The popularity of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) is increasing dramatically across the world, but market growth has been impeded primarily by the high cost of nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries used to power them. However, researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Ill., and EnerDel, Indiannapolis, Ind., have removed this remaining barrier to consumer acceptance of HEVs with the EnerDel/Argonne Advanced High-Power Battery for Hybrid Electric Vehicles, a highly reliable and extremely safe battery that is lighter in weight, more compact, more powerful, and longer lasting than the Ni-MH batteries found in today's HEVs and competing lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. The battery is expected to meet the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium's $500 manufacturing price criterion for a 25-kW battery, which will enable consumers to receive an immediate payback in gas-cost savings rather than having to wait seven years for the savings to surpass the premium placed on HEVs.

In addition, the EnerDel/Argonne battery does not use graphite as the anode material, which has been the cause for concerns about the safety of other Li-ion batteries. Instead, the researchers developed a new form of nano-phase lithium titanate (LTO) to replace the graphite. They also developed a new way of making nano-phased LTO that will allow for easier industrial process as well as provide a high packing density that can increase the battery's energy density and provide the power needed for vehicle acceleration and regenerative charging of HEVs.