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Toyota Wary of Lithium Ion Batteries

Fire-prone batteries too hazardous for use in cars, automaker decides

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

September 3, 2007

The Japanese automaker considers the lithium battery technology to still be too hazardous to put in hybrid cars and trucks for widespread consumer use.

Lithium ion batteries can overheat and catch fire. There have been numerous incidents in recent years of laptop computers and cell phones suddenly bursting into flames.

Just last month, a Georgia hospital administrator said his Dell wide-screen laptop's batteries exploded into flames. It "looked like fireworks which would have been cool had it not been in my house," Douglas Brown said.

Lithium ion batteries are any important part of the future of plug-in hybrids that will be charged overnight with household electrical current, reducing the need to consume gasoline.

Plug-in hybrids, however, could cause the lithium ion battery to experience severe charging and discharging cycles, a process that decreases the life of the battery and causes heat to build increasing the possibility of fire.

GM is planning to use the batteries in a production version of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in concept, possibly as early as 2010.

While Toyota executives said safety concerns still bar using lithium ion technology in cars, the number-two worldwide auto company hopes to squeeze more performance from nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Nickel-metal hydride is the hybrid battery standard but automakers are planning for lithium ion as the next generation of hybrid power because the batteries can be smaller and lighter, producing better performance.

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