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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Batteries for electric vehicles

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6313853

Electric-vehicle batteries are under development in programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy with the main objectives of accelerating development in industry when the program began and of developing new high-performance systems. To achieve the first objective, lead-acid, nickel-iron, nickel-zinc and zinc chlorine batteries are under development. Of these batteries, the lead-acid battery is most certain of achieving its goals, and the zinc-chlorine battery has the most favorable combination of goals for specific energy (60 to 70 Wh/kg), specific power (90 to 100 W/kg), life (1500 cycles), and cost. To meet the needs of advanced electric passenger cars, a battery is required that has a specific energy of least 100 Wh/kg. Lithium/metal sulfide and sodium/sulfur batteries are under development for that application. Iron-air and aluminum-air batteries also show promise and are under development in smaller programs. The aluminum-air battery is of interest because of its potentially very high specific energy (300 Wh/kg), but it will require mechanical recharging by replacement of the aluminum alloy plates. In all of the above programs, a combination of long cycle life and low cost appears to be more difficult to achieve than the other objectives set for each battery, such as specific energy and specific power.

Research Organization:
Argonne National Lab., IL (USA); USDOE, Washington, DC
DOE Contract Number:
W-31109-ENG-38
OSTI ID:
6313853
Report Number(s):
CONF-8104192-3; ON: DE83007751
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English