The original EV-1 was equipped with a regular Delco lead acid battery. As
anyone who
has replaced starter batteries knows, they come in various levels of quality
(they claim) and
for different prices. These Delco batteries must have been pretty lousy
(although I can't
find out just why) so they had to be replaced with equivalent Panasonic
lead-acid
batteries.

These ALSO must have been troublesome, because they were soon replaced by GM
Ovonic
NiMH batteries that were evidently far better. What I can't find anywhere is
exactly how
bad the Panasonic batteries were and why. A couple of hints: they were heavier
for the
same capacity, also they did not have as long a life as the GM Ovonic, which
last
something like 100,000 miles, or the life of the car. Therefore they might need
to be
replaced a few times. Anyone know the life of a Panasonic lead acid battery in
Volt
propulsion service? Anyone know how much heavier a 20-kWh (the planned Volt
battery
capacity) lead-acid Panasonic is than a 20 kWh lithium ion battery (the one GM
is
developing)? Was there something else wrong with the Panasonic like not being
able to
furnish a short surge for acceleration?

However, one factor that seems to be far in favor of the Panasonic lead-acid is
that a 20
kWh pack costs only $3,000 while a lithium-ion costs $24,000. I think this
comes from
Axion Power but I have no idea how reliable it is. (Not even whether these
numbers
represent costs of hand-built units during development or far lower costs after
full-scale
production has started.) It seems a fair assumption, however, that even if the
Panasonic
lead acid has to be replaced a few times, its cost is just a fraction of the
lithium-ion. This
is terribly important because GM is talking about a car price up to maybe
$40,000 (which
may be plausible if the lithium-ion battery alone costs $24,000). Their market
at $40,000
per car is going to be tiny compared to, say, $20,000 (if the Panasonic battery
is used).

All of this is important if we consider the national problem of importing
between 2/3 and
3/4 of our total oil consumption is from unreliable, even hostile countries.
And, as "peak
oil" approaches, this situation will only get worse. Fortunately, the Volt, and
similar simple
extended-range electric cars, lend themselves perfectly to typical American use
in which,
coincidentally, 2/3 to 3/4 of all use is less than 40 miles daily. This means
the Volt can
be plugged in overnight and serve all day. So we could do away ALTOGETHER with
imported oil! (So far, I haven't mentioned the other great disadvantage of this
importation: depending on price, up to a TRILLION dollars yearly is leaving the
U. S.,
making oil countries richer and making us poorer.

(Beyond the scope if this blog is the issue of economy for the individual owner.
The first
40 miles daily is pure electric and the plug-in electric power costs less than a
dollar. If
the commute is a big one, say 100 miles round trip, with an additional 60 miles
at 50 mpg
with the engine-generator set running, another 1-1/4 gallons of fuel is used.
Compare
the combined costs with your present SUV or truck. How attractive the switch to
the Volt
is then depends on the price of the Volt. This is why an inexpensive battery is
so
important. It seems to me that a low-cost battery is crucial. Can the
Panasonic be used?
If not, why not? Who knows the answer? There must have been something
seriously
wrong with it for GM to have so rapidly switched the EV-1 to the NiMH.)

(Also beyond the scope of this blog is the point that if the survival of the
planet and the
human race is important, then the grid power that will substitute for fossil
fuel must not
be furnished from coal-fired power plants that emit much more carbon dioxide
than cars.
It must come from renewable sources--the sun. Fortunately, forward-looking
states like
California already require 20% of power to come from such sources by 2010--and
more
later. As a result a 400 mW plant is already under construction in the desert
by a firm
with a long term contract from the Southern California Edison company. In
addition, a
new "smart" grid will have to be built to deliver power to eastern load
centers.)

So much depends on whether the Volt will be affordable by most people.
.