Off Road Vehicles Yet Another Application for Lithium-Ion Batteries

November 19, 2006 – Vol. 11 No. 35

OFF-ROAD VEHICLES YET ANOTHER APPLICATION FOR LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES:

Lithium-ion batteries are everywhere: cell phones, lap top computers, digital cameras. They’re the high tech battery du jour.

And there are more applications to come, particularly in vehicles. The next generation Toyota Prius should have a lithium ion battery pack. Other carmakers, like GM, have mentioned the same for hybrid cars not yet formally announced. Electric car startups like Tesla and Phoenix also use lithium batteries.

Feasibly there could be more vehicular battery applications as well.

Lithium Technology Corporation (LTC), through its subsidiary GAIA Akkumulatorrenwerke (GAIA), has been testing its lithium-ion batteries to power a small fleet of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs). ATVs are mostly gas-engined single-seat off-road vehicles that hunters use to roam the backwoods, ranchers use to rustle livestock and some outdoorsy people use to disturb the peaceful silence of nature. The ATVs LTC used, however, have electric drive; the lead-acid battery powered vehicles were made by the China Erato E-vehicle Manufacturing Company. (Already battery powered made the lead-acid to lithium swap easy.)

In testing, LTCs lithium-powered ATVs were able to travel in generally uphill terrain more than 6 miles (10 kilometers) while the stock lead-acid powered ATV pooped out after less than a mile (1 kilometer).

LTCs lithium ATVs can be recharged in 2-3 hours, have a top speed of 28 miles per hour (45 kph), scoot from zero to 28 miles per hour (45 kph) in 8 seconds and travel a maximum of about 30 miles (50 kilometers).

Of course they’re quiet and emission free too. Quiet and emission free could be a big marketing point for LTC. The US National Park Service has been exploring ways to turn down the noise and cut pollution in its parks without limiting access to the areas. If the Park Service were to buy a fleet of lithium-batteried ATVs with batteries from LTC, or someone else for that matter, maybe guests who can’t manage to leave their motorized wheels at home would get the hint: Quiet and clean is good in places that were just that before man showed up.

Visit LTC at http://www.lithiumtech.com/ and China Erato E-vehicle Manufacturing Company at http://www.e-vehicle.net/