September 21, 2009

Car battery booster plant set for Albany

     PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A device that some say is the key to making electric vehicles less expensive is expected to begin production in Oregon soon.
EnerG2 of Seattle says it plans to build a plant in Albany for commercial-scale production of high-performance carbon electrode material for use in "ultracapacitors," devices that researchers say could make electric-vehicle batteries smaller, cheaper and more powerful.
     The massive size of batteries needed to power a car can cause them to overheat and eventually fail. But an ultracapacitor could reduce the heat damage and make the batteries more efficient, possibly reducing the size.
     "It's the rage in terms of the next generation of electric transportation," said Chris Warner, Gov. Ted Kulongoski's transportation adviser. "The way I look at it is the first cell phones were the size of bricks. As consumers became used to them, they got smaller and smaller."
     New hybrid and electric vehicles such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf will soon hit the U.S. market. But with price tags of $32,000 to $50,000, they're still out of the average American's price range.
     The massive batteries can cost up to $8,000 each when they have to be replaced — which could be after as little as three years.
     The larger the battery, the harder it is to keep the cells in the center at a low temperature, especially in harsh weather, said Ted Bohn, a researcher with Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill. But researchers say ultracapacitors can withstand hundreds of thousands of charge and discharge cycles without degrading, making them ideal for daily use.
     In an electric vehicle, the battery would provide and store energy for cruising while the ultracapacitor would provide bursts of power for acceleration and hill climbing, as well as recovery of energy lost during braking.
     "If you were to optimize a battery purely for energy and use an ultracapacitor for power, it would be like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Bohn said. "Both things are good on their own, but together they are awesome."
     EnerG2 was awarded $21.3 million by the U.S. Department of Energy in August to work with Oregon Freeze Dry on a plan for a new facility in Albany.
Herb Aschkenasy, president of Oregon Freeze Dry, said his company's freeze-drying process will help EnerG2 in the next level of development for ultracapacitors.
     A formal partnership is still being worked out.
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Information from: Daily Journal of Commerce, http://www.djc-or.com/