Today Frost & Sullivan published “Going Green and Mean the Lithium Way.” It is a nice overview of the electric vehicle battery landscape with specific emphasis how Lithium Ion battery technology factors in today and over the next 5-10 years. The report glosses over some important details, but the overall picture it paints is clear and appears generally accurate.

NOTE: Two very important issues NOT discussed in this overview is raw material sources (full supply chain) and recycling for Lithium-based batteries compared to Lead-Acid and NiMH batteries.

If you don’t have time to read the article consider the following excerpts:

…For example, the Tesla Roadster, based on the Lotus Elise powered by 6831 lithium ion cells with 248 hp output, is one mean machine sought by speedsters.
…
Several cathode and anode chemistries exist for lithium batteries such as lithium manganese, lithium titaniate, lithium phosphate, and so on. Each of these chemistries differs by its characteristics such as energy, power, safety, lifecycle, and cost.
…
However, with the increase in cash flowing from the United States toward greener vehicles, the global market will witness a surge in EV powered by lithium from 2010, and around late 2012 or early 2013, HEV powered by lithium will enter the market.
…
AESC, LG Chem, Lithium Energy Japan, Panasonic EV Energy are some of the large scale battery manufacturers who are focusing toward development and production of lithium manganese cells for EV and HEV. Lithium phosphates are widely used by North American and European companies such as A123 Systems, Valence and LiFeBatt. Key trend is the involvement of leading OEMs such as Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Daimler through strategic joint ventures with battery manufacturers and electronics providers to develop complete battery modules.

The chart below provides a snapshot of the key players in the EV market with strategic partnerships

Chart 1
Who Supplies Whom and Key Joint Ventures among the Key Industry Participants in the Automotive EV and HEV Market
                                                                                                   Source: Frost & Sullivan

Now for the candy: If all this battery techno mumbo jumbo is too boring then watch Jay Leno’s Garage review of the Tesla Roadster running over 6,500 Lithium Ion batteries. (Holy battery bonanza! … Batteries included I hope!) Informative and fun!

Cheers. -zs