Alternative Energy HQ solar power for homes, wind energy, and bio fuel issues
But the Tokyo-based automaker has developed what it said was a superior auto battery technology with NEC, said Carlos Tavares who is Nissan’s executive vice president. The automaker intends to unveil its original hybrid vehicle by 2010 as well as the original next-generation electric vehicle in the early part of the next decade. “Together Nissan and NEC’s engineers have addressed the key challenges of cost, performance, safety and reliability. We believe that we have a breakthrough technology: the lithium-ion battery produce we will produce,” Tavares said.
Lithium-ion batteries, also called and commonly known as Li-ion batteries, are common in portable electronics such as laptops and cell phones. But they have yet to be fully adapted to the more rigorous demands of a car engine. At present, these batteries are built to match auto parts like the EBC redstuff and other trusted car systems.
Hybrids from Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. use nickel-metal hydride batteries. But Detroit automakers like General Motors Corp. are working on lithium-ion batteries for vehicles. According to Nissan, the battery product from NEC and Nissan will be made available to all automakers. “Co-development with Nissan has enabled a superior-class battery that we expect to spread in the market at an unmatched speed,” NEC Executive Vice President Konosuke Kashima said.
Nissan will have a 50 percent stake in Automotive Energy Supply Corp. which is the companies’ new joint venture, while NEC and subsidiary and battery maker NEC Tokin Corp. own a combined fifty percent.
Sales of hybrids and cars that offer other environmentally friendly technology are still a fraction of standard models. Both Toyota and Honda have seen their brand image get better from introducing advances such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic hybrids. Sales of Toyota and Honda small cars have increased in the America and other overseas markets lately. The demand is anchored on the soaring oil prices.
Nissan was near bankruptcy before entertaining an alliance with Renault SA of France in 1999. Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive at Renault and Nissan, who led the revival, in the past has played down the vitality of hybrids, which are expensive to develop and take time to catch on. Ghosn has emphasized innovations in gas engines, while saying Nissan was working on its own hybrid technology.
