BETTER CELLS: A new battery from A123 Systems delivers more
power, remains easy to manufacture and can operate from -30
degrees Celsius to 60 degrees C--a far broader range than any
other lithium ion cell. Image: Courtesy of A123 Systems A new
lithium ion battery technology may finally make the devices
cheap enough and durable enough to turn electric cars from a
niche product into a mass-market mode of transport. Waltham,
Mass.–manufacturer A123 Systems has produced a cell that
delivers 20 percent more power, works at temperatures as low as
–30 degrees Celsius and as high as 60 degrees C, and should be
just as easy as current batteries to manufacture. "There's no
'unobtainium' in this battery," says company co-founder,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology materials scientist Yet-
Ming Chiang. "It's not based on a very expensive new chemistry."
Independent scientists have been scrutinizing the company's
claims and say they are impressed. From the few details the
company will reveal, the new battery, known as t