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1983 Porsche 911 SC Targa

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Ordering the Batteries

It is time to order my batteries. I’ve selected the CALB CA 180. This is a new product that recently became available. It will give the same range as the previous battery (100 miles per charge), but it can deliver more current (1800 amps in a 10 second burst and 540 amps continuously), and it lasts 3000 charge cycles. 
Batteries store and deliver energy through a reversible chemical reaction. The chemistry of choice for my electric car is lithium iron phosphate. This chemistry provides a good balance between mass density, capacity, lifetime, and safety. This chart shows the progress of battery technology.
Chart is modified based on this Wikipedia source.
Within the Lithium category, lithium iron phosphate is at the lower end of the range for current rating and energy density, but the trade-off is worthwhile – better thermal stability under high load reduces the risk of a fire, and longer lifetime. The only real downside is the price.

2 comments:

  1. Great batteries, I wish I had ordered those...but too late for me. Got to stick to the blue cells.

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  2. It was a few weeks ago that I heard about the gray cells, just in time for this project. They promise to be good. We will see.

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