The battery’s dead: Now a plastic to store power

[GoFlyKiteNow]

The battery’s dead: Along comes plastic to store power
February 6th, 2010 - 7:35 pm

London, Feb 6 (IANS) The battery, which has powered our lives for generations, may soon be consigned to the dustbin of history. British scientists say they have created a plastic that can store and release electricity, revolutionising the way we use phones, drive cars and even wear clothes.

It means the cases of mobiles and iPods could soon double up as their power source - leading to gadgets as thin as credit cards.

The technology could also lead to flexible computer screens that can be folded up and carried around like a piece of paper, the Daily mail reported on its website Saturday.

And it could even be used to create ‘electric clothes’ that charge up as a person moves around and which slowly release heat when the weather gets cold.

Emile Greenhalgh, from Imperial College London’s Department of Aeronautics, said the material is not really a battery, but a supercapacitor - similar to those found in typical electrical circuits.

His team’s prototype - which is around five inches square and wafer-thin - takes five seconds to charge from a normal power supply and can light an LED for 20 minutes.

Greenhalgh, who is working with car company Volvo on a three-year, three million pounds (about $4 million) project to use the material in hybrid petrol-electric cars, said: “We think the car of the future could be drawing power from its roof or even the door, thanks to our material.

“The applications for this material don’t stop there - you might have a mobile that is as thin as a credit card because it no longer needs a bulky battery, or a laptop that can draw energy from its casing so it can run for longer.”

The material charges and discharges electricity quicker than a conventional battery, and does not use chemical processes - giving it a longer lifespan, he added.

The scientists plan to use it to replace the metal floor of a Volvo car’s boot, which holds the spare wheel.

This would mean Volvo could shrink the size of its hybrid battery - and cut down the weight of the car, making it more efficient.

Greenhalgh said: “No one has created a material like this - within ten years it could replace batteries.”

 

[longbow]

isn't volvo on verge of belonging to geely?

 

[longbow]

Progress on the Volvo-Geely buyout. If indeed this happens, it would be a huge boon for Geely. The R&D project for the battery is a Volvo venture and would most likely remain with Volvo's R&D in Sweden. Anyway this is a tiny $4M project.

The whole idea is pretty simple. Volvo does not have an effective sub compact (Civic/Corolla/Mazda 3) competitor. Geely can tap Volvo's years of safety research to help design and beef up their offering. Maybe even use Volvo's turbocharging technology.

Make the car in China and sell in the US. Think about it - price it 30% below Civic, offer 5 star Volvo designed crash safety rating, Jap car reliabilty and fuel economy and it would make an excellent choice for college students and first car buyers. My neighbor has a geely - car is reliable, engine (harsh sounding when pushed) and electrics are solid but cheaply put together and fit and finish is not good (rattles, cheap hard plastic, flimsy seats).

Geely aims to protect Volvo's luxury image
By Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai

Published: February 1 2010 02:00 | Last updated: February 1 2010 02:00

Geely, the private Chinese automaker that is closing in on a $2bn deal to buy Volvo from Ford, plans to run the Swedish group as a separate entity to protect its brand image both in China and overseas, according to Freeman Shen, Geely's vice-president for international operations.

He told the Financial Times that the company had no plans to move Volvo's main production base or research and development operations to China in the near future.

"We want to be careful not to damage the Volvo brand," says Mr Shen, a US-educated former China head of Fiat's engine development and manufacturing unit, Fiat Powertrain Technologies.
"We don't want the image of a luxury car made in a third world country [where labour is cheap]. We want the image of a European luxury car, albeit owned by a Chinese owner." The deal is expected to be signed before China's lunar new year holiday begins on February 14.

Mr Shen made clear that Geely's goal was to run Volvo profitably as a global luxury brand - not to cannibalise it for either talent or technology to strengthen the company's existing business in China, which focuses on mostly low-end and some mid-market models. The two companies - Volvo and Geely Auto - will be kept operationally separate.

Auto industry analysts are sceptical that Geely, which has never made a big acquisition of an overseas auto brand or run a car business overseas, can turn Volvo round.

Car industry history is littered with failed brand acquisitions, including one close to home: the acquisition of South Korea's Ssangyong Motors by SAIC, the Chinese state-owned auto giant, which ended with Ssangyong being put into receivership. "I don't assume for a moment that they can successfully run Volvo overseas," says a senior auto industry insider in Shanghai, noting that cultural integration will be difficult for Geely, which he calls "the most Chinese of Chinese auto companies".

Mr Shen says Geely is aware of the pitfalls, and is studying the lessons of deals such as SAIC-Ssangyong. He expects Volvo to perform better under Geely's control because "Geely is not fettered by 100 years of automotive history and Mr Li Shufu [Geely's head] is more flexible, willing to try new ideas and learn from other countries and companies, and will provide better motivation to Volvo's management".

A study of the global auto industry by consultancy Arthur D Little forecast that Geely would be one of five Chinese automakers to make it into the "exclusive club of global OEM [original equipment manufacturers] champions" by 2020.

The strength of the Chinese market will be key to boosting Volvo's near-term profitability, Mr Shen said, noting that Geely is considering building new production facilities for Volvo in China, where current production is very small.

At least 10 provincial and municipal Chinese governments are wooing Geely with incentives to build a plant in their area, but no decision has yet been made. The deal does not depend on shifting Volvo production to a lower-cost base in China. Volvo produced 310,000 cars globally last year, according to Ford, and Geely's goal for Chinese production of Volvos is 200,000 within five years. Luxury car sales rose 29 per cent last year in China, according to JD Power, the auto consultancy.

Cultural integration will be a big challenge, but Mr Shen says that in some ways Swedes are more similar to Chinese than to Americans, since both are "less outspoken".
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[tonychat]

very nice invention... unsinkie-like.