New PBS Autoline show available today that is all about battery technology. Panelists include the head of LG Chem's US battery unit that makes the Volt, Spark EV and Ford Focus EV cells and who says they will make the cells for a $35,000 200-mile range car. He mentions that battery density and pricing have improved by 50% since 2010. One might take this as a reference to the improved cells that will be in Volt 2.0 and the 200-mile EV. The other major panelist is the head of GM-supported solid state battery startup Sakti3. She claims on the show that they will have $100 per kwh at the wholesale cell price level for consumer device use in 2 years and EV use shortly after that. She also says their solid state batteries will need less elaborate cooling and other pack-level overhead. The show is on PBS tonight and is also I online now at The Charge of the Battery Brigade (Show #1833) on Autoline This Week. It is 30 minutes long.
All fingers crossed. Of course the battery will also have to compete in terms of power, density, safety, reliability, longevity, operating conditions and toxicity.
