Here's an interesting article from Japan about the Prime Minister's fascination with electric cars: Koizumi's electric dream puzzles carmakers According to the article, the car makers have long ago concluded electric cars were impractical, saying "that electric cars are unsuitable for volume production because they are heavy and need to be recharged."
Well, hmm, but as Koizumi points out, the lithium battery changes that.
And what better example than the Eliica, which Koizumi has test-driven.
The vehicle, which runs on lithium-ion batteries, can travel about 300 kilometers on a single charge. It boasts a maximum speed of 370 kilometers per hour.
The impression of electric vehicles as "heavy, slow, low range" was set when lead-acid batteries was the only practical choice. Today lithium batteries are getting safer, more reliable, and have the energy density required to allow an electric car to have great range. What's made the difference is the popularity of lithium batteries in cell phones and laptops and other gadgets. That popularity has driven the battery makers to increase the reliability and generally refine all stages of producing lithium batteries. It's been several years since the last article about an exploding cellphone...
This is an interesting statement by Koizumi of Japans interest:
Japan relies on imports for most of its oil. We should move away from dependence on oil and turn to environment protection," he said. "We must think how to turn our weakness into an advantage."
If only U.S. leaders were so forward thinking.
