Hitachi Ltd and Hitachi Vehicle Energy Ltd have developed a lithium-ion battery with a power density of 4,500W/kg – that’s 1.7 times the output of the current generation of mass produced lithium-ion batteries.
The battery features a number of technological developments. For example, to reduce internal resistance it uses a manganese cathode and an original Hitachi battery structure with thinner electrodes, power collection methods and configurations.
Hitachi has been working on the development and mass production of lithium-ion batteries since 2000. It is currently delivering a second-generation battery with a power density of 2,600W/kg. The company has also completed development of a third-generation battery with a power density of 3,000W/kg and this is scheduled to go into production in 2010.
The fourth-generation battery will be on display at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2009 in Yokohama from May 20-22. Sampling of the new battery will begin in the autumn.
