Although lithium ion will be widely used in mobile electronic products such as mobile phones and notebook computers, automotive applications will make a major contribution to its sales growth.

　　Currently, the cost of lithium ion is much higher than other technologies, two to three times that of sodium-sulfur, lead-acid and nickel-hydrogen batteries. However, the price of lithium-ion technology will decline faster than other technologies, and will be the same as other technologies by 2015, and will become the lowest cost rechargeable battery type in 2020. Intrinsic advantages and increasing cost competitiveness will prompt automakers to use lithium-ion as the battery technology of choice for their future electric and hybrid vehicles.

　　Lithium: It seems to be made for cars

　　Lithium ion has many advantages compared with other rechargeable battery technologies.

　　These advantages include more flexible dimensions and lighter weight. In addition, lithium-ion batteries have no memory effect and can maintain full capacity even after they are not fully charged. Finally, it is generally believed that lithium-ion batteries are more environmentally friendly than other technologies.

　　These characteristics make lithium ion particularly attractive for electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

　　The success factors of lithium-ion in the field of electric and hybrid vehicles

　　The mainstream battery technology currently used in hybrid vehicles is nickel-metal hydride batteries. In 2010, the shipment of hybrid vehicles using this battery exceeded 1 million, and the representative model is Toyota Prius.

　　However, as lithium-ion batteries start to take off, the future shipments of nickel-metal hydride batteries in the hybrid vehicle market will not increase.

　　There is a concern when using first-generation lithium-ion batteries in cars, and that is safety. Due to the high temperature environment, there may be a fire hazard when using existing lithium-ion battery materials. Documents have shown that lithium-ion batteries in small devices such as PCs and mobile phones have caught fire.　　In order for electric and hybrid vehicle batteries to reach an acceptable level of safety, lithium-ion battery manufacturers must take measures to avoid internal short circuits that may cause external damage. These measures include improving power generation control during discharge and strengthening the management of fast charging.