Powering ahead: WHEN IT COMES TO BATTERY TECHNOLOGY, COMPLEX ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS ON COMMERCIAL VEHICLES ALREADY ARE PUSHING THE ENVELOPE

摘要

AUTOMOTIVE BATTERIES ARE TECHNOLOGICAL MARVELS. BUT FOR ALL OUR DEPENDENCE ON THEM IN BOTH COMMERCIAL AND CONSUMER APPLICATIONS, THEY LARGELY ARE FORGOTTEN OR IGNORED - UNTIL THEY FAIL. FOR MOST OF THE PAST 100 YEARS, AUTOMOTIVE BATTERY DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN slow and steady, with most improvements focusing on longer maintenance-free life. Today, rising fuel prices, anti-idling laws, alternative-drive vehicles and an exponential boom in the power requirements on commercial vehicles with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2010-compliant diesel engines are driving a frenzy of research and development into automotive batteries.