based Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the Daiwa Securities SMBC Co. group and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.—have already agreed to sell a combined 50.13% stake in Sanyo, so the tender offer is effectively a done deal. Sanyo is likely to become a Panasonic unit as early as mid-December.
This battery will not revolutionize the car industry...
Posted by: Treehugger | 13 November 2009 at 11:59 AM
When the world's largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries announces mass EV battery production within five months it will revolutionize the car industry.
Posted by: kelly | 13 November 2009 at 02:30 PM
25 kWh effective - 350 kg and 160 km.
Price?????
Posted by: Darius | 13 November 2009 at 03:52 PM
What does it cost per kWh?
Posted by: Ziv | 13 November 2009 at 07:52 PM
Um they only plan to make 500 total of these units per month at first and a single car would need alot of em.
The first one is very low wh/kg and the second isnt much better and has terrible power per kg.
Posted by: wintermane2000 | 13 November 2009 at 08:16 PM
This is big. The electric vehicle pack has twice the amp hours of my electric bike (but about 25% lower voltage) They sell about a million electric bikes a year in China.
http://biodiversivist.blogspot.com/2009/05/hybrid-electric-bike-with-afterburners.html
The battery is the weak link in all electric vehicles and solar as well. These packs are the start of what the world has been waiting for. Put one on each motor for each wheel and you have yourself a low speed EV worth owning. Get the storage version for your eight 12 volt solar panels and you can charge your car.
The next step will be bigger packs for electric car conversions. That will be a paradigm shift. The big car makers will be forced to compete in price with mom and pop shops converting cars to electric.
For those out there waiting for a pack to replace the V-8 in their F-150, it is never going to happen. The cars of tomorrow will barely resemble the tanks we drive today ...IMHO.
Posted by: Biodiversivist | 13 November 2009 at 09:24 PM
Interesting. As cheap, dirty coal is discouraged, energy prices will start to rise at the same time that self generated sources of energy, i.e. solar and wind, start to decrease in price. So it is possible that in the near future, it will be cheaper to generate my electricity at home, with wind in MT or by solar in VA. And if it gets cheap enough, I will have no incentive to sell my F150, because the price of fueling it will be coming down not going up. Ford will see which way the wind is blowing, so to speak, and build work trucks with a strong electric motor and a 48 kWh battery pack. F150's are already big and expensive so the weight and price premium will be less noticeable, and the gas prices have always been high for big pickups, so it is a win-win.
Nice thought exercise but there is the fundamental flaw in it. Batteries are just too expensive. For now.
Posted by: Ziv | 14 November 2009 at 06:51 AM
That is my point, Ziv
Batteries will probably never be cheap enough to create an all-electric version of something as heavy as a working truck.
Hybrid electric might work, as well as hybrid electric with natural gas.
We will likely never get battery power densities as high as a tank of liquid fuel.
Posted by: Biodiversivist | 14 November 2009 at 12:49 PM
We will likely never get battery power densities as high as a tank of liquid fuel.
That is too simple of a comparison; what matters is the power density of the whole system. A BEV is driven by a heavy battery and a lite motor that can have so much torque you don't need a gearbox, a ICEV is driven by a light fuel tank but has a heavy engine/transmission.
Posted by: ai_vin | 14 November 2009 at 03:18 PM
"...Batteries will probably never be cheap enough to create an all-electric version of something as heavy as a working truck..."
Check out the Case Studies page at http://www.SmithElectricVehicles.com
Plenty of fleet managers are already half convinced that in lifetime comparisons (say 5 year fleet renewal) the savings on maintenance and fuel are already not far from making economic sense, even with trucks costing twice the price of a diesel truck. Batteries are currently very expensive - but to declare they'll probably never be cheap enough is far too extreme a view in my opinion. Check out also Smith's US company at sev-us.com
Several examples exist of all-electric F-150 trucks..
Posted by: Bob Uppendown | 15 November 2009 at 04:29 AM
To say that batteries will never...
sounds like: "the automobile will never replace the horse."
Think back to how crude the model-T was.
That is where we are today, the model-T of battery tech.
Posted by: danm | 17 November 2009 at 09:33 AM
Good points (danm).
We often forget that ICE vehicles took more than 120 years get at their current high (17% to 19%) efficiency level.
Most of us want first generation BEVs to surpass current ICEs in al domains. We badly need a reality check.
Posted by: HarveyD | 17 November 2009 at 09:56 AM