Pilot project by Japan to develop the next generation electric car batteries

The biggest brier for electric car industries at preset the suitable long mileage energy supply through batteries, in other words the unavailability of high capacity batteries. In this circumstances, Five carmakers, including Toyota and Nissan, seven manufacturers of electric car batteries and ten universities and research institutes [1] will engage in joint development of next generation electric car batteries. It is a seven-year project funded by METI through NEDO, with a total budget of approximately 21 billion yen (about 155 million euros). This project for electric car batteries aims to triple the autonomy of the electric car by 2020. On the international market for electric car battery, competition is becoming stronger as a result of increasing demands for action against global warming. Given this situation, the Government wishes to strengthen the competitiveness of Japanese electric car companies by inviting them to participate in this project. In the research center will be established within the University of Kyoto, about fifty people from the participating agencies, will work full time to develop basic technologies needed for their common goal for next generation electric car batteries.

Autonomy current electric cars equipped with lithium-ion batteries is 100 km for vehicles of average size and 150 km for vehicles of small size, which is significantly lower than that of petrol vehicles whose autonomy is over 500 km. This project will aim to develop technologies for electric car that are expected to accumulate three times more electricity per kilogram of battery. More specifically, it will study the mechanisms of degradation of materials using the analytical facilities of the most advanced in Japan as "Spring-8", large synchrotron located in Hyogo, and observe in real time the movement of ions lithium.

Such basic research requires a significant research budget and R & D, long time. Participating companies, which are currently R & D each for their part, felt that participation in the project would be a more efficient and cheaper to reach their goal.

Using data from the research, the best materials will be designed and used to produce a prototype lithium-ion battery small before 2015. In parallel, research on another type of battery should achieve an autonomy of 500 km after 2020. The technologies developed will be applied to other products, such as an accumulator of electricity installed in the houses.

[1] Participants in the project:
- 5 car manufacturers: Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi Motors, Honda R & D, Toyota Central R & D Labs
- 7 organizations related to the battery: GS Yuasa Corporation, Sanyo, Panasonic, Hitachi Maxell, Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery, Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Hitachi
- 10 universities and research institutions: Kyoto University, Tohoku University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Waseda University, Kyushu University, Ritsumeikan University, AIST, KEK, etc..