Electric Car Battery Makers Face Shakeup Amid Soft Demand

[Questioning_Climate]

Electric Car Battery Makers Face Shakeup Amid Soft Demand:
http://www.designnews.com/author.asp?sec..._id=233111

Quote:Those figures translate to an almost-inevitable death blow for some manufacturers. Hurst and Holman both cited A123 Systems and Enerdel as potential early candidates for shakeout. They pointed to LG Chem (which provides the batteries for the Chevy Volt) and SB LiMotive as companies that are well-positioned for survival. Some of the survivors may also have to cut back their production, they said.

[Derek]

Just yesterday I heard on BBC Radio 4 (Sorry I do listen to that rubbish occasionally) that,
Great news - electric car sales for August 2011 in the UK had increased by 300% compared to last August.
This August there were 33 electric cars sold, totaling 837 sold in Britain in 2011 so far.
Wow.
And, yes, in August 2010 there were 11 electric cars sold in the UK.

This left me thinking "not much of a market then".

The article Questioning_Climate has linked to some "wonderful figures"...
I will try to illustrate with some excerpts from the linked to article.

" Worldwide capacity of lithium-ion electric vehicle batteries is expected to reach 30GWh in the middle of this decade,
while demand for the batteries ranges from 2GWh to 20GWh, according to figures from Lux Research, Inc. "

from 2GWh to 20GWh, Pretty wide estimate.

" In Lux's forecasts, sales of hybrid vehicles will range between 1.5 million and 3 million a year in the coming decade,
while annual sales of plug-in hybrids could vary between a "few hundred thousand" and 3 million.
Pure electric vehicle sales are expected to be far lower than those of conventional hybrids and plug-ins, however. "

Hybrid vechicle sales - will range between 1.5 million and 3 million a year in the coming decade Really, are you sure?????

sales of plug-in hybrids could vary between a "few hundred thousand" and 3 million. Errr, an even wider estimate.

" "Even in an optimistic scenario, we don't see pure electric vehicles reaching more than a few hundred thousand a year," Holman said. "

" Even in an optimistic scenario, we don't see " Reality dawns....

" The United States has put more than $5 billion into electric vehicle development,
about half of which has been directed toward battery research and manufacturing.
Similarly, China is believed to have invested $15 billion into alternate-fuel vehicles,
while South Korea has invested more than $10 billion. "

That's 5+15+10 = $ 30 BILLION Could this money of been better spent?
Do birds fly, and bears defaecate in the woods....

" Because many lithium-ion EV battery cells tend to be large (about the size of a laptop computer), however,
the number of other applications for them could be limited. "

the number of other applications for them could be limited - Note, none suggested....

" "It's pretty clear there's going to be an enormous increase in lithium-ion battery production," Holman said.
"But the market -- in terms of the number of electric vehicles that will be bought and sold
-- isn't going to keep up with that expansion." "

With an inevitable result.........