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Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy
The sleek electronic tools that have become so ubiquitous—laptops, iPods, eReaders, and smart phones—are all powered by lithium batteries. Chances are you've got some lithium on your person right now. But aside from powering a mobile twenty first-century lifestyle, the third element on the periodic table may also hold the key to an environmentally sustainable, oil-independent future. From electric cars to a "smart" power grid that can actually store electricity, letting us harness the powers of the sun and the wind and use them when we need them, lithium—a metal half as dense as water, created in the first minutes after the Big Bang and found primarily in some of the most uninhabitable places on earth—is the key to setting us on a path toward a low-carbon energy future. It's also shifting the geopolitical chessboard in profound ways.In Bottled Lightning , the science reporter Seth Fletcher takes us on a fascinating journey, from the salt flats of Bolivia to the labs of MIT and Stanford, from the turmoil at GM to cutting-edge lithium-ion battery start-ups, introducing us to the key players and ideas in an industry with the power to reshape the world. Lithium is the thread that ties together many key stories of our the environmental movement; the American auto industry, staking its revival on the electrification of cars and trucks; the struggle between first-world countries in need of natural resources and the impoverished countries where those resources are found; and the overwhelming popularity of the portable, Internet-connected gadgets that are changing the way we communicate. With nearly limitless possibilities, the promise of lithium offers new hope to a foundering American economy desperately searching for a green-tech boom to revive it.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 10, 2011
23 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
About the author
Seth Fletcher
3 books9 followersSeth Fletcher is a senior editor at Popular Science magazine. His writing has also appeared in Men's Journal, Outside, Salon, and other publications. He lives in Brooklyn."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
August 17, 2022
From my perspective, batteries are a key to our future as a planet. While looking for information at our local library, I came across this book with an intriguing title. As I got into it, I found Fletcher’s style easy to understand. Though written a decade ago, there is a lot of it still relevant.
Lithium is still very much in demand for the current generation of rechargeable batteries.
The transportation industry is progressively being weaned away from fossil fuels.
The search is continuing for new materials that will allow greater storage.
I would have liked for Fletcher to give the reader a broader understanding of battery chemistry, particularly with regard to trends in research
I was disappointed that, beyond the automobile industry, this book contains very little. Batteries, as they relate to the storage of electricity generated directly from wind, solar, tidal and other hydro, will be critical to overall success in setting aside fossil fuels for uses other than energy (such as certain plastics and pharmaceuticals).
Government’s role is evolving, but there have been important recent steps. For instance, the U.S.A. has shifted the incentives for EV adoption from consumers to manufacturers — instead of making electrics cheaper for car buyers, the new law rewards carmakers for building EVs with U.S.-made batteries.
I am glad that that I was able to borrow this book from the library. I am hoping to read something that addresses the above issues in more detail.
Lithium is still very much in demand for the current generation of rechargeable batteries.
The transportation industry is progressively being weaned away from fossil fuels.
The search is continuing for new materials that will allow greater storage.
I would have liked for Fletcher to give the reader a broader understanding of battery chemistry, particularly with regard to trends in research
I was disappointed that, beyond the automobile industry, this book contains very little. Batteries, as they relate to the storage of electricity generated directly from wind, solar, tidal and other hydro, will be critical to overall success in setting aside fossil fuels for uses other than energy (such as certain plastics and pharmaceuticals).
Government’s role is evolving, but there have been important recent steps. For instance, the U.S.A. has shifted the incentives for EV adoption from consumers to manufacturers — instead of making electrics cheaper for car buyers, the new law rewards carmakers for building EVs with U.S.-made batteries.
I am glad that that I was able to borrow this book from the library. I am hoping to read something that addresses the above issues in more detail.
September 20, 2019
Bottled Lightning (2011) by Seth Fletcher is a book about the history of batteries and what was happening with batteries in 2011.
Batteries are undoubtedly a critical part of many modern systems including our phones, laptops and for some people their cars. Today in many cities electric scooters also zoom around. Bottled Lightning looks at the history of batteries first and then the rise of Lithium Ion batteries.
The book starts well and the history of batteries is interesting. The development of Lithium Ion batteries is an interesting if hard to tell tale. Why certain compounds do better than others isn't really clear.
The book loses its way as it gets into patent wars between companies and the early history of electric cars. Fletcher did get some pretty decent access to talk to various leaders in the industry though.
Bottled Lightning isn't a bad book but it's a hard subject. Battery chemistry doesn't lend itself to riveting reading. The first third of the book is quite good but the book does flag later one.
Batteries are undoubtedly a critical part of many modern systems including our phones, laptops and for some people their cars. Today in many cities electric scooters also zoom around. Bottled Lightning looks at the history of batteries first and then the rise of Lithium Ion batteries.
The book starts well and the history of batteries is interesting. The development of Lithium Ion batteries is an interesting if hard to tell tale. Why certain compounds do better than others isn't really clear.
The book loses its way as it gets into patent wars between companies and the early history of electric cars. Fletcher did get some pretty decent access to talk to various leaders in the industry though.
Bottled Lightning isn't a bad book but it's a hard subject. Battery chemistry doesn't lend itself to riveting reading. The first third of the book is quite good but the book does flag later one.
August 17, 2012
Fletcher provides a good overview of the history of the battery, the intellectual landscape around the technology and some useful "I was there" reporting on lithium mining. I was hoping for more science and economics and less tit-for-tat about the intellectual property games that went on behind the scenes.
The most powerful piece of the book is the last few pages where Fletcher describes the successful roll-outs of the Volt and Leaf. Then he tries to bring it all back home by channeling Secty of Energy Chu: as a country we have ceased to be the global industrial leader and have allowed the cleantech industries - solar, wind, batteries, basic energy research among others - to be taken over by the Chinese. We are not leaders, we are consumers. In Fletcher's words: "If another country leads that industrial revolution, then, all things being equal, the result will still be good for the planet--Americans will just be buying solar panels, carbon-capture technology and advanced batteries from overseas...a failure to participate in what promises to be one of the greatest industries of the coming century."
The most powerful piece of the book is the last few pages where Fletcher describes the successful roll-outs of the Volt and Leaf. Then he tries to bring it all back home by channeling Secty of Energy Chu: as a country we have ceased to be the global industrial leader and have allowed the cleantech industries - solar, wind, batteries, basic energy research among others - to be taken over by the Chinese. We are not leaders, we are consumers. In Fletcher's words: "If another country leads that industrial revolution, then, all things being equal, the result will still be good for the planet--Americans will just be buying solar panels, carbon-capture technology and advanced batteries from overseas...a failure to participate in what promises to be one of the greatest industries of the coming century."
April 3, 2013
Batteries
Each cell in a battery has a negative electrode (anode) and a positive electrode (cathode) separated by a liquid or solid called the electrolyte. A group of one or more cells connected together is called a battery. Originally, batteries were not rechargeable, but some more recent batteries are rechargeable: the nickel cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Two problems with these batteries are: (a) they lose energy capacity when not fully run down prior to charging, and (b) they lose charge when not in use. During the 1990s a new kind of rechargeable battery was developed that did not suffer from these problems. It is called the lithium ion battery, and is the main subject of this book.
Exxon Research and Engineering
While at Exxon Research and Engineering, Michael Stanley Whittingham developed the first rechargeable lithium battery. It had a titanium disulfide cathode and a lithium-aluminum anode. Bob Hamlen figured out how to manufacture it at Exxon’s facility in Branchburg, New Jersey. The battery was first used in digital watches in the 1970s.
Moli Energy
This rechargeable battery was developed by Moli Energy, a Canadian (British Columbia) company named after the elements molybdenum and lithium. They replaced the titanium in Exxon’s battery by molybdenum. Molybdenum disulfide is cheaper and easier to work with than titanium disulfide. Starting in 1988, the batteries were used in NTT mobile phones. One battery in a hundred thousand caught fire. The problem was not caught in testing, because the testers did not think of testing under the five-day discharge, ten-hour-recharge cycle that the phone was subjected to in actual use.
Lithium-Cobalt-Oxide
In 1979 John Bannister Goodenough of Oxford University developed a lithium ion battery with a lithium-cobalt-oxide cathode and a lithium anode. Goodenough collaborated with scientists and engineers at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, England. Harwell’s scientists had given him verbal assurances that he would receive a share of the royalties, but when he showed up to sign the paperwork, Harwell’s lawyers were not willing to give him or Oxford University any share of the royalties. But Goodenough signed anyway, because no one else was interested in commercializing his technology.
Compact Power: Lithium Manganese Oxide
Compact Power of Troy, Michigan developed a battery based on the lithium-manganese-oxide research of Michael Thackeray & John Goodenough at Oxford University. Cobalt is toxic, and more expensive than manganese. The batteries have high power and high energy density. CPI is owned by LG Chemical of South Korea. The batteries are used in the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid car. GM tested battery aging using a pack cycler to artificially accelerate the aging process. GM’s earlier electric car, the EV1, used lead-acid batteries, which were very heavy.
Sony’s Carbon Anode
In the 1990s Sony developed a rechargeable lithium ion battery with a carbon anode, instead of Goodenough’s metallic lithium anode. They called it a lithium ion battery, to distinguish it from a lithium battery, which had the reputation for catching fire. Further development of lithium ion batteries usually keeps Sony’s carbon anode, and instead plays with the chemical composition of the cathode.
Lithium Iron Phosphate
A new type of lithium ion battery was developed in the 1990s, the lithium iron phosphate battery. In this battery, the cathode is made of lithium iron phosphate (also called lithium ferrous phosphate). In 1993, John Goodenough, now at the University of Texas at Austin, and his student Akshaya Padhi, started the development of the lithium iron phosphate battery. They ran into some problems with electrical conductivity. They licensed their technology to Michel Armand of Hydro-Québec, who introduced a carbon coating to improve the electrical conductivity and was able to produced a working lithium iron phosphate battery. Lithium iron phosphate batteries have higher energy density, longer lifetimes and are more safe than lithium cobalt oxide.
Lithium Wars
A123 Systems developed and marketed a similar lithium iron phosphate battery, which they claimed increased electrical conductivity not by using a carbon coating, but by doping the cathode with niobium and zirconium. A patent war started. This is a complicated story. The chemistry itself, on the cause of the electrical conductivity enhancement, is still not clear, so there is no point in describing the legal battles.
Tesla Roadster
Tesla designed their car so that the cells of the battery were separated from one another. So if one cell catches fire, it will not ignite any neighboring cells.
Each cell in a battery has a negative electrode (anode) and a positive electrode (cathode) separated by a liquid or solid called the electrolyte. A group of one or more cells connected together is called a battery. Originally, batteries were not rechargeable, but some more recent batteries are rechargeable: the nickel cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride batteries. Two problems with these batteries are: (a) they lose energy capacity when not fully run down prior to charging, and (b) they lose charge when not in use. During the 1990s a new kind of rechargeable battery was developed that did not suffer from these problems. It is called the lithium ion battery, and is the main subject of this book.
Exxon Research and Engineering
While at Exxon Research and Engineering, Michael Stanley Whittingham developed the first rechargeable lithium battery. It had a titanium disulfide cathode and a lithium-aluminum anode. Bob Hamlen figured out how to manufacture it at Exxon’s facility in Branchburg, New Jersey. The battery was first used in digital watches in the 1970s.
Moli Energy
This rechargeable battery was developed by Moli Energy, a Canadian (British Columbia) company named after the elements molybdenum and lithium. They replaced the titanium in Exxon’s battery by molybdenum. Molybdenum disulfide is cheaper and easier to work with than titanium disulfide. Starting in 1988, the batteries were used in NTT mobile phones. One battery in a hundred thousand caught fire. The problem was not caught in testing, because the testers did not think of testing under the five-day discharge, ten-hour-recharge cycle that the phone was subjected to in actual use.
Lithium-Cobalt-Oxide
In 1979 John Bannister Goodenough of Oxford University developed a lithium ion battery with a lithium-cobalt-oxide cathode and a lithium anode. Goodenough collaborated with scientists and engineers at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment in Harwell, England. Harwell’s scientists had given him verbal assurances that he would receive a share of the royalties, but when he showed up to sign the paperwork, Harwell’s lawyers were not willing to give him or Oxford University any share of the royalties. But Goodenough signed anyway, because no one else was interested in commercializing his technology.
Compact Power: Lithium Manganese Oxide
Compact Power of Troy, Michigan developed a battery based on the lithium-manganese-oxide research of Michael Thackeray & John Goodenough at Oxford University. Cobalt is toxic, and more expensive than manganese. The batteries have high power and high energy density. CPI is owned by LG Chemical of South Korea. The batteries are used in the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid car. GM tested battery aging using a pack cycler to artificially accelerate the aging process. GM’s earlier electric car, the EV1, used lead-acid batteries, which were very heavy.
Sony’s Carbon Anode
In the 1990s Sony developed a rechargeable lithium ion battery with a carbon anode, instead of Goodenough’s metallic lithium anode. They called it a lithium ion battery, to distinguish it from a lithium battery, which had the reputation for catching fire. Further development of lithium ion batteries usually keeps Sony’s carbon anode, and instead plays with the chemical composition of the cathode.
Lithium Iron Phosphate
A new type of lithium ion battery was developed in the 1990s, the lithium iron phosphate battery. In this battery, the cathode is made of lithium iron phosphate (also called lithium ferrous phosphate). In 1993, John Goodenough, now at the University of Texas at Austin, and his student Akshaya Padhi, started the development of the lithium iron phosphate battery. They ran into some problems with electrical conductivity. They licensed their technology to Michel Armand of Hydro-Québec, who introduced a carbon coating to improve the electrical conductivity and was able to produced a working lithium iron phosphate battery. Lithium iron phosphate batteries have higher energy density, longer lifetimes and are more safe than lithium cobalt oxide.
Lithium Wars
A123 Systems developed and marketed a similar lithium iron phosphate battery, which they claimed increased electrical conductivity not by using a carbon coating, but by doping the cathode with niobium and zirconium. A patent war started. This is a complicated story. The chemistry itself, on the cause of the electrical conductivity enhancement, is still not clear, so there is no point in describing the legal battles.
Tesla Roadster
Tesla designed their car so that the cells of the battery were separated from one another. So if one cell catches fire, it will not ignite any neighboring cells.
November 28, 2015
A solid book, the author visited with battery manufacturers, car companies, research labs and traveled to Bolivia and Chile to research this book. It left me optomistic regarding the future of electric vehicles and our ability to overcome the technical hurdles.
September 18, 2011
Starts with the invention of the battery and the hundreds of different chemicals that have been investigated as constituents and proceeds through the many iterations of the electric car that have (so far) failed. Fletcher then explains why lithium batteries are superior to prior versions and looks into the current research into the batteries that may one day be able to compete with the convenience of gas-powered engines. He finishes the book with a description of the current status of the lithium extraction industry in Chile and Bolivia. This is a nice, readable introduction to the technology and economics that have conspired to make electric cars untenable in the past and what's changing right now.
July 22, 2011
This was an interesting book, but I was hoping to read less about cars and more about lithium.
June 17, 2011
Nothing symbolizes the greatness of America more than the road trip. When I was a kid in the 1970s I went on road trips family style (disfunctional family style at least) each summer. My brother and I would travel cross country to Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri either with our biological father in his Econoline van or with my step-father and mother in our Dodge Ramcharger. Each trip was an adventure, stops to go swimming, tubeing, bicycling, camping, fishing, to see ball games, amusement parks, go-cart and water parks, visit distant relatives, eat bologna sandwiches with Pringles and slurp 7-ups on the side of the road.
By 1984 I got my own driver's license and began road tripping with friends, to state parks, county fairs, R.E.M. concerts, to the Iowa border where a friend knew of a dive strip club that let 18 year olds in, to the Wisconsin border to buy fireworks, to New Orleans' French Quarter, to tailgate parties in the parking lots of college stadiums. By the 1990s I was taking road trips with girlfriends, romantic getaways to small tourist towns with antique shops, ski resorts and almost-fine dining. My honeymoon in 2005 was a road trip to Knoxville Tennessee where my bride (now ex-wife) and I explored the winding roads and small towns around the Smokey Mountains, camped deep in the woods, hiked trails and listened to bluegrass music in small bars.
The summer of 2010
Now I have a 3 year old daughter and a 5 year old son who I would like nothing more than to have experience the wonders of the American road trip. This was the summer that I was planning to take my curious little munchkins on their first American road trip adventure, through small towns, visiting arts and crafts fairs, music festivals and eating in ma and pa diners. But with gas prices well over 4 dollars a gallon and an economy crippled by wasteful government spending in recent foreign wars for oil, this dream of a summer road trip seems more like fantasy. When I sat down to try and work out a budget for this road trip the reality hit me and it became too depressing to even think about: my kids would not be able to experience the an American road trip adventure. Not this year at least, and maybe never.
But wait a frickin minute. Wait one god-damned minute! This IS still America, right? The once great land where anything was possible? The nation that gave us Muhammid Ali, the electric blues, NFL football, Classic Rock, muscle cars, baseball cards and Indie films. The nation that put a man on the moon, created the internet, defeated Hitler, and invented the roller coaster and gonzo journalism. So why can't this be the nation to perfect the electric car and give rebirth to the dream of the American road trip?
Addicted To Oil
Our country's addiction to oil was at one time a good thing. After World War II oil promoted innovation, it got the country moving, it enriched our culture. But in october of 1973, for reasons too complex to get into here, Egypt and Syria attacked Isreal. Our President, Richard Milhouse Nixon, sided with Isreal which resulted in an oil embargo on the US by the anti-Isreal, oil-exporting countries of the Mid East. This embargo caused a disastrous energy crisis in America as oil skyrocketed from just $3 a barrel to $40 almost overnight. There were lines at gas stations as oil consuming Americans worried about not having enough fuel to maintain their lives. The idea of an alternative to the gas-engine car started to become something worth serious considerion.
In 1976 in fact, three years after the Arab oil embargo, Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development and Demonstration Act (despite a veto by then-President Jerry Ford). The idea was to stimulate the production of alternatives to gas-engines. During Jimmy Carter's time in office (remember Jimmy Carter--the guy who put solar panels on the roof of the white house) government funds were provided that led to serious progress in the development of electric batteries. This progress lead to an enormous cultural and economic impact via the resulting gadget boom of the early/mid 80s; digital watches, pocket calculators, cameras, portable stereos, Sony walkmen, cell phones. As the gadget boom continued throughout the 80s it seemed like it was only just a matter of time until a viable electric car battery would be produced.
But then, just like that, development for the electric car in the USA came to a sudden standstill. In 1985 the price of oil began to fall again as the short-sighted Reagan Administration deregulated the oil industry. Oil companies were finding new petroleum sources in the North Sea, Alaska, Mexico and South America. Meanwhile OPEC lowered its prices in a successful attempt to increase U.S. addiction to oil and by 1986 the price of oil dropped down to only $15 a barrel. As Japanase auto companies encroached on the US auto market the idea of the electric car became even more marginalized. To compete with Japanese automakers the Reagan Administration was compelled to promote the cumsuption of cars with combustionable engines and totally dismiss alternative energy. On page 37 of Seth Fletcher's book Bottled Lightening, he writes:
"Reagan came in and cut back energy efficiency and renewable energy programs by something like 80 percent," Elton Cairns, who at the time was working on advanced battery research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, told me. "All labs, including ours, suffered layoffs as a result. The reduction in funding occured something like overnight. That pretty well put an end to the significant involvement in DOE [Department of Energy] labs in battery and fuel-cell programs at that time."
The documentary Who Killed The Electric Car? picks up the story from there. In 1987 a solar powered vehicle created by an L.A. company called AeroVironment won the World Solar Challenge race across Austrailia. Law makers in California took note and began to see that emission free vehicles were very much a reality. This inspired the California Air Resource Board (known as CARB) to pass a mandate in 1990 that called for 2% of all cars sold in California to be emission-free by 1995. Car companies hen began teetering between trying to comply to this mandate and working to get the mandate repealed. The technology to make a viable electric car was bascially there. In fact within a short period GM came up with the EV1, an electric car that was fast, smooth, stylish, aerodynamic, emission-free and silent. It went up to 140 miles per charge. But the EV1 was not for sale. GM decided it to only lease the car, for about $349 a month. Francis Ford Coppola leased one. Mel Gibson leased one. 24,000 customers from L.A. and NYC alone called in requesting to lease a EV1 before it even hit the market. Yet even as GM was producing this amazing vehicle with a huge demand, they realized that more profit was to be made in keeping with the gas combustionable engine vehicle business model. The gas engine was so much more complex in terms of working parts and therefore needed more maintenance which yielded incredible profits for car manufactures, while the electric engine required absolutely no maintenance at all. So the auto companies, in cahoots with the big oil companies, began lobbying CARB to end the emmission free mandate (which was scheduled to be increased to a 10% requirement of all vehicles sold in California by 2003).
Since there was no common sense reason for CARB to repeal the mandate (other than it would line the big auto and big oil companies pockets), the auto manufacturers and oil companies had to manufacture a reason. Enter the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle--an idea they used as a stalling tactic or a bait and switch to dupe Bill Clinton (and later Geroge W. Bush) into promoting the ideal of fuel cell cars. The fantastical idea of the fuel-cell vehicle allowed the oil companies and car manufacturers to argue that fuel cell was a better way to go than the electric car--with the caveat that they needed a bit more time to develop fuel-cell technology. In reality however, it would take decades--if ever to develop--and it actually cost one million dollars to make just ONE fuel cell car (whereas electric cars were going for around $32,000). This seemed like a hard sell, but to hedge their bets the oil and car companies got the chairman of the hydrogen fuel cell board of California, Lloyd elected as the chairman of CARB. And in 2003 CARB repealed the mandate. Then, in a gesture reminescient of Ronald Reagan having the solar panels removed from the white house roof upon moving in, GM and the other auto makers recalled ALL their elelctric vehicles--every last one of them--trucked them out to the desert and had them literally crushed. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration's War for Oil in Iraq had been declared and was in full swing.
Yes We Can!
Upon winning office in 2008 Barrack Obama put an immediate emphasis on ending the USA's addiction to oil as he put forth historic new nationwide fuel-economy standards of a 35.5 mpg fleetwide by 2016 (a 40 percent increase over existing standards). Then, as Fletcher writes on page 115:
"...the current White House was more supportive of automotive electrification than any since Carter's. Obama worked an oblique mention of the Volt [GM's current electric car] into his first joint address to Congress as an example of the automotive technology of the future--and as a compelling reason to fund an American lithium-ion battery industry. And on March 19, 2009, he toured the Electric Vehicle Technical Center at Southern California Edison and declared a goal of putting one million electric cars on the road by the year 2015. He announced a $2 billion competitive grant program for electric-car battery and component manufacturers..." And the list goes on.
Today, there are a number of electric cars on the road. Chevy has the Volt, Nissan has the Leaf, Tesla has its Roadster. Meanwhile Ford, Toyota, Mitshubishi, Volkswagen, Audi and even Porsche have all announced plans to release an electric car by 2012. We will soon be seeing electric cars that can go 300 miles on a fully charged battery and which take as little as 5 minutes to recharge. You can charge the electric cars from your own home or at conveniently located charging stations (WalMart, are you listening?). The cost of an electic car has dropped to below $32,000 and considering the savings a driver will get from no longer having to put gas in their vehicle (with gas prices flirting with 5 dollars a gallon, it costs TEN times as much to travel in a gas engine vehicle than an electric vehicle), plus the savings from not having to get oil changes and engine maintenance, there is no reason NOT to buy an electric car. In fact I see no reason why I should ever need to buy a gas-engine car again in my life. I can see a 21st century where the American road trip returns, where I can travel all day on about one dollar in energy costs. Where I can drive my kids from small town to big city showing them all the greatness and glory that is still America.
***
Overall, there are points in Seth Fletcher's Bottled Lightening where you might need to have at least a high-school level physics class understanding of chemistry in order to get the gist of the history and evolution of man's relationship to electricity. As this history unfolds it is interesting enough, but it begins taking on a more immediate relevence as Fletcher brings us into the early 1970s and the U.S. energy crisis. he goes onto to explain how teh electric car has gotten to where it is today and where it is going in the future. For this I give Bottled Lightening 3 out of 5 wagemannheads.
NEXT!
By 1984 I got my own driver's license and began road tripping with friends, to state parks, county fairs, R.E.M. concerts, to the Iowa border where a friend knew of a dive strip club that let 18 year olds in, to the Wisconsin border to buy fireworks, to New Orleans' French Quarter, to tailgate parties in the parking lots of college stadiums. By the 1990s I was taking road trips with girlfriends, romantic getaways to small tourist towns with antique shops, ski resorts and almost-fine dining. My honeymoon in 2005 was a road trip to Knoxville Tennessee where my bride (now ex-wife) and I explored the winding roads and small towns around the Smokey Mountains, camped deep in the woods, hiked trails and listened to bluegrass music in small bars.
The summer of 2010
Now I have a 3 year old daughter and a 5 year old son who I would like nothing more than to have experience the wonders of the American road trip. This was the summer that I was planning to take my curious little munchkins on their first American road trip adventure, through small towns, visiting arts and crafts fairs, music festivals and eating in ma and pa diners. But with gas prices well over 4 dollars a gallon and an economy crippled by wasteful government spending in recent foreign wars for oil, this dream of a summer road trip seems more like fantasy. When I sat down to try and work out a budget for this road trip the reality hit me and it became too depressing to even think about: my kids would not be able to experience the an American road trip adventure. Not this year at least, and maybe never.
But wait a frickin minute. Wait one god-damned minute! This IS still America, right? The once great land where anything was possible? The nation that gave us Muhammid Ali, the electric blues, NFL football, Classic Rock, muscle cars, baseball cards and Indie films. The nation that put a man on the moon, created the internet, defeated Hitler, and invented the roller coaster and gonzo journalism. So why can't this be the nation to perfect the electric car and give rebirth to the dream of the American road trip?
Addicted To Oil
Our country's addiction to oil was at one time a good thing. After World War II oil promoted innovation, it got the country moving, it enriched our culture. But in october of 1973, for reasons too complex to get into here, Egypt and Syria attacked Isreal. Our President, Richard Milhouse Nixon, sided with Isreal which resulted in an oil embargo on the US by the anti-Isreal, oil-exporting countries of the Mid East. This embargo caused a disastrous energy crisis in America as oil skyrocketed from just $3 a barrel to $40 almost overnight. There were lines at gas stations as oil consuming Americans worried about not having enough fuel to maintain their lives. The idea of an alternative to the gas-engine car started to become something worth serious considerion.
In 1976 in fact, three years after the Arab oil embargo, Congress passed the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Research, Development and Demonstration Act (despite a veto by then-President Jerry Ford). The idea was to stimulate the production of alternatives to gas-engines. During Jimmy Carter's time in office (remember Jimmy Carter--the guy who put solar panels on the roof of the white house) government funds were provided that led to serious progress in the development of electric batteries. This progress lead to an enormous cultural and economic impact via the resulting gadget boom of the early/mid 80s; digital watches, pocket calculators, cameras, portable stereos, Sony walkmen, cell phones. As the gadget boom continued throughout the 80s it seemed like it was only just a matter of time until a viable electric car battery would be produced.
But then, just like that, development for the electric car in the USA came to a sudden standstill. In 1985 the price of oil began to fall again as the short-sighted Reagan Administration deregulated the oil industry. Oil companies were finding new petroleum sources in the North Sea, Alaska, Mexico and South America. Meanwhile OPEC lowered its prices in a successful attempt to increase U.S. addiction to oil and by 1986 the price of oil dropped down to only $15 a barrel. As Japanase auto companies encroached on the US auto market the idea of the electric car became even more marginalized. To compete with Japanese automakers the Reagan Administration was compelled to promote the cumsuption of cars with combustionable engines and totally dismiss alternative energy. On page 37 of Seth Fletcher's book Bottled Lightening, he writes:
"Reagan came in and cut back energy efficiency and renewable energy programs by something like 80 percent," Elton Cairns, who at the time was working on advanced battery research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, told me. "All labs, including ours, suffered layoffs as a result. The reduction in funding occured something like overnight. That pretty well put an end to the significant involvement in DOE [Department of Energy] labs in battery and fuel-cell programs at that time."
The documentary Who Killed The Electric Car? picks up the story from there. In 1987 a solar powered vehicle created by an L.A. company called AeroVironment won the World Solar Challenge race across Austrailia. Law makers in California took note and began to see that emission free vehicles were very much a reality. This inspired the California Air Resource Board (known as CARB) to pass a mandate in 1990 that called for 2% of all cars sold in California to be emission-free by 1995. Car companies hen began teetering between trying to comply to this mandate and working to get the mandate repealed. The technology to make a viable electric car was bascially there. In fact within a short period GM came up with the EV1, an electric car that was fast, smooth, stylish, aerodynamic, emission-free and silent. It went up to 140 miles per charge. But the EV1 was not for sale. GM decided it to only lease the car, for about $349 a month. Francis Ford Coppola leased one. Mel Gibson leased one. 24,000 customers from L.A. and NYC alone called in requesting to lease a EV1 before it even hit the market. Yet even as GM was producing this amazing vehicle with a huge demand, they realized that more profit was to be made in keeping with the gas combustionable engine vehicle business model. The gas engine was so much more complex in terms of working parts and therefore needed more maintenance which yielded incredible profits for car manufactures, while the electric engine required absolutely no maintenance at all. So the auto companies, in cahoots with the big oil companies, began lobbying CARB to end the emmission free mandate (which was scheduled to be increased to a 10% requirement of all vehicles sold in California by 2003).
Since there was no common sense reason for CARB to repeal the mandate (other than it would line the big auto and big oil companies pockets), the auto manufacturers and oil companies had to manufacture a reason. Enter the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle--an idea they used as a stalling tactic or a bait and switch to dupe Bill Clinton (and later Geroge W. Bush) into promoting the ideal of fuel cell cars. The fantastical idea of the fuel-cell vehicle allowed the oil companies and car manufacturers to argue that fuel cell was a better way to go than the electric car--with the caveat that they needed a bit more time to develop fuel-cell technology. In reality however, it would take decades--if ever to develop--and it actually cost one million dollars to make just ONE fuel cell car (whereas electric cars were going for around $32,000). This seemed like a hard sell, but to hedge their bets the oil and car companies got the chairman of the hydrogen fuel cell board of California, Lloyd elected as the chairman of CARB. And in 2003 CARB repealed the mandate. Then, in a gesture reminescient of Ronald Reagan having the solar panels removed from the white house roof upon moving in, GM and the other auto makers recalled ALL their elelctric vehicles--every last one of them--trucked them out to the desert and had them literally crushed. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration's War for Oil in Iraq had been declared and was in full swing.
Yes We Can!
Upon winning office in 2008 Barrack Obama put an immediate emphasis on ending the USA's addiction to oil as he put forth historic new nationwide fuel-economy standards of a 35.5 mpg fleetwide by 2016 (a 40 percent increase over existing standards). Then, as Fletcher writes on page 115:
"...the current White House was more supportive of automotive electrification than any since Carter's. Obama worked an oblique mention of the Volt [GM's current electric car] into his first joint address to Congress as an example of the automotive technology of the future--and as a compelling reason to fund an American lithium-ion battery industry. And on March 19, 2009, he toured the Electric Vehicle Technical Center at Southern California Edison and declared a goal of putting one million electric cars on the road by the year 2015. He announced a $2 billion competitive grant program for electric-car battery and component manufacturers..." And the list goes on.
Today, there are a number of electric cars on the road. Chevy has the Volt, Nissan has the Leaf, Tesla has its Roadster. Meanwhile Ford, Toyota, Mitshubishi, Volkswagen, Audi and even Porsche have all announced plans to release an electric car by 2012. We will soon be seeing electric cars that can go 300 miles on a fully charged battery and which take as little as 5 minutes to recharge. You can charge the electric cars from your own home or at conveniently located charging stations (WalMart, are you listening?). The cost of an electic car has dropped to below $32,000 and considering the savings a driver will get from no longer having to put gas in their vehicle (with gas prices flirting with 5 dollars a gallon, it costs TEN times as much to travel in a gas engine vehicle than an electric vehicle), plus the savings from not having to get oil changes and engine maintenance, there is no reason NOT to buy an electric car. In fact I see no reason why I should ever need to buy a gas-engine car again in my life. I can see a 21st century where the American road trip returns, where I can travel all day on about one dollar in energy costs. Where I can drive my kids from small town to big city showing them all the greatness and glory that is still America.
***
Overall, there are points in Seth Fletcher's Bottled Lightening where you might need to have at least a high-school level physics class understanding of chemistry in order to get the gist of the history and evolution of man's relationship to electricity. As this history unfolds it is interesting enough, but it begins taking on a more immediate relevence as Fletcher brings us into the early 1970s and the U.S. energy crisis. he goes onto to explain how teh electric car has gotten to where it is today and where it is going in the future. For this I give Bottled Lightening 3 out of 5 wagemannheads.
NEXT!
January 3, 2024
The author's highly detailed account of the development of electric vehicles, laptops, and cell phones in general and lithium and other metals or semi metals in particular provides a good foundation for understanding the challenges and potential behind battery development. The history of batteries ("electrochemical energy storage") originates with--drumroll!--lead-acid batteries in the 1880s and Thomas Edison's rechargeable battery in 1903. A senior editor at Popular Science magazine, the author cites the work of the key scientists, geologists, engineers, industry executives, and political entities involved.
Suffice it to say, battery science is a story of promising theories, fits and starts, successes and failures, wild swings in supply and demand--and LOTS of chemistry. (Because the content is highly technical and published 13 years ago, I found myself googling information for definitions and updates on just about every page.)
Every advance that seems like a quantum leap is based on incremental changes, much trial and error, and not a small degree of industry infighting (litigation, patent disputes). It's a high-risk high-reward business (Tesla, Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, etc). The book is peppered with fascinating facts. (The forerunner of 7Up soda originally contained lithium).
Fast forward to 2024--R and D is still striving for the perfect blend of range, power, storage, safety, availability, accessibility, and affordability for batteries. There's the matter of charging time and available charging stations. Also mentioned are battery fires and explosions---lithium is very unstable. And of course, environmental concerns. How "green" is a Tesla, really, when manufacturing the vehicle's batter generates 2,600 or more tons of C02?
And of course, geopolitics comes into play: Are policies like California's requirement that all new cars sold be electric by 2035 feasible? With China the world's major battery supplier and biggest market market for electric cars, is lithium the new oil? Are tariffs , subsidies, and other protectionist measures regarding EVs good or bad for the automotive industry and consumers?
One energy analyst is quoted as having argued, in 2006, that "basing an electric-car revival on the lithium-ion battery was nothing but a headlong rush into dependence on yet another finite resource, and addiction to oil traded for an addiction to lithium." (Since then, lithium mines have been opened in Nevada and in countries like Australia.)
Throughout, the author takes a "show, don't tell" approach and generally avoids pushing a so-called green agenda. As such, he quotes an MIT professor as positioning electrochemical energy storage as an opportunity, not a penance or a burden. "In the quest to rid our cars of oil and gas and our grid of coal and gas, battery scientists have at least two essential duties. The first is to continue to grind through the periodic table in search of the incremental advances that will steadily make the technology a little better every year. The second is to chase ideas that might be decades from commercial reality, because while everyone is arguing about the state tax credits for pack assembly plants and the price of separator material, somebody has to."
One might conclude that we're a long way from living in a world where EVs are as ubiquitous as cellphones and digital watches. But it will be a fascinating industry to monitor, on several levels.
Suffice it to say, battery science is a story of promising theories, fits and starts, successes and failures, wild swings in supply and demand--and LOTS of chemistry. (Because the content is highly technical and published 13 years ago, I found myself googling information for definitions and updates on just about every page.)
Every advance that seems like a quantum leap is based on incremental changes, much trial and error, and not a small degree of industry infighting (litigation, patent disputes). It's a high-risk high-reward business (Tesla, Chevy Bolt, Nissan Leaf, etc). The book is peppered with fascinating facts. (The forerunner of 7Up soda originally contained lithium).
Fast forward to 2024--R and D is still striving for the perfect blend of range, power, storage, safety, availability, accessibility, and affordability for batteries. There's the matter of charging time and available charging stations. Also mentioned are battery fires and explosions---lithium is very unstable. And of course, environmental concerns. How "green" is a Tesla, really, when manufacturing the vehicle's batter generates 2,600 or more tons of C02?
And of course, geopolitics comes into play: Are policies like California's requirement that all new cars sold be electric by 2035 feasible? With China the world's major battery supplier and biggest market market for electric cars, is lithium the new oil? Are tariffs , subsidies, and other protectionist measures regarding EVs good or bad for the automotive industry and consumers?
One energy analyst is quoted as having argued, in 2006, that "basing an electric-car revival on the lithium-ion battery was nothing but a headlong rush into dependence on yet another finite resource, and addiction to oil traded for an addiction to lithium." (Since then, lithium mines have been opened in Nevada and in countries like Australia.)
Throughout, the author takes a "show, don't tell" approach and generally avoids pushing a so-called green agenda. As such, he quotes an MIT professor as positioning electrochemical energy storage as an opportunity, not a penance or a burden. "In the quest to rid our cars of oil and gas and our grid of coal and gas, battery scientists have at least two essential duties. The first is to continue to grind through the periodic table in search of the incremental advances that will steadily make the technology a little better every year. The second is to chase ideas that might be decades from commercial reality, because while everyone is arguing about the state tax credits for pack assembly plants and the price of separator material, somebody has to."
One might conclude that we're a long way from living in a world where EVs are as ubiquitous as cellphones and digital watches. But it will be a fascinating industry to monitor, on several levels.
November 14, 2019
I read this book back in High School. Nearly 8 years later here I am remembering it. I think the book initially caught my interest because of the documentary "who killed the electric car?". The documentary was very eye-opening as it shed light on how bureaucracy, corporate interests, and red tape can hold back human technological advancement. Not to advocate for Ayn Rand, both this book and the doc I mentioned go into detail into personal stories of real people all involved in the modern history of the electric car.
I must warn you, some of this stuff is a bit out-dated now. I remember the book implored for the electric car to become the car of "today" instead of the car of "tomorrow". Crazy how in less than 10 years, how much has changed. Looking back, it's quite encouraging to see the electric car as the little electric train that could. It's overcome amazing odds. The powers of big oil and big auto failed to kill it, and are now betting all in for the future.
The book gives further instrumental details you may never realize you craved for. From the Dodge Viper to the "power vs energy" problem, to the tragedy of the EV1, to the battery dilemma; a logical history of the electric car (up until 2011) is given.
Why read it now? Well, I couldn't give you a reason. By all means its become part of the history it wrote.
But the story is still that of David vs Goliath. Of a haphazardous dream over 100 years in the making. It is an inspiring tale of an idea that just wouldn't die. And it all really happened.
If you ever wish to follow up on the electric car, a sequel documentary was released, appropriately named 'The Revenge of the Electric Car'. Looking back, I'm still in awe of how much this book predicted, or at the very least hoped for, to come true.
I must warn you, some of this stuff is a bit out-dated now. I remember the book implored for the electric car to become the car of "today" instead of the car of "tomorrow". Crazy how in less than 10 years, how much has changed. Looking back, it's quite encouraging to see the electric car as the little electric train that could. It's overcome amazing odds. The powers of big oil and big auto failed to kill it, and are now betting all in for the future.
The book gives further instrumental details you may never realize you craved for. From the Dodge Viper to the "power vs energy" problem, to the tragedy of the EV1, to the battery dilemma; a logical history of the electric car (up until 2011) is given.
Why read it now? Well, I couldn't give you a reason. By all means its become part of the history it wrote.
But the story is still that of David vs Goliath. Of a haphazardous dream over 100 years in the making. It is an inspiring tale of an idea that just wouldn't die. And it all really happened.
If you ever wish to follow up on the electric car, a sequel documentary was released, appropriately named 'The Revenge of the Electric Car'. Looking back, I'm still in awe of how much this book predicted, or at the very least hoped for, to come true.
March 27, 2018
Bottled Lightningis a fascinating story on the development of the electric car. The book starts of by talking about the development of the electric car from the begining(its name and while it was a concept) to the latest electric cars. It mainly focuses on one specific part of the electric car, the battery. It focuuses heavaliy on the battery for very long due to being a fundumental and problemental part of the electric car. While talking about the battery it goes very in depth into its history and how it works. I would recomend this book to anyone looking into electric cars to get a better understanding. The book is very informational and portrays its information in 2 ways. It protrays its information either by a history lesson or an indepth analysis. Overall its a very good book.
July 7, 2018
This book covers a lot of bases: The development of electric cars (technical and political), the history of super batteries leading to the current lithium ion technology, the interdependence of the auto and battery industries, and a look into the future of battery development. The book is a quick read, and not overly technical. However, your understanding will be enhanced if you remember some of your high school chemistry.
"Bottled Lightning" was published in 2011, so I need to do some on-line research to see what further progress has been made in the last seven years.
"Bottled Lightning" was published in 2011, so I need to do some on-line research to see what further progress has been made in the last seven years.
August 5, 2017
A very excellent look at how Lithium Ion batteries are poised to change our world and economy. Warning for those of you who don't like equations, it does get a little "sciency" sometimes. Still, a comprehensive look at the battery that will, hopefully save the planet.
January 6, 2023
Good but dated
The book stops about 2012. It’s predictions have stood the test of the next decade pretty well, but would be great to follow the technology evolution further, and see the authors take on the Trump and Biden administration policies.
The book stops about 2012. It’s predictions have stood the test of the next decade pretty well, but would be great to follow the technology evolution further, and see the authors take on the Trump and Biden administration policies.
June 9, 2022
There should be a sequel to this book.
Want to read
October 21, 2016- found on shelf want to read
August 27, 2015
I enjoyed reading Seth Fletcher’s 2011 book, Bottled Lightning: Superbatteries, Electric Cars, and the New Lithium Economy. His narrative addresses the rise of the lithium-ion battery and how it made cars like the Tesla Roadster, Chevrolet Volt, and Nissan Leaf possible. Lithium-ion batteries are three-times more energetic and about half the weight of lead-acid batteries. By 2010, nearly every major car manufacturer announced some level of commitment to electrically-powered automobiles, even General Motors who had recalled and trashed all of its early generation EV-1 models.
All of us are familiar with cell phones (or mobiles) and largely because of the capabilities of the lithium-ion battery, cellular telephones became a global phenomenon. They soon morphed into hand-held computers called smartphones.
Fletcher recognized this and presents the next application for lithium-ion batteries, “Now the hope is that lithium-ion can make electricity a viable transportation fuel, used in electric vehicles (EVs), and fill the gaps in the electrical grid in support of renewable energy solutions.” Of course, in the latter application, suitability for storage of electricity and “flow-control” of current for both solar systems and wind farms is being actively investigated in 2015, with many trials underway.
Consequently, lithium’s use in batteries is becoming its next big application.
But what is lithium? It is an element close to the top left corner of the periodic table. Lithium is a soft, silvery-gray metal, discovered by the Swede Johan Arfvedson in 1817. The element’s name comes from the Greek word lithos meaning “stone.” Lithium is the lightest solid element and its density (0.53 g/cm³) is about half that of water.
Lithium’s lightness – it’s atomic weight is thirty-times less than that of a lead atom used in lead-acid batteries – means that it is ideal for keeping the weight of cell phones and large car batteries down. Lithium’s outer electron, and it only has three in total, is eager to shed it, which means that lithium “can be used in batteries far more powerful and energy dense than those based on just about any other element, especially lead. Lithium’s high-energy chemical reaction must be hijacked into providing useful results beyond bursting into flames.”
I witnessed such a lithium explosion in high school chemistry class. In the air, lithium is very eager to give up its electron and combine with oxygen. This leads to an explosive heat- and light-producing reaction that scares the bejesus out of you. Our chemistry teacher inadvertently pulled some lithium out of its oil storage container and when air reached it, the explosion instantly followed. Fortunately, he was not injured.
Fletcher points out that a lithium-ion battery “must be designed to frustrate lithium’s violent tendencies. This means placing an electrolyte bridge between two lithium-ion electrodes and ensuring the battery keeps these ‘bomb parts’ at a safe distance from each other. Designers are placing an explosive in suspended animation. This chemical system is throbbing with energy that can be directed and exploited as needed.”
I recommend this excellent read as Fletcher also addresses the economics of lithium-ion battery technology and its future as a storage device as well as the age old supply-and-demand challenges with current sources of the element being strained.
All of us are familiar with cell phones (or mobiles) and largely because of the capabilities of the lithium-ion battery, cellular telephones became a global phenomenon. They soon morphed into hand-held computers called smartphones.
Fletcher recognized this and presents the next application for lithium-ion batteries, “Now the hope is that lithium-ion can make electricity a viable transportation fuel, used in electric vehicles (EVs), and fill the gaps in the electrical grid in support of renewable energy solutions.” Of course, in the latter application, suitability for storage of electricity and “flow-control” of current for both solar systems and wind farms is being actively investigated in 2015, with many trials underway.
Consequently, lithium’s use in batteries is becoming its next big application.
But what is lithium? It is an element close to the top left corner of the periodic table. Lithium is a soft, silvery-gray metal, discovered by the Swede Johan Arfvedson in 1817. The element’s name comes from the Greek word lithos meaning “stone.” Lithium is the lightest solid element and its density (0.53 g/cm³) is about half that of water.
Lithium’s lightness – it’s atomic weight is thirty-times less than that of a lead atom used in lead-acid batteries – means that it is ideal for keeping the weight of cell phones and large car batteries down. Lithium’s outer electron, and it only has three in total, is eager to shed it, which means that lithium “can be used in batteries far more powerful and energy dense than those based on just about any other element, especially lead. Lithium’s high-energy chemical reaction must be hijacked into providing useful results beyond bursting into flames.”
I witnessed such a lithium explosion in high school chemistry class. In the air, lithium is very eager to give up its electron and combine with oxygen. This leads to an explosive heat- and light-producing reaction that scares the bejesus out of you. Our chemistry teacher inadvertently pulled some lithium out of its oil storage container and when air reached it, the explosion instantly followed. Fortunately, he was not injured.
Fletcher points out that a lithium-ion battery “must be designed to frustrate lithium’s violent tendencies. This means placing an electrolyte bridge between two lithium-ion electrodes and ensuring the battery keeps these ‘bomb parts’ at a safe distance from each other. Designers are placing an explosive in suspended animation. This chemical system is throbbing with energy that can be directed and exploited as needed.”
I recommend this excellent read as Fletcher also addresses the economics of lithium-ion battery technology and its future as a storage device as well as the age old supply-and-demand challenges with current sources of the element being strained.
September 15, 2016
The battery industry and its impact on automobiles is increasing at a pace never seen before partly because of the depleting fossil fuels and partly because of environmental concerns. The book is a collection of facts from this industry across the world. The placements of facts could be more accurate for a smooth reading experience. Also the author seems very concerned about the modicum role of the US of A in this technology and the possible dominance of China. A good read with all the knowledge of the battery technology and the automotive industry in one book.
September 30, 2011
Seth Fletcher has put together a very readable history of the Lithium battery from early history, to inclusion in cell phones and laptops, and now the growing electric vehicle market. Batteries have made significant progress in the last few years. Do you remember how heavy cell phones used to be? Much of the weight back then was in the battery. He also covers the mining and exploration for new lithium reserves and the future of battery technology. It is estimated that the theoretical maximum for lithium energy density will be for a lithium air battery, which would be a neat trick since lithium and water don't mix very well.
My primary problem with this book is that the author seemed to have a fairly negative view about the long term viability of a pure electric car. He seemed to prefer to talk about the volt and other hybrids. He is right that in order to use an electric car like it were a gas car, it definitely is a non-starter. However I have found that in the six months that we have owned an electric car, it has worked perfectly for us and for the first time in my life has made driving truely fun.
My primary problem with this book is that the author seemed to have a fairly negative view about the long term viability of a pure electric car. He seemed to prefer to talk about the volt and other hybrids. He is right that in order to use an electric car like it were a gas car, it definitely is a non-starter. However I have found that in the six months that we have owned an electric car, it has worked perfectly for us and for the first time in my life has made driving truely fun.
July 8, 2013
great overview of (potentially) the next big wave of transport fleet power solutions (basically, Li ion batteries). Fascinating overview of how the battery technology started, how companies like XOM support, and then drop their support, as the greater economy expands and contracts. Really good sequence on how Li is mined, the race to develop, and So America politics (Bolivia vs Chile) which basically we northerners know nothing about. I can only hope that battery technology continues to develop and that the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, and Tesla Model S are all big successes and start a transformational shift in our fleet. I once heard a talk at my employer that implies that the U.S. car fleet turns over, on average, only 20 years ... so even if the future goes back to the past (electric cars), it still will take the rest of my lifetime before there is appreciable impact.
October 17, 2012
An interesting and timely read about the electric vehicle industry. While the author covers all his bases, it at times feels like something of a travelogue. Plus, in a swift moving industry, the information is swiftly out-of-date (one of the battery companies profiled in the book recently missed debt servicing payments and is no longer the high flyer profiled). But as an introduction to the issues, politics and technology surrounding electric vehicles, the book works.
Read
February 4, 2016It's incredible that 100 years ago electric vehicles were a familiar sight on American roads, but now they're a novelty hamstrung by politics, entrenched energy interests, and multiple battery standards. With the gradual re-electrification of the automobile all but inevitable, this timely & articulate book demystifies the electric car as well as the key enabling role that lithium plays in its adoption. I'm glad I tracked this book down after I saw someone reading it on an airplane.
August 6, 2012
this is an amazing book, has complete information on the lithium battery market, from where it started to where its going, the politics involved, it casualties, the young turks and chemistry, a lot of chemistry, not the boring kind, you will love it.
Can you connect Pepsi 7'Up beverage with Chevy Volt, read this book to find out.
Can you connect Pepsi 7'Up beverage with Chevy Volt, read this book to find out.
Read
February 4, 2016This turned out to be a really interesting book, teaching me a whole lot about electric cars and their batteries. One of the concepts that I had never heard about was to assemble high potency batteries in their discharged state to minimize reactions with the environment. I'm looking forward to an electric car some day.
August 5, 2012
An excellent review of the way that lithium battery technology has developed over the past decades and what yet needs to be done to make electric cars a truly viable alternative to those that run on gasoline.
November 17, 2014
A thorough explanation of why lithium batteries are important and what macro effects that will have on economies around the world, but the focus on the GM Volt comes off as brainwashed. Why so much discussion of a mediocre series hybrid and so little of pure electric cars?
January 9, 2016
A good read for anyone interested in the energy industry. The narrative approach to the industry of batteries, electric cars, and the sustainable energy initiative makes the book engaging and interesting.
September 25, 2011
Good description of the last several years and the changes that are happening in our energy landscape.
June 24, 2013
Dispels any myths regarding the “shortage” of lithium.
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