subject: Battery Size Standardization [print this page] If the auto industry does not settle on battery size standardization for hybrid and electric vehicles, then electric vehicles (EV's) will remain expensive which will severely limit the market growth. Without competition and high volume, lithium batteries will remain expensive. Unfortunately, other issues such as serviceability, reparability, availability and replacement cost may hurt the future growth of EV's. There are other issues which could change this outcome. Outside of the engineering issues, there are issues such as what World competition does or what setting a National Energy Policy to limit imports of foreign oil through user taxes would do. But the future must include standard interchangeable battery modules to be successful. lenovo laptop battery.
I am a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers. SAE is based in Troy Michigan. As an international organization, SAE spends considerable time developing standards for the automotive industry.
Today there is significant work going on in the areas of hybrid electric, electric vehicles and batteries. Between the two committees: 1.) Hybrid-electric vehicle standards and 2.) Battery standards, there are about 25 standards being developed. There are also about 25 standards that have been published and a number that are being discussed.
I am chairman of one committee that is starting discussions and having difficulty moving forward. We are in the discussion stages over whether a standard is needed. SAE J1797 Recommended Practice for Packaging of EV Battery Modules was published and last updated in January 1997 and includes only lead acid and nickel metal hydride battery chemistries. The standard included 4 standard sizes for EV batteries. We need to move forward with lithium chemistries and prepare for other advanced energy storage systems. We are seeing a lack of participation from the OEM's and the battery companies. LG laptop batteries.
Some say it is too early. But why not create a standard and update it as technology or needs develop. Some say it is not possible because of the battery energy storage differences required between mild hybrids and full truck EV's. Why can't those differences be factored in to the standardization process? Some also say, why do you need it? We will address this below.
I believe there are a number of issues involved and all point towards slowing the demand for EV's going forward. But we, the American public, need to be very concerned for two major reasons. First, we are paying for tremendous tax credits, grants, and money being loaned or given to companies building batteries and vehicles. We want our tax dollars spent wisely. Second, we as consumers buying these early hybrid and electric vehicles may need to replace batteries and will they be available and affordable? Or in an accident, will the battery pack be serviceable or only replaceable as an expensive full pack?
My personal assessment is based on having worked for General Motors for 25 years, primarily in engineering and program management. The last 5 years at GM were on the EV1 program and with conversion vehicles. I had a great opportunity to see how GM and the other companies dealt with EV's. The EV push was implemented because of California's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate in 1990 which initially required 10% of the vehicles sold in California to be ZEV's. As soon as the law was rescinded, all the major OEM's pulled out. Why was that? EV's were the future of transportation, just like when the Swiss invented and showed the first electric watch.
I believe first and foremost that the major OEM's in North America and perhaps the World are not ready for the EV paradigm change. If you look and examine the current automotive paradigm, you can begin to understand how disruptive EV's are to that paradigm, just like the Swiss with their electric watch was to their mechanical watches. samsung laptop battery.
The first disruption is that EV's will last longer than conventional gas cars or even hybrids that usually start to have major maintenance and problems after 5 years. EV's will not have that level of complexity, in fact EV's are and can be very simple. Yes, the batteries do need to be replaced and that is a major concern about not having standard battery module sizes. For the auto companies, they will not have as many people coming back every 3-5 years for a new car because they want to avoid more problems and expenses going down the road. With their EV's, they have a great reliable vehicle that after 5 years runs like when they bought it new. In 10 years the same issue exists and they could sell it or buy a new battery pack and drive it another 10 years. (This paradigm is lot closer to your home furnace than to your car). Now what is in it for the dealers? Fewer vehicles are sold every year and EV's are virtually maintenance free. Just look at your vehicle's maintenance schedule and drop out all the items that relate to the internal combustion engine, transmission, radiator cooling, fuel and exhaust systems and even hydraulic power steering. As for brakes, since most EV's use regenerative braking, your brake linings will last probably twice as long.
