Here is a typical anti-lithium battery rag - from an insider - a former exec of a NiMH company. Most of the negative press wrt lithium, and there are many outspoken critics of lithium batteries, come from "insiders" - or competitors in the industry, which can mean one of two things: they know better, or they are very jealous. Take your pick.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/95552-energy-storage-opportunities-vs-irrational-expectations Only problem for this blogger is: in actual testing in a Honda Insight last year - which has NiMH, and which many people hated to see go the way of the dinosaur -- the advanced SLA (from EFFPower) has already exceeded anything and everything which NiMH can offer- and without the need for nickel (much more costly than lead). http://www.effpower.com/ There are other varieties of SLA but EFFPower looks to be closest to marketin Europe, and maybe for Michel in France (especially if he takes the bus)... More info: Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium. http://www.alabc.org/index.html The Advanced Lead-Acid Battery Consortium (ALABC) is focused on two primary design modifications to enable the application of lead-acid batteries in HEVs: the provision of a grid design that allows the battery plates to accept the high charge rates required; and the incorporation of elevated concentrations of carbon in the negative active mass to alleviate sulfation. The only question: is this a near term solution (will it beat the Volt to market)? i.e. with a favorable cost vs/ performance comparison both to lithium and to NiMH - for ultimate use in vehicles which do have a back-up ICE.
