いくつかの報道により、ドイツ・ダイムラー社が2009年に量産車にリチウム二次電池を搭載する計画であることが発表されています。リチウム二次電池の具体的なスペックは不明です。
- ２００９年から市場投入する高級車「メルセデスベンツＳ４００」のハイブリッド車（S 400 BlueHYBRID）に搭載する計画
- 電池技術は独タイヤ・自動車部品大手コンチネンタルと共同開発
- パワー密度は１９００W/L以上
- 燃費は約30マイル/ガロン（＝7.9L/km）
- 二酸化炭素排出量は67.4ポンド/100マイル（＝190g/km）
- ハイブリッドシステムは3.5L-V6ガソリンエンジンと15kW電動駆動により、299馬力、277ポンド・フィートのトルクを達成し、時速62マイルに7.3秒で加速できる
- 2009年に欧州および北米で販売予定
以下は参考記事。
ドイツの自動車大手ダイムラーは２９日、リチウムイオン電池を世界で初めて量産車に使用すると発表した。関連特許を取得するとともに、２００９年から市場投入する高級車「メルセデスベンツＳ４００」のハイブリッド車で実用化を予定している。
リチウムイオン電池は携帯電話やノートパソコンなど家電用では普及しているが、自動車用の実用化に向けては破裂や発火の危険性克服などが大きな課題となっていた。ダイムラーの同電池技術は、独タイヤ・自動車部品大手コンチネンタルと共同で開発した。
自動車大手の独ダイムラーは29日、来年に発売するハイブリッド車でリチウムイオン電池を採用すると発表した。ハイブリッド車の販売ではトヨタ自動車など日本勢に先を越されたが、安全性の確保が難しいとされるリチウムイオン電池搭載車の実用化で「世界初」を目指す。自動車部品・タイヤ大手の独コンチネンタルなどと組んで開発した。メルセデス・ベンツの上級車種「Ｓ４００」で、エンジンと電気モーターを併用するハイブリッド車に採用する。
Daimler AG is planning to roll out a hybrid version of its Mercedes-Benz flagship S-Class luxury sedan that uses a kind of battery already widely used in consumer electronics.
Daimler said that it has adapted lithium-ion technology to meet demanding automotive requirements. Daimler said Friday the new battery will be used in the S 400 BlueHYBRID beginning next year.
“What we have here is a groundbreaking key technology that is going to be a decisive factor for the future success of the automotive industry,'’ Daimler Board of Management member Thomas Weber said in a statement.
Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler’s announcement indicates an increase in confidence about lithium-ion technology. Other automakers are working on lithium-ion batteries.
Toyota Motor Corp. said in December it was preparing to start mass producing lithium-ion batteries for low-emission vehicles.
Lithium-ion batteries, already widely used in laptops and other gadgets, are smaller yet more powerful than the nickel-metal hydride batteries used in gas-electric hybrids like the Japanese automaker’s Prius.
General Motors Corp. is developing the Chevrolet Volt, an electric sedan to be recharged by plugging it into a household outlet. Plans call for it to be powered by an electric motor fed by lithium-ion batteries.
GM spokesman Brian Corbett said Saturday the Detroit-based automaker plans to make a major announcement Tuesday about hybrid technology at a press conference during the Geneva Motor Show.
German automaker Daimler said Friday it has become the first car company to adapt lithium-ion battery technology for a production car and will use the new batteries in the upcoming S400 BlueHybrid in 2009.
Keeping things cool for reliability has been an ongoing concern with developers of lightweight, high-energy lithium ion batteries for hybrid cars.
Daimler says its engineers have integrated the battery into the car’s climate control system to ensure that its is always operating at 60-95 degrees Fahrenheit (15-35 degrees Celsius) “to provide long life and maximum performance.’
The company said it has obtained 25 patents on its battery technology.
And signaling a possible intent to market the technology to others, Daimler calls it, in grandiose marketing language, “groundbreaking key technology that is going to be a decisive factor for the future success of the automotive industry.”
Daimler said its new battery is lighter and smaller than the nickel-metal hydride batteries now used in hybrids and that its weight-to-power ratio is 1,900 watts per liter, but would offer no further detail.
The S400 hybrid with the new battery, the company said, would achieve almost 30 miles per gallon fuel economy (7.9 liters per 1000 kilometers) and carbon dioxide emissions of 67.4 pounds per 100 miles (190 grams per kilometer).
The mild hybrid system would combine a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine and a 15 kilowatt electric hybrid drive to produce 299 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, capable of launching the the car to 62 miles per hour in 7.3 seconds.
Daimler plans to launch the S400 hybrid and the ML450 hybrid SUV simultaneously in Europe and North America next year.
Little birdies tell us that the ML450 also will use lithium-ion batteries.
