January 2007

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What a difference an “r” could make: As General Motors is working with lithium ion battery developers to come up with one for its concept “Volt” electric car (see p. 1), the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) has awarded a $15 million contract to develop lithium iron phosphate battery technology to a Massachusetts company, A123Systems of Watertown. USABC, of which GM is a member along with DaimlerChrysler and Ford, said in a Dec. 8 release the contract involves developing an advanced battery that is expected to provide significant increases in power, reduction in cost, high-abuse tolerance and long battery life. As it turns out, lithium iron phosphate technology is a variant of and potential advance over current lithium-ion technology: A 2004 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory article said this material, first developed at MIT a few years ago, exhibits some of the advantages sought in the contract with A123Systems: the company says on its website it is a developer of lithium ion batteries, and one of the company’s founders, Yet-Ming Chiang, is a professor of materials science and engineering at MIT, and MIT is a co-owner of the company.

Contact: USABC, Susan Bairley, 248/223-9002, sbairley@uscar.org.