Competition heating up in lithium-ion development

Not your father's battery

Many call hybrid cars an interim technology to the hydrogen economy, to fuel cell vehicles or to pure electric vehicles. Much like Toyota, I believe the hybrid powertrain is the future, not some temporary technology.

For starters, hybrids make hydrogen powered vehicles more efficient. Hybrids could integrate smaller, therefore cheaper, fuel cells into automobiles - making fuel cell vehicles much more cost-effective. Hybrids can also extend the range of electric vehicles, while also providing a plethora of fuel options to electric vehicles when electric power is either unavailable or more expensive than an alternative fuel.

Nonetheless, whether hybrids are just an interim technology or not, the key to the hybrid future, as well as the key to these other alternative vehicles, is significantly influenced by battery development, particularly lithium-ion batteries. Thus, the flurry of news regarding.... (Finish hybrid vehicle battery wars)