CPI vs. A123 battery

5105 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Koz, Mar 24, 2008

danwaterloo

Discussion Starter · Mar 23, 2008

There has been some speculation in the post threads that GM is more excited about A123 batteries. I wonder what the difference in the batteries is. Lutz has said that both batteries have extreme strengths and some weaknesses. Does anyone have any idea what they would be?

I am quite ignorant about anything scientific, but I have a feeling that the A123 chemistry has a higher potential than the CPI ones. However, CPI may have higher production capacity and perhaps a lower short-term cost. I say this because a lot of the talk about A123 has been a revolutionary improvement in lithium battery technology. Maybe CPI, being lower-tech is cheaper and easier to make. I base that on CPI having their batteries sent to GM sooner.

I could be completely off-base in my speculation so I want to hear what others think.

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voltman

· #3 · Mar 24, 2008

I think that much more information is available about A123. I have read the RC Airplane forums and they rave about the A123 batteries as they are VERY powerful. They can charge in 10-15 minues and release the stored energy very quickly. They are perfectly suited to a drag race type vehicle (see the killacycle).

A car is more about energy density however, I am not sure which has the better of it. The LG chem battery has very good thermal performance if I recall correctly.

The race may come down to cost and who can ramp up faster.

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