BATTERIES

Are the batteries ready?

"There are approximately 200 plugin prototypes on the road across the United States who have collectively travelled millions of miles. Of the issues experienced during this pilot phase, the majority had to do with installation, unique configuration, but not battery safety or lifetime. According to the Electric Power Research Institute, battery durability testing sponsored jointly by EPRI and Southern California Edison demonstrate that current lithium-ion batteries are likely to retain sufficient capacity for more than 3000 dynamic deep-discharge cycles about 10-12 years of typical driving. Common Li-Ion batteries (Lithium-Cobalt), such as those found in cell phones and laptops have lifetime and safety issues. These should not be confused with the majority of Li-Ion batteries being developed for plugins. The majority of vehicle applications in development are using Lithium-Iron-Phosphate, which are inherently safer and expected to last the lifetime of the vehicle.

How long does it take to fully charge a battery?

It would depend on the amperage of the charging system. From an ordinary 120V socket, you would need overnight to charge an electric vehicle fully. With a fast charger, you could fully charge an EV in 5-10 minutes (as is done in several commercial applications like forklifts). A plug-in hybrid could fully charge in 5 - 9 hours from an ordinary outlet based on the size of the battery. Source: www.pluginamerica.org

How often do you replace the batteries?

Nickel Metal Hydride batteries (NiMH) are proving to be very long lived. Many of the hybrids on the road today have 8 year/100,000 mile warranties for the hybrid battery such as the Toyota Prius. Additionally, several electric cars with over 130,000 miles have been reported with virtually no range degradation. Estimates of 150,000 - 200,000 miles are predicted. Lithium Ion is thought by most experts to be the chemistry that will supplant NiMH. The testing of battery life is continuing (see above) but its still too early to be definitive. Source: www.pluginamerica.org