High performance nickel-metal hydride and lithium-ion batteries

The development of high performance traction batteries is a key issue for the future market acceptance of electric and hybrid vehicles. The nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) system is, besides the lithium-ion (Li-ion) cell, the most promising battery system for electric vehicles. Ni-MH batteries have already penetrated the consumer market worldwide. Due to its high design flexibility and robustness, the Ni-MH battery system is an ideal candidate for the whole range of battery applications from small consumer cells up to large traction batteries. Because of its high power capability for charging and discharging, the Ni-MH system is regarded as the optimum battery system for hybrid vehicles. This paper describes VARTA's high performance Ni-MH and Li-ion cells as well as complete batteries for electric traction applications.