Batteries are a necessary part of hybrid electric-gasoline powered vehicles and someday, when the technology matures, will be part of hybrid electric-hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. |
Batteries are a necessary part of hybrid electric-gasoline powered vehicles and someday, when the technology matures, will be part of hybrid electric-hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. Current hybrid vehicles use nickel-metal hydride batteries, but a safe lithium-ion battery will be a much better option for the hybrids. |
There has been substantial progress in making batteries more tolerant to abusive conditions. It won't be long before these batteries will be used in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles. And the great thing is this technology will be able to transfer over to the electric-hydrogen fuel cell powered hybrid vehicles of the future. |
We have two approaches in our research - the empirical model and the mechanistic model. The empirical model generates life prediction from accelerated degradation test data, while the mechanistic model relates life prediction to changes in battery materials. Our approach provides an independent measure of battery life so we don't have to rely on what battery manufacturers tell us. |
We want to develop a battery that has a graceful failure - meaning that if it's damaged, it won't cause other problems. We have to understand how batteries fail and why they fail. |