Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Toyota Nimh Battery offer and Patent Issues

Recently Toyota NZ announced that they will supply new NIMH battery pack for the Prius Generation One for $3500 installed. While The Battery Clinic applaud this move we do have our reservation as to how this can be achieved. Toyota have not used this type of batteries in their vehicles since 2000 but we will afford them the benefit of the doubt and really hope that they come through with their offer as this is the only way to keep the iconic vehicles running.

Another issue is that of the patent for the Nimh battery technology below an extract from Wikipedia


"Patent dispute with Panasonic EV Energy

Panasonic EV Energy (PEVE), a joint venture between Matsushita and Toyota begun in 1996, pioneered several advances in large-format NiMH batteries suitable for electric vehicles.
PEVE supplied higher capacity (28Ah-95Ah) NiMH batteries for use in Toyota, Honda, and Ford battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that began production in 1997.[32] PEVE's lower capacity batteries powered the hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) Toyota Prius, which was introduced in Japan in 1997, and sold 18,000 units in its first year of production,[33] as well as the first Honda Insight and, with Sanyo Electric Co, first generation Civic hybrid models. BEV production by major automakers ceased in the early 2000s, with most leased BEV vehicles crushed by their manufacturers, and replacement batteries unavailable for remaining vehicles.
A 2001 patent infringement lawsuit brought by ECD Ovonics and Ovonic Battery Company, Inc. against Matsushita, Toyota, and PEVE was settled in July 2004. Settlement terms called for cross-licensing between parties of current and future NiMH-related patents filed through December 31, 2014. The terms prevented Matushita, Toyota, and PEVE from selling certain NiMH batteries for transportation applications in North America until the second half of 2007, and commercial quantities of certain NiMH batteries in North America until the second half of 2010. Additionally, Ovonic Battery Co. and ECD Ovonics received a $10 million patent license fee, Cobasys received a $20 million patent license fee, $16 million of which was earmarked to reimburse legal expenses, and Cobasys would receive royalties on certain batteries sold by Matushita/PEVE in North America.[34]
Licensing terms were expanded in 2005, with PEVE granted further license to sell NiMH batteries for certain transportation applications in North America, in exchange for royalties paid to Cobasys through 2014.[35]

[edit]

Friday, September 7, 2012

Can the Saudis be a net oil importer by 2030? Yes!


Saudis 'may run out of oil to export by 2030’

A report by Citigroup has warned that Saudi Arabia could run out of oil to export by 2030, raising fears that oil prices may rise significantly in coming years.



Saudi Arabia consumes 25pc of its oil output and oil accounts for about 50pc of its electricity production. With peak power demand rising by about 8pc per year, the nation is aiming to more than double its power capacity by 2032 through new nuclear and solar instalations.

If power demand were to grow as predicted and there were no change to the electricity fuel supply mix, “we estimate Saudi Arabia would be a net importer of oil by 2030,”.

_________________________________________________________

This scenario is very plausible. Much of the oil used by the Saudis locally is used in air conditioning. As the population increases and gets increasingly urban, more power will be used for this purpose. To assume that we can get continuing access to cheap oil is irresponsible. We have to take every step to change our oil based economy to a sustainable energy economy.

As a start we will have to reduce our dependency on oil and reduction in the use of oil is a major step. As 60% of the oil we used is in the transportation sector this is where most gains can be made. A move to hybrid vehicle technology fully implemented will reduce oil used by half. This is a proven technology and it works. There should be no reason why it can't be implemented.