What will happen to the current hybrid battery technology, nickel metal hydride?
Nickel metal hydride is the staple of the hybrid industry today. It has 100 percent market share today. It will stay a part of the industry for a number of years. But lithium ion offers too many advantages. In time, it’s going to completely dominate this application much like it did in the electronics sector. In the early 1990s, everything was nickel metal hydride, whether it was your cell phone or your portable computer. Today, it’s virtually a 100 percent market penetration for lithium ion in all these applications, because of the advantages it offers in being lighter weight and taking up less space. It’s going to take over the automotive world as well. We can drive down the cost of lithium ion batteries, and it’s going to be a longer more durable technology. If an electric car future depends on lithium ion batteries, what about the issues of battery safety and longevity? Remember those Dell laptop batteries that caught on fire? Safety and longevity and cost are the three most import
