One of the most compelling breakthroughs illustrating how Vanadium, when combined with lithium, creates “supercharged” batteries is the recent news by Germany’s DBM Energy. In partnership with German utility Lekker Energie, DBM Energy equipped an Audi A2 electric vehicle with its new lithium-Vanadium metal polymer battery and set a long distance record of 603 kilometres (375 miles) travelled on a single charge.
The battery’s basic electrochemistry consists of a metallic lithium anode and a Vanadium oxide cathode. DBM Energy claims the battery has 97% efficiency and can be charged at virtually any electrical socket. Plugged into a 240-volt direct-current source, the battery can be fully charged within 6 minutes.
There are now several companies that have announced that they are developing and in some cases, soon producing lithium-Vanadium-phosphate batteries:
China’s BYD Auto
Japan’s GS Yuasa Corp. (which provides batteries for Mitsubishi Motors)
Japan’s Subaru Motors
United States’ Valence Technologies "
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