Electric Storage Battery Company

By the late 1990s, it was clear that only the big automakers could make the electric car really happen. But, these were the same companies that had disdained electric cars earlier. GM once sued California in the U.S. District Court in Fresno to block imposition of the state s zero-emissions rules. These regulations would require automakers to build thousands of electric vehicles using rechargeable storage battery technology. But, the auto industry contended that conventional, electric-powered cars were too expensive and too limited in range to be profitable. 

In 1873, the Brequet Company was the first to produce Plante lead—acid batteries and Gramme dynamo machines. Thus, a technical possibility was created to easily generate and store electric energy. At that time, the system dynamo and lead—acid storage battery was still only a curious scientific achievement. Electric energy had not yet found practical application in human life. 

FIGURE 40.15 NGK stationary-energy-storage batteries (a) the 50 kW modular battery component (1760 mm wide x 640 mm high x 2200 mm deep) and (h) an integrated 500 kW/4 MWh demonstration battery system that uses lOof these modular batteries (Courtesy of Tokyo Electric Power Company and NGK Insulators, Ltd.)... 

Hydrogen-storage alloys (18,19) are commercially available from several companies in the United States, Japan, and Europe. A commercial use has been developed in rechargeable nickel—metal hydride batteries which are superior to nickel—cadmium batteries by virtue of improved capacity and elimination of the toxic metal cadmium (see BATTERIES, SECONDARYCELLS-ALKALINe). Other uses are expected to develop in nonpolluting internal combustion engines and fuel cells (qv), heat pumps and refrigerators, and electric utility peak-load shaving. 

Batteries, Electric (Lead-Acid Storage)"in ECT 1st ed., Vol. 2, pp. 340—360, by Joseph A. Orsino and Thomas C. Lynes, National Lead Company "Secondary CeUs, Lead—Acid" under "Batteries and Electric CeUs, Secondary" in ECT 2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 249—271, byjoseph A. Orsino, National Lead Company "Batteries and Electric CeUs, Secondary (Lead—Acid)" in ECT 3rd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 640—663, by James B. Doe, ESB Technology Company. 

Comparison of energy density (kWh/m ) for various storage systems of electric power such as pumped hydropower, redox-flow battery, lead battery, NAS battery and methylcyclohexane (MCH) and decalin (TEPCO = Tokyo Electric Power Company). 

Soon after commercialization, the Li-ion battery (LIB) system became a popular choice because of its high-energy density, good performance, and no memory effect as occurred with nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) or nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries. LIBs have been primarily used for portable electronics, especially cellular phones and notebook computers. Recently, the application area has been extended to power tools, electric bikes, and energy storage systems. Several companies are now working toward adapting the lithium-ion system for use in electric drive vehicle (EDV) applications. 

Winston is a Shenzen-based Chinese company producing lithium-yttrium and lithium-sulfur batteries. They offer cells with capacities between 40 and 3000 Ah. Moreover, they offer electric vehicles, energy storage systems and EV charge stations. 

Akasol is a German company that does not produce cells, but manufactures battery packs dedicated to electric vehicles and storage systems for renewable energy sources. Battery packs from Akasol are claimed to be safe and with high energy density. They cooperate... 

The major battery technologies that have been considered from time to time for electric-vehicle, utility energy storage, and renewable energy storage applications are listed in Table 37.5, together with the chapter numbers in the Handbook in which each is discussed. The companies that are most active in the development of improved and/or advanced batteries for these applications are listed in Table 37.6. U.S. National Laboratories and similar organizations that are involved in advanced battery R D are also shown in Table 37.6. 

A field of application offering a vast potential market is the use of lead-acid batteries as energy storage systems by electrical utility companies (for load levelling and reserve power supply) and their customers (for... 

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