Toyota to Use Lithium-Ion Batteries in Third Generation Hybrids

Toyota's Bid for a Better Battery

Business Week Online, March 5, 2007

CEO Watanabe confirms that Toyota will develop new lithium-ion batteries for its third-generation hybrids ...In an interview with BusinessWeek on Feb. 16, Chief Executive Katsuaki Watanabe confirmed that Toyota's third-generation hybrid cars, due out in late 2008 or early 2009, will use lithium-ion batteries. Lighter and more powerful than the current nickel metal hydride packs, the new batteries will help make for more fuel-efficient hybrids. ... "We can develop the battery in time," he says. ... "We are now aiming at reducing, by half, both size and cost of the third-generation hybrid system," says Watanabe.

Comments

[amazingdrx]

What about plugin? We need a new version of "Who Killed The Electric Car?".

"Who Aborted The Plugin Hybrid Car?"

I'm betting it's the same suspects this time around. Does the CEO of Toyota realize how frustrating it is to see the solution to GHG global climate change passed over for mass production year after year?

[Harvey D.]

If Toyota will not do it, who will build affordable PHEVs in 2008/09?

GM Volt PHEV (2010 ?) may be worth waiting for. It will certainly put GM at the forefront.

[amazingdrx]

http://jcwinnie.biz/wordpress/?p=2068

Two available now Harvey, Mercedes and Renault.

Check this a picture of the sofc/microturbine APU Boeing is working on. It would make any electric car a plugin serial hybrid.

http://www.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2004/july/ts_sf7a.html

Tesla ought to cut their battery pack in the new sedan to one third of its size and install these. Too bad they will probably never be mass produced.

[Jimmi]

Don't say that too fast DrX. There may be a slight chance that EVs will get some extra gov't help. I know this is a long shot but with the current fixation on alternative solutions, Bush may throw a bone to the EVs. This just in.....

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Phoenix Motorcars' CEO Discusses Alternative Fuel With President Bush

ONTARIO, CA, Feb 23, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Daniel J. Elliott, CEO of Phoenix Motorcars, met with President George W. Bush this past Friday to discuss the future of alternative fuel and its impact on improving environmental and energy performance. The one-hour meeting included a small group of alternative fuel entrepreneurs and scientists.

Elliott was among a select group of alternative fuel specialists who had a one-on-one meeting with the President to discuss Phoenix Motorcars' role in the electric vehicle industry. Following the meeting, President Bush had the opportunity to get an up-close look at Phoenix's sport utility truck and four other alternative fuel vehicles to evaluate overall performance.

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This meeting may give some real needed nationwide exposure for EVs in general. I hope Bush plays this hand right. With tensions rising in Iran and oil above $60 a barrel (can't wait to see what the summer price spike will be now), EVs, HEVS, and PHEVs maybe getting a helping hand.

[amazingdrx]

Good news, thanks Jimmi.

The alternative fuel? Renewably generated electrons. Get it mr prez? Excellent!

[evyr]

Bush is playing it safe: NANOSAFE.
Altairnano owns 17% of Phoenix Motorcars and provides the alternative energy (battery) the pres referred to.
Toyota also signaled they are switching to Li ion batteries for their HEVs.
I guess it is no longer a secret that Alti's NANOSAFE is the best EV battery out there.
Congrats Dr Gotcher and Eliott. This is just the beginig of a revolution and Alti/Phoenix are clearly leading the charge.imo

[evyr]

Bush is playing it safe: NANOSAFE.
Altairnano owns 17% of Phoenix Motorcars and provides the alternative energy (battery) the pres referred to.
Toyota also signaled they are switching to Li ion batteries for their HEVs.
I guess it is no longer a secret that Alti's NANOSAFE is the best EV battery out there.
Congrats Dr Gotcher and Eliott. This is just the beginig of a revolution and Alti/Phoenix are clearly leading the charge.imo

[Zach]

I understand the impatience with Toyota/PHEVs, but the only way this stuff is going to get to a REAL mass market is Toyota's way - methodical and deliberate, focusing on superior quality, and never losing sight of what people will actually pay for. That's what got Toyota and the hybrid market to the place it is now. The gov't could accelerate Toyota's progress towards their eventual mass market PHEV by making it clear they would provide large tax credits and sustain them long-term. Instead the current US hybrid tax credit system discriminates against Toyota's progress through the system that caps the number of tax credits for a particular model.

[Brian Wang]

toyota's US president said they were working on Plug in Hybrids back in mid 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0720/p02s01-ussc.html

Plus the Li-ion batteries would reduce the cost of converting the 3rd gen prius to plugin to $2900-5400 and make it more conversion friendly.
http://www.eaa-phev.org/wiki/PriusPlus

My guess is to look for PH Prius from Toyota in 2010-2011 with a $1500-2000 price premium over the standard hybrid.

[Jimmi]

Gawd I hope you're right Evyr. Atleast now there is some decent exposure for the nano li-ion batteries and there can't be any here-say from the administration and congress that "a better battery" doesn't exsists. I've also read that the A123 Prius was there also. You guys know which one I favor.

Zach...

An old Chinese proverb says... "There are always many ways to the top of mount Fuji." A diligent coarse would be as you said... the "Toyota" way. But with a lil gov't interference... possibly a big order for a bunch of EVs for gov't use (fleet vehicles at this point in time is Phoenix's golden goose), costs can be driven down. I love the fact that Toyota will be using li-ion batteries... it validates the technology. I love the fact (well in a alternative energy biased kinda way) that Iran is stirring things up. I love the fact that oil is now over $61 a barrel (the public will cry havoc once again when summer gas prices reach $3 a gallon). All this is making the fact clear that we need a better way. EVs, HEVs, PHEVs may be at the forefront of the upcoming presidential election. But I'm just speculating again =)

[amazingdrx]

ALTI from 2.60 to 3.29 since jimmi mentioned it. Up almost 25%. Good call so far, when do they report earnings next?

[Jimmi]

Should be sometime mid-march... real soon. Nothing too dramatic should happen than... they are still expected to lose money. But need to read the entire year and next year's guidance. The stock may actually take a dip... a correction may come soon (unless the US gov't makes a nice order). The news events till than will cause a stir... new battery order... new battery developements (Alcoa. Electro Energy, Advanced Battery Technologies)... payments from Eli Lily... so forth and so on.

And remember.. I'm just speculating =)

I'd still watch out for Electro Energy Inc (EEEI). Once they make an announcement on the bi-polar nano li-ion battery w/cell wafer construction, I'd expect good things.

Once again.. I'm speculating =)

If you want a safe sound investment tip... check out Titanium Metals (TIE). Back in the day... there was a DARPA project in 2004 that involved ALTI/TIE/GE and some other companies. The project was to make the titanium extraction and process cheaper with faster production rates... if I recall correctly. ALTI got a European patent out of the deal for their portion of the research project. TIE benefitted bigtime!!! Jim Crammer (Mad Money) called it the stock of 2005. Since than the stock has split 3 times (5:1, 2:1, 2:1) in 2 years time. The 2006 year end report stated sales that reached over $1 billion for the first time with over $1 billion in backlog. This all happened within a 3 year period, from losing money back in 2004 to making money hand over fist. The stock is on the move again as the 2006 year end report still confirms completion dates of 2 facilities that will increase it's smelt production rate. One facility will be done sometime in the second quarter of 2007 which will increase smelting production 47%. The other facility will open begining of 2008 which will increase production another 54%. They have recently sign a contract with Boeing for their titanium till the year 2010. Look at the charts... look at the numbers... look at the projections... do the math =)

Once again I'm just speculating =)

[amazingdrx]

Well jimmi in a bull market, which maybe coming for these technologies, the earnings anouncement trend might be a good one again.

Of course using that trend you need to sell in anticipation of a dip slightly before earnings. But if the bull starts to roar we could see hysterical newcomers buy into this trend, like they did in the late 90s tech bubble.

I can trade this kind of market. Once troops start to come home it may just happen.

[Jimmi]

You really don't have to sell before an anticipated dip. All you have to do is "call short". Well technically it is selling... but it's selling shares of a company that you don't have and than buying them back up after the dip.

You don't wanna sell shares if you got in at a rock bottom price. I legally "washed" all my ALTI holdings and repositioned my shares at $2.65 /share. I'm thinking about putting some additional funds in my roth ira account so I can play the day trends of ALTI. Play the peaks and valleys... that's where it gets fun.

Well maybe prime minister Tony Blair will set a trend that the US will hopefully follow... bringing our men and women home from Iraq. It's really about time to prevent more lives from being lost. It's really about time to take all that money we spent over there and spend it on ourselves... our people... our economy... our way of life. It's sad to see our hard earned dollars going out to region that "literally" hates us to death!!!

[iknowall]

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