Preparing for the EV's and the Electric Vehicle Batteries

摘要

The potential arrival of large quantities of electric vehicles in California over the next few years presents both enormous opportunities and some significant problems. Obviously there are some serious infrastructure problems related to manufacturing capacity, charging stations, and recycling options. This paper describes Nissan North American's solution to the recycling option which we believe can be a model for others. The U.S. Department of Energy has mandated that all batteries in electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles be recyclable. Projections are that the most advanced batteries will be lithium ion batteries in the 500 to 700 pound per car range. Nissan's Altra is the first mass-produced electric vehicle with a lithium ion battery in the United States. Projections of the quantities of electric vehicles in the United Stats in future years vary dramatically with the source. The U.S. Department of Energy's projections are shown in Table 1. The California Air Resources Board estimates a quantity of 50,000 EV per year starting in 2005. Initially these batteries will be a mix of lead acid, nickel metal hydride, and lithium ion batteries. As time passes a greater proportion of the batteries are expected to be lithium ion and/or lithium polymer batteries. Complicating the situation will be the hybrid cars, which will combine the electrically powered propulsion systems with smaller internal combustion engines. The weight of the hybrid vehicle batteries is predicted to be in the 60 to 100 pound range.