500 MILE BATTERY PRIZE BEGS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION
Written by James Greenberger on July 02nd, 2010
The proposed Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010 (S.B. 3442) contains a number of provisions of interest to the advanced battery community, but none more innovative than the Advanced Batteries for Tomorrow Prize referenced in Section 10 of the bill. The Prize would award $10 million to an entrant submitting a cost-effective, reasonably sized battery that could power a plug-in electric drive vehicle for 500 miles before recharging.
The devil, of course, is in the details, but the concept is clearly to create something similar to the Ansari X Prize. That prize was awarded to Burt Rutan and the Tier One Project for their successful multiple launch of SpaceShipOne. Although the Ansari X Prize paid out $10 million in an award, it is estimated that it encouraged more than $100 million of investment in private space travel.
The important question, however, is not whether awards are an appropriate way to encourage investment in advanced batteries, but rather whether the award focuses on an appropriate goal. A battery that would power a vehicle for 500 miles would certainly solve an important problem with electric vehicles. But is it the most important problem?
I recently attended the 2010 Automotive News Green Car Conference and Exhibition in Novi, Michigan at which representatives of many of the automotive OEM’s made presentations about the status of their electric drive programs and their expectations concerning consumer acceptance of those projects. The big take away for me from was that although the 100 mile range of first generation electric vehicles sounds like a big problem, the OEM’s are less concerned about range than they are about cost.
Several speakers, in fact, addressed the issue of battery cost vs. battery range. The interesting and almost universal view expressed was that if battery makers could improve significantly the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, the OEM’s would be more inclined to reduce the size and cost of the batteries installed in vehicles rather than extend the range of the vehicles.
I could not help thinking about this insight when I read Section 10 of S.B. 3442. The 500 mile battery is a great concept. But let’s not take our eye off the ball: The real issue is cost. Unless and until electric vehicles become affordable and value competitive with traditional ICE-powered cars, electric drive will remain a side show in the automotive market. It really does not matter how far a Tesla Roadster can travel on one charge. A prize for an automotive battery that can be mass produced for $150 per kWh– now you are talking!
