Hi Robin, see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechargeable_battery#Table_of_rechargeable_battery_technologies
Energy density of LiFePO4 is not as good as Li ion (0.1 kWh/Kg vs 0.16 kWh/Kg), which means their 72 kWh battery must weigh 720Kg --which may not be much of a problem since EVs have regenerative braking--, but cycle life is better (2000 cycles vs 1200 cycles). I also gather cost per kWh of capacity is lower. I seem to recall reading USD 300 per kWh, which would account for about half of the USD 40000 projected price of the car (300*72 = 21600). This would be about USD 100 per cycle, i.e. USD 100 for 400km, i.e. USD 0.25 per km or USD 0.40 per mile of battery wear out, this seems reasonable, what's the wear out cost for an ICE of equivalent output power anyone knows? Michel 2009/9/14 <[email protected]>: > While browsing the net looking for info on their battery technology I noticed > that they plan to build a network of quick charging stations. Otherwise one is > obviously stuck with a slow charge using normal household power. However IMO > the > latter would be quite acceptable to many people, after all the car usually > sits > in the garage for many hours every night doing nothing anyway (driver sleeps = > car recharges, and everyone has to sleep sometime). > > I would however like to see some comparative specs on the Fe ion technology > compared to Li ion technology.
