...While the White House did not specifically lay the Volt's problems at the feet of the battery industry, Plug in America did.
In their refutation of the auto industry task force report, Plug in America said: "California law requires that the Volt and other plug-in hybrids come with a 10-year warranty. To ensure this longer life, automakers are as much as doubling the size of the battery pack, increasing cost to manufacturer and consumer. But not a single production plug-in electric vehicle sold to date, from GM’s early EV1 to today’s Tesla, has had a warranty of more than five years, noted Plug In America advisory board member Chelsea Sexton.
In January 2009 the DOE released its 2008 Annual Progress Report for the Energy Storage Research and Development Vehicle Technologies Program that concluded Li-ion batteries were not ready for prime time in PHEV and EV applications. In March 2009 the President's auto industry task force issued a report that the GM Volt, the first Li-ion powered PHEV proposed by a major manufacturer, was not ready for prime time.
Is anybody out there listening to the facts or are the PR jungle drums from a few undercapitalized Li-ion battery developers simply drowning out the voice of reason and prudence?
Cheap Li-manganese batteries from LG-Chem and $7,500 in Federal Tax Credits are not enough to make the Chevy Volt commercially viable. Comparable batteries from Ener1 (HEV) were not enough to keep Th!nk out of fiscal reorganization in Norway. More expensive Li-phosphate batteries from A123 Systems are unlikely to keep Chrysler out of bankruptcy.
Read more by John Petersen at altenergystocks
