USABC to Test SK Energy Electric Car Batteries

Electric Car News | admin | April 10, 2010 at 11:18 am

SK Energy Co., Korea’s leading refinery, will take part in a U.S. government-led research program to develop rechargeable batteries for electric cars.

SK Energy will jointly work with the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) on evaluating lithium batteries applicable to electric vehicles for one year, where the USABC will fund half of the expenses, the company said.

SK Energy has been selected as the main battery provider of Daimler AG’s Mitsubishi Fuso hybrid electric vehicles last year, as well as the lithium battery provider for local brand CT&T’s low-speed electric vehicle models.

SK Energy uses a lithium manganese oxide cathode material, mixing in NMC material for stabilization; a surface-modified graphite on the anode; a gel polymer electrolyte; and a ceramic-coated proprietary SK separator featuring low shrinkage and high heat resistance. SK cells have a specific energy density of around 140 Wh/kg.

The USABC is a consortium comprised of the U.S. Department of Energy, General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler, that does research and development of advanced energy systems for electric and hybrid electric vehicles.