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By admin, December 1, 2009 9:13 pm

Japan’s Nissan Motor Co. is working on a lithium-ion battery that can power an electric vehicle for 300 kilometres (190 miles) on a single charge, the business daily Nikkei said Sunday.

The distance is nearly double the 160-kilometre range of the Leaf, Nissan’s first all-electric car set to go on sale in late 2010 in Japan, the United States and Europe.

Nissan, Japan’s third largest automaker, aims to produce electric cars incorporating the new battery by 2015, according to Nikkei.

Nissan plans to boost the capacity of the lithium-ion battery’s positive electrode by adding nickel and cobalt to its main material, manganese, it said.

The enhanced battery can store about twice as much electricity as batteries with positive electrodes made only from manganese.

It is robust enough for practical use, able to withstand about 1,000 charge cycles, the daily said.

The company estimates that the battery will cost about the same as conventional lithium-ion ones to produce, as it contains only a small amount of expensive cobalt.

Ahead of last month’s Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said his company aimed to make rechargeable batteries for electric cars a “core business” as he predicted a bright future for zero-emission vehicles.

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By admin, November 3, 2009 9:01 pm

Japan’s Nissan Motor Company recently decided to mass produce electric vehicles lithium-ion battery for France’s Renault.

At this stage, Nissan plans to substantially increase its domestic battery production capacity, will increase at least 50% or more; the other hand, the company plans in 2012 with the Renault Motor Company joint venture in France, to establish an annual output of 60000 Lithium-ion batteries production plant. Nissan’s investment in these two programs total size of over 500 billion yen (one U.S. dollars about 90 yen).

Renault plans to mass produce electric vehicles in France in 2011. At present, Renault and Nissan have been established the environmentally friendly electric vehicle based vehicle development strategy, the two companies will not only achieve technology together in the next generation eco-car field, but also will achieve the the exchange of battery, engine and other major components.

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By admin, October 25, 2009 8:52 pm

Nissan has developed the battery it will use for electric Leaf, but the automaker is already working on its next-generation battery design – and it may be sold to other automakers.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told Automotive News that he expects the next-generation battery pack to be smaller and lighter than the current design. He also expects the new battery to be less expensive to manufacture.

“If you want to be in control of the cost, you’d better be involved [with the development],” Ghosn said. “We want to make sure we can drive the battery where we want to go.”

Ghosn revealed little else about the next-gen battery, but Nissan is working with the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop batteries. Oak Ridge has said a battery capable of delivering 400 miles on a single charge is feasible.

Nissan also believes it can make money simply by developing and manufacturing batteries, largely by selling them to other automakers. A plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, will reportedly be able to build 200,000 batteries each year, and Ghosn says Nissan will “sell the battery to whoever is interested.”