Published March 5, 2008 11:34 AM
German auto industry quick to embrace lithium-ion
By Christiaan Hetzner and Hendrik Sackmann
GENEVA (Reuters) - The German automotive industry is embracing lithium-ion battery technology at a critical time when carmakers are lining up to unroll futuristic technologies, conserve fuel and fulfill stricter emission regulations.
Slow in warming up to hybrids that combine a conventional petrol engine with an electric motor, companies like Daimler and their suppliers such as Bosch preferred initially to tout their clean diesels and focused instead on boosting efficiency directly in the combustion chamber.
Now Daimler is looking to use the billions of cash piling up for possible acquisitions in fuel-saving technology, and Bosch is already looking to add lithium-ion automotive batteries to its sprawling portfolio of industrial holdings.
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"The market for lithium-ion batteries has probably one of the biggest growth potentials in the future," Daimler's head of technology, Thomas Weber told Reuters at the Geneva auto show.
Daimler plans to launch its flagship Mercedes S-Class luxury sedan as a mild hybrid in 2009 using a lithium-ion battery and in the same year roll out an M-Class full hybrid, capable of driving only on electricity under certain conditions, similar to the Toyota Prius.
Apart from what could be extensive parts of its fleet using some form of lithium-ion hybridization -- as Mercedes seeks to reduce the pollution pumped out from its high performance cars and SUVs -- Weber said he also could imagine lithium-ion cells replacing the classic starter battery.
"Lithium-ion batteries have 5-7 times more energy density and save considerable space and weight, and when you think farther down the road it's conceivable in the long term that there may very well be only lithium-ion used in the start-stop, starter and the hybrid batteries," he continued.
BOSCH
Rival luxury carmaker BMW showed off in Geneva its Vision EfficientDynamics concept study based on its X5, which is equipped with a lithium-ion battery that allows the SUV to emit just 172 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer and comes complete with a solar cell roof.
Its first hybrid car hits the market next year.
Unlike domestic rival Continental, which uses cells manufactured by third party suppliers like Johnson Controls-Saft to deliver lithium-ion batteries to Mercedes and BMW, Bosch plans to go even farther.
"We want to cover the entire value chain in battery technology and not just be the ones to package the cells," Bernd Bohr told Reuters during the Geneva motor show.
The head of Bosch's industry-leading automotive parts business is in negotiations to become a complete provider of cell technology, from electronics and cooling through to the packaging of the batteries.
He expects the talks to be concluded by the middle of the year.
"Battery technology will play an extremely important role in the coming decades and therefore has a high strategic significance for Bosch," Bohr concluded.
(Reporting by Christiaan Hetzner; Editing by Richard Hubbard)