The Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., better known to us in the west under the Panasonic brand, has "informally decided" to spend about $951 million (100 billion yen) constructing what would be one of the world's biggest li-ion battery factories. This would triple the company's current capacity with its three existing plants, place it ahead of Sony and very close to the worlds number one, Sanyo. The three companies together currently control about 70 percent of the consumer electronics li-ion market.

The additional 50 million units a month capacity would help the company meet surging demand and be used in laptops, cell phones, and, of course, automobiles. They have been studying what it would take to make li-ion for automotive applications via their joint venture with Toyota that goes by the catchy moniker of Panasonic EV Energy. They expect the new plant to be able to ship product as soon as two years from now.

[Source: Yomiuri Online / Reuters]

On this site Panasonic has mostly received attention for their relationship with Toyota as a supplier of batteries. In particular, we've discussed their difficulties with lithium ion batteries. While the company may be struggling to create automotive-class lithium ion batteries, they are moving forward with batteries for smaller vehicles.

Panasonic has been producing electric bicycles for several years including several folding models. Their latest entry is the Titanium Flat Road EB. This racing bike is equipped with a lithium ion battery that has enough capacity to move the bike about six miles. The bike is equipped with Panasonic's Smart Lithium-Ion Integrated Management System (SLIM) that can provide information to the rider about the battery state of charge and range. So far their is no information on price or availability.

[Source: Akhibara News]

The 20th World Solar Challenge took place in Australia in October. One of the more unusual fuel types in the Greenfleet Class of the Darwin to Adelaide race was used by a "Troupy," a lightly modified 1989 Toyota Landcruiser.

According to Pure Energy Systems, the diesel-engined Troupy made the 3,000 kilometer-drive using a fuel called Bios Fuel H2W+, which is 40 percent water and 60 percent waste mineral oil.

Here's how PES describes it:

Bios Fuel claims to have developed a water-based fuel technology that allows hydrogen to be housed safely in water and released on demand for numerous applications. A proprietary catalyst allows water to be suspended in waste oil as an emulsion. The fuel is designed for power generation. It is one of several blends that Bios Fuel has certified to American ASTM standards.

While it is not designed for vehicles, it ran well in the 1989 Toyota Landcruiser Troop Carrier, or "Troupy" as they are affectionately called in the outback. "We thought testing in a harsh environment such as the Australian desert would demonstrate the viability of our fuel beyond doubt, and show that 2nd and 3rd generation waste can be combined with water to provide an energy source", said Bios Fuel founder and CEO Steve Ryan. "Using an old Troupy shows that you don't necessarily have to compromise lifestyle to reduce your effect on the environment".

There is a history of hype surrounding the idea of placing water into a vehicle's fuel tank, but I'll say - for now - that this appears to be legit. NZ Biofuels sent out a press release on the accomplishment and biosfuel.org has a slick PDF on H2W+ (and related fuels). If you've got a critical take on this fuel (or want to sing its praises), please share it with our readers in the comments below. It seems difficult to fake traveling 3,000 km in a media-rich environment like the Panasonic World Solar Challenge, doesn't it?

[Source: Sterling D. Allan / Pure Energy Systems News, h/t to Tim]

Matsushita Battery Industrial Co has stopped production of lithium ion batteries at their plant near Osaka Japan after a fire at one of the two manufacturing lines. The line that had the fire makes batteries for laptop batteries while the adjacent line that makes cell phone batteries was also shut down. The cell phone battery line makes units for Nokia that were part of a current recall and replacement campaign because of issues with overheating and explosions.

Matsushita sells products under the Panasonic brand and has a joint venture with Toyota called Panasonic EV energy that makes NiMH batteries for hybrids. This doesn't bode well for Toyota and it may be part of the reasoning behind Toyota trying to cool the lithium battery hype recently. It's not clear what the cause of the fire was but this certainly doesn't look good.

[Source: JCN Network]

Now here's a guy that knows how to build a plug-in Prius. I don't mean he just has the technical expertise, which Horacio seems to have in spades, I mean he knows how to build one for only $4000.

I met Horacio at HybridFest. He doesn't consider himself a hypermiler, but he is concerned about the environment and tries to be as ecologically friendly as possible. As a member of the Long Island Prius Owners Group, he and many other members enjoy trading ideas and implementing ways of improving the Prius in one way or another. Thus, adding a heap of batteries, some multimedia extras and a plug in the bumper became a popular idea and was made a reality by Horacio Calvento. Fortunately for him, he is in the retail electronics business, which means he has working relationships with companies like Panasonic, Jayso Electronics and Manzanita Micro (previously seen here). With batteries donated by Panasonic, he instantly saved thousands of dollars. Since he did it himself or with the help of the occasional friend/hobbyist/enthusiast, there were no labor costs involved either except for time. And it only took him a few months. The result is a clean, crisp-looking Prius that gets a cool 88 mpg every day. Imagine what it could do in the hands of a hypermiler.

For those of you not gifted with a friendship with Panasonic, your task is made easier if not less expensive by Horacio's online instructions on the Owners Group website at the Read link. A brief gallery is below, and there are many more in-depth pictures at the aforementioned site.

There hasn't been much good news recently for Panasonic on the automotive battery front with reports of delays to Toyota's plans to use lithium ion batteries in the next-generation Prius. However there was one recent bright spot when driver Takashi Sudo piloted the 84 lb. Oxyride racer to a record 75 mph. Unlike production type vehicles this one was powered by 192 AA batteries.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Toyota may be on top of the world right now having the brought the first practical modern hybrid cars to production and selling more hybrids than anyone else, but that doesn't mean they are in the lead on everything green car related. They just announced a test fleet of plug-in hybrids but thanks to their decision to stick with Panasonic as a battery supplier, they are clearly struggling with lithium ion battery technology.

At the Management Briefing Seminars this week, Toyota's Justin Ward said that lithium ion is not ready for the automotive market. More precisely, although you won't hear this publicly from Toyota, Panasonic's lithium chemistry is not ready. As Bob Lutz told the conference on Thursday not all lithium ion is created equal.

Panasonic made the odd decision to stick with the same cobalt-oxide cathode chemistry that's used in most consumer electronics batteries. That's the same chemistry that has an unfortunate tendency toward thermal runaway (fiery explosions) if not handled properly. A123 uses iron-phosphate that is much more stable and like Altairnano's titanate chemistry is able to handle faster charging and more temperature variation.

It looks like Toyota made the wrong choice of technology and is now paying the price by having to delay the next generation Prius and also playing down the overall prospects for plug-in hybrids and EVs to cover their tracks.

[Source: Automotive News]

There is more evidence that Toyota isn't ready to give up on NiMH batteries just yet. Panasonic EV Energy, the joint venture of Toyota and Matsushita to produce batteries for hybrid vehicles is putting up a new plant next their existing facility Shizuoka Prefecture to crank up capacity by fifty percent.

The extra production capacity will allow Panasonic EV Energy to provide battery packs for up to 750,000 hybrid vehicles per year. Eventually the joint venture company will also supply lithium packs to Toyota, but first Panasonic will have to learn how to make robust lithium packs.

[Source: GreenCarCongress]

An upstart company based in Indianapolis hopes to ride the wave of high-tech battery development. With the growth of hybrids and expectation of plug-in hybrids hitting the dealers soon, there is a global rush to design durable lithium-ion batteries with extended capacity and quick-charging capability.

Panasonic and Sony are world leaders in the technology but up to 50 other companies are vying for a piece of the action. Ener1 is developing test versions of a new battery at its EnerDel unit in Indy, which used to be part of a Delphi plant. Officials say the project could lead to annual revenue of $1 billion.

The high cost of commercialization could fail the development or force a production move outside the country.

[Source: Indianapolis Star]

Via Treehugger, we’ve learned you can make your car even more environmentally sound (*ahem*) by installing Panasonic’s newly-developed speakers, made partially out of bamboo fibers. Panasonic developed the speakers in conjunction with Doshisha University. Bamboo is one of the world’s quickest-growing plants, and apparently has an excellent sound range. Panasonic isn’t saying where these speakers may show up when they are released next year, but all signs point to a release for mobile audio systems. Most people listen to music in their car more than anywhere else, and even if the bamboo speakers cost more than other types (as Treehugger suggests), it’ll be a small price to pay for a somewhat more ecologically-correct automobile.

[Source: Treehugger]