Germany to win the race to lithium-ion batteries?

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Batteries just don’t do what we want them to do. They don’t charge quickly enough, store adequate power or come in at the right price and weight. If and when they do, then hybrid vehicles will reach a new level.

That time could be soon. Looking beyond the nickel metal-hydride batteries found in systems like the Prius, Volkswagen has joined forces with an alliance of German companies to make lithium-ion, or Li-ion, batteries (the current -- pardon the pun -- best hope) lighter, more efficient and cheaper to produce. VW, along with partners such as Bosch and BASF, sees this as a key technology on the way to zero-emissions vehicles.

The project will enjoy an investment of 360 million Euros (approximately $535 million) with a further 60 mill ($89 million) coming from the German government. And this is just one-half of a pincer movement bearing down on the whole battery issue.

Two behind-the-scenes companies, Ricardo and Qinetiq, have also been collaborating in improving Li-ion technology, with a target of substantial advances within two years. Qinetiq counts the military among its customers. The managing director of its energy and materials division (named, disconcertingly, Mel Brooks) has said: ‘Battery technology emanating from defense is now poised to make a significant difference to the viability of hybrid vehicles.’ It could be springtime for hybrids and Germany.

-- Colin Ryan