A123 Systems stock soars on advance in battery technology
Source: Detroit News
June 12, 2012 at 5:07 pm
A123 Systems stock soars on advance in battery technology
By David Shepardson
Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington Battery startup A123 Systems Inc.'s stock soared on Tuesday, climbing 52 percent on news that the company said it has reached a breakthrough in advanced battery technology.
The company's stock closed at $1.58, up $0.54 a share, below its intraday high of $1.65. That was still far below its 52-week high of $5.91. Volume soared, with more than 34 million shares changing hands, compared with 2.7 million on an average trading day.
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Unlike lead-acid or other advanced battery technologies, Nanophosphate EXT is designed to maintain a long cycle life at extreme high temperatures and deliver high power at extreme low temperatures."Based on our analysis, the performance of A123's new Nanophosphate EXT at high temperatures is unlike anything we've ever seen from lead-acid, lithium-ion or any other battery technology," said Dr. Yann Guezennec, senior fellow at the Center for Auto Research and professor of mechanical engineering at Ohio State University. "If our testing also validates the low-temperature power capabilities that A123's data is showing, we believe Nanophosphate EXT could be a game-changing battery breakthrough for the electrification of transportation, including the emerging micro hybrid vehicle segment."
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more...
Read more: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120612/AUTO01/206120440#ixzz1xdXaCNno
Yes!
TheWraith
(24,331 posts)It almost always pays to be skeptical of "breakthroughs." "Unlike anything we've ever seen" is also a good warning sign when you're only looking at the manufacturer's claims, and not independent testing.
drm604
(16,230 posts)That doesn't necessarily invalidate the claims, but we need to keep in mind that this is PR.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)but developing this stuff takes time and investment. Might be better with more taxpayer resources behind it, and there is some of that out there, but it ought to be a priority.
It's important because this is the kind of thing that is going to replace what was our economy in the future.
We blow up all the phytoplankton and that future might get here faster than we think.
It is within the capabilities of anyone that is relatively tool-handy to strip a old, small chevy pickup, s-10, and put in batteries with an electric motor. It doesn't have the niceties of a manufactured one, but it can be really cheap transportation for people with a short commute, and they can get a 40 mile round trip until it's really cold. There are tens of thousands of tradespeople and small farmers that could save money with a cheap battery-powered utility vehicle with a range of at least 100 miles with a 1500 lb load, but with a price for batteries which approximates a quality lead-acid.
We aren't that far away, I hope.
AnotherDreamWeaver
(2,869 posts)But I'm waiting for a good deep cycle battery to come out so I can have a back up system when power goes out, which it usually does every winter, some times five days. I have a solar grid tie, but didn't get the batteries when I installed it, and the panels don't work when PG&E is down.
(edit for better english...)
Bozita
(26,955 posts)"Jason Forcier, vice president of automotive solutions for A123, told the Free Press that the advancement would lead to a $600 reduction in the cost of EV battery packs because it could completely eliminate the need for cooling systems."
complete piece at :
http://www.freep.com/article/20120612/BUSINESS/120612046/A123-shares-soar-battery-tech-significant-breakthrough?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|s
Rain Mcloud
(812 posts)already is getting 50 miles range at a quality lead acid battery price.
Right now he estimates the component cost for a DIY converted/owned car with 100 mile range at around $15,000 dollars.
When I looked into this 5 years ago i estimated a build at $45,000 dollars for a 150 mile range.
Of course this build used a liquid cooled A/C Motor capable of 250 electrical horse power from Siemens and a one thousand amp inverter from AC Propulsion Technologies which would give the Ranger/Lightning project performance similar to the Tesla Roadster. It was total overkill.
The Manufacturer's in the DIY EV market are working all the time to lower costs and add features so that when the day arrives they will be prepared to handle the demand.
They now have very intelligent controllers which can be programmed from any computer which uses a browser and the price of the individual battery cells are coming down in price all the time.
We are not that far away and i am ecstatic.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)bhikkhu
(10,751 posts)Lets hope it works out, and hope that they get all the time and investment needed to bring it to market!