DEVELOPMENT OF BIPOLAR NiMH BATTERIES FOR THE PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLE AND OTHER POWER AND ENERGY APPLICATIONS

摘要

Electro Energy Inc. (EEI) has developed a patented bipolar version of NiMH rechargeable batteries. The design is based on flat wafer cells. Their construction uses conventional materials and offers increased power and energy densities and projected manufacturing cost savings. Electrode thickness varies depending upon the application, with thicker electrodes used to obtain higher energy and thinner Electrodes used to obtain higher power.Demonstration batteries have been built and tested for a number of applications, including transportation (peaking batteries for hybrid electric vehicles [HEV], high energy batteries for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles [PHEV], and batteries for electric bicycles and scooters), utilities (high energy and high power UPS and inverter systems), and the military (Air Force and Navy Aircraft and Army Silent Watch applications). To reduce fuel consumed, and thus reduce the costs associated with fuel, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle is a concept that recently is gaining more and more support. A PHEV utilizes a larger battery than a typical hybrid electric vehicle, enabling it to operate for a significant driving range (33-83 km [20-50 miles] or more) on battery power alone. Once the battery is drained, or if there are sufficiently large loadrequirements, the car seamlessly reverts to conventional HEV mode, utilizing the gasoline engine as required. By using the batteries in this fashion, it is possible to increase the mileage of a car to 43 km/1 (100 mpg) or more, which represents an improvement of roughly a factor of two versus currently available HEVs. EEI has demonstrated the bipolar battery technology through the conversion and integration of an HEV to a PHEV, using a Toyota Prius as the test bed. The EEI PHEV utilizes a bipolar battery system, consisting of six modules containing 6.0 kWh of energy storage, and gives the vehicle an all-electric range of approximately 32 km (20 miles). EEI has recently purchased equipment assets and leased facilities at the former Energizer/Moltech facility near Gainesville FL. The bipolar technology, applications, and future NiMH battery production plans will be discussed.