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New Batteries in Hybrid Cars Aid Climate Battle September 2004A new generation of rechargeable lithium batteries would help reduce global warming, a leading expert says.Professor Peter Bruce says the batteries could be used to store electricity produced by renewable energy sources such as wind power. So-called hybrid cars incorporating lithium batteries, along with petrol or diesel power, would help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, he says. The St Andrew's University expert was talking at the BA Festival of Science. Hybrid road vehicles would help the UK meet the government's renewable energy targets for 2020, he told an Exeter audience. They would be fuelled by a combination of petrol and electric battery technology which is charged by the petrol engine. They could help contribute to reducing the greenhouse gases believed to be responsible for our warming climate, added Professor Bruce. Although this would result in more engineering, he said, it was something which was being looked at. Need for fuel Lithium rechargeables can store up to three times the energy per unit weight and volume, said Professor Bruce. This would lead to significantly smaller and lighter batteries in hybrid vehicles. They would also lack the toxic metals like lead and cadmium contained in some batteries. "It's not realistic to row back to some earlier age when we used far less energy," he said. "We have to find technological solutions to provide us with the electricity storage and generation we need to really fuel our economies over the next several decades." However, the batteries would need new materials since current rechargeable lithium technologies did not provide the electricity needed to power a hybrid car. "That is the key hurdle that needs to be overcome," he said. "We have to develop new materials that will help us develop new technologies with better performance." Renewable energy should provide 20% of the UK's electricity supply by 2020, according to UK government targets. SOURCE: BBC News | ||
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