VW, Germany invests in lithium-ion batteries

VOLKSWAGEN is among the founding members of an alliance of German industries that will invest a combined 420 million Euro ($A707.5 million) to develop high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

Announced last week at the Innovation Congress in Berlin, the project will strive to substantially increase the energy and performance density of the batteries and to accelerate its use in production.

The other companies participating are BASF, Bosch, Evonik Degussa, Li-Tec and STEAG Saar Energie, along with the German Ministry for Education and Research.

“In the future, there will be parallel use of various automotive drive systems, all the way to purely electric drive – (and) a high-performance lithium-ion battery as the energy carrier will be a key technology,” said Volkswagen AG head of group research Juergen Leohold.

“Therefore, it is sensible and necessary to combine the potentials for the research and development of this battery in an alliance for innovation … For Volkswagen, this initiative is an important step on the way to zero-emission operation of vehicles.” Earlier this month, Volkswagen unveiled the Tiguan HyMotion at the 2007 Bibendum Challenge in Shanghai, China, a prototype SUV demonstrating the company’s latest development work in hydrogen fuel cell drive. The system uses a 6.8Ah lithium-ion battery as an auxiliary energy storage device.

Read more:

Volkswagen finally unveils Tiguan