Researchers at Rice University have announced the discovery of a new breakthrough method for producing carbon nanotubes in bulk fluids.  Rice’s new nanotube “stew” could spur the inexpensive mass production of carbon nanotube-based products, much like the plastics industry employed bulk loads of melted polymers as a cheap base for making everything from medical equipment to polyester shirts to plastic bags, and countless other things in between.

Rice’s nanotube research was sponsored in party by U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy.  Aside from their military application, carbon nanotubes have a practically unlimited potential for sustainable civilian products because of their strength, light weight, and electrical conductivity among other properties. Lightweight nanomaterials could boost the gas mileage in cars and airplanes, make thinner and more flexible solar cells, increase the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries (in combination with another new high tech material, graphene), and be used in artificial photosynthesis to generate hydrogen fuel.

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Leo Motors, a parts supply company with its roots in Korea, has an outspoken CEO with an interesting eye for the future and a grasp of where we’ve come from. For instance, after speaking with him it became apparent that Dr. Robert Kang has come to the conclusion that most of the electric vehicle technology we see today is based on technology developed for electric toys combining a simple motor, battery and ampere controller.

I don’t know if this is a fully accurate representation of electric car design, but it’s certainly true that electric cars are relatively simple systems.

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As much as I love the coming onslaught of electric cars, they use lots of materials that currently have almost no recycling infrastructure — especially when it comes to their batteries. The numbers vary by the type of lithium-ion battery used, but on average, for every 100 miles of pure-electric range, a lithium-ion battery needs to contain about 15 pounds of lithium.

Although the developed world has had robust systems in place for a long time to deal with the recycling of lead-acid batteries (in the U.S. more than 95% of battery lead gets recycled), the lithium-ion battery has a long way to go to catch up. Granted, lithium-ion batteries are not nearly as toxic as lead-acid batteries and so the urgency of developing a recycling infrastructure is virtually non-existent. In fact, lithium-ion batteries are classified by the U.S. government as non-toxic and “safe” to throw away in the regular trash.

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This is what the electric version of a Ford Mustang looks like.

The Big Three have fallen behind in the alternative-fuels race, and with two of the three bankrupt and barely clinging to life, we shouldn’t expect too much from them anytime soon. But that hasn’t stopped independant innovators from stepping away from the herd and offering their own versions of alternatively-powered production cars.

Take for example Kurt Neutgens and Travis Winkelman; while Kurt is a former Managing Engineer for the F-150 (America’s top-selling vehicle for many, many years), Travis worked for the ROUSH NASCAR team. Together, these two men took America’s iconic pony car, the Mustang, and gave it an all-new, electric heart.

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Editor’s Note: This is a 4-part series covering my trip to Michigan to test-drive the Chevy Volt. See post 1. LiveBlogging from the opening of GM’s New Battery Lab, and 2. Chevy Volt Test Drive: How GM’s Electric Car Works. Disclaimer: GM flew me out for this event. This post is in no way affiliated with the GM ads that appear at the margins.

The real reason we were in Warren, MI wasn’t to test-drive the Volt, but to be on hand for the grand opening of GM’s new battery testing facility. The $25 million Global Battery Systems lab is now the largest battery testing facility in the United States, and is four times larger than the company’s old lab.

GM made a strategic decision to keep battery development in-house, because it will likely be a key competitive advantage in the race to commercialize electric vehicles. The lab already employs 1,000 engineers who work on advanced battery systems like the one found the the Chevy Volt.

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Editor’s Note: This is a 4-part series covering my trip to Michigan to test-drive the Chevy Volt. See also: 1. LiveBlogging from the opening of GM’s New Battery Lab and 3. Tour of GM’s New Battery Lab, 4. Video: Driving GM’s Electric Car. Disclaimer: GM flew me out for this event.

June 8, 2009- It was pouring rain when I arrived at GM’s Testing facility in Warren, Michigan. A crowd had already gathered inside the Alternative Energy Center which, among other things, is home to GM’s first electric car—the original model EV1 (#1).

The ghost of the EV1—a car designed and built 13 years ago—still haunts GM, though it’s both a symbol of lost opportunity and tangible proof that the company could pull off the same kind of engineering feat again. The billion-dollar Volt project is a major component of the company’s reinvention strategy, and it’s clear they aren’t pulling any punches this time.

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[UPDATE]: Video of the switching station in action and photos added below.

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN- Last night at approximately 10:30 PM PST (1:30 AM EST), electric vehicle services provider Better Place will demonstrate key elements of their battery switching station technology. This is the first public exhibition of a battery switching station—which Better Place lauds as the final piece of a “total electric vehicle solution.” The company was invited by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment to set up an exhibit in Yokohama.

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“Range anxiety,” as it’s called, describes the most fundamental fear expressed by would-be adopters of electric vehicles. It’s no different than the fear of driving through sparsley inhabited parts of the United States, where it’s important to know your car’s mileage and the distance to the next gas station.

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It looks like Fisker, manufacturer of the world’s first ‘luxury plug-in hybrid’, has begun a small targeted TV ad campaign initially focusing on the LA area. The $87,900 Fisker Karma is scheduled for delivery to the first 1,000 owners by year’s end. See the commercial here:

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Nissan has accelerated its plan to produce large-capacity lithium ion batteries for around 200,000 vehicles. The company is working with NEC group and plans to set up factories in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Honda is also planning on producing up to 500,000 lithium ion batteries for hybrid vehicles by mid-2010.

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Recently, fellow Gas 2.0 author Anthony Cefali wrote an excellent post questioning the sustainability of lithium-ion batteries into the future due to concerns over the supply of lithium.

In this world, it’s easy to argue that one can never be too neurotic about our future, as our species has repeatedly shown a lack of foresight into the consequences of its actions. However, in this case, I must argue against his views on lithium’s sustainability. Lithium-ion batteries will only be superceded by superior technology, not by lithium shortage.

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Which system will survive? Or will we have a mixture of E85’s, biodiesel, electric, air and hydrogen fueled vehicles cramming our highways and straining the fuel delivery system infrastructure? Eventually, according to the age-old theory that the fittest shall survive, one method of moving us from point “A” to point “B” will emerge, and some folks are betting on the plug-in hybrid.

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Today was a big day for GM’s concept Chevrolet Volt. First, they announced an official partnership with A123Systems for the creation of the Volt’s batteries, then they told Reuters they had a firm production schedule that includes a 2010 sale date. If they stick to it, it will be the first plug-in electric hybrid from any major manufacturer. GM vice chairman of Global Product Development Bob Lutz announced that GM and A123Systems have agreed to co-develop battery technology for the forthcoming Chevy Volt (and other GM E-Flex vehicles) using A123’s nanophosphate battery technology.

"A123Systems is considered a forerunner in the development of nanophosphate-based cell technology, which, compared to other lithium-ion battery chemistries, provides higher power output, longer life and safer operations over the life of the battery."

This does not necessarily mean that LG Chem is out of the running to supply batteries for the Volt or other GM vehicles. The press release from GM notes that both A123Systems and LG Chem are potential suppliers for E-Flex vehicles. "A123Systems and LG Chem are both top-tier battery suppliers, with proven technologies," said Denise Gray, director of GM’s Energy Storage Devices and Strategies. "We’re confident one, or possibly both of these companies’ solutions will meet our battery requirements for the E-Flex system." But the close cooperation between GM and A123 for the development of batteries specifically for GM’s needs makes it more likely that A123Systems will end up as the major supplier for the final product.

Development of these batteries will, of course, have implications in fields other than just plug-in/hybrid vehicles. Presently, much of A123Systems’ battery production is used for power tools. But ongoing developments in battery technology will have ramifications for all kinds of devices that use portable power from cordless tools to laptop computers and other portable electronics.

After the press conference Reuters caught Lutz, and asked him more specifically about the Volt’s time line. Lutz replied "We’ll have some on the road for testing next spring, and we should have the Volt in production by the end of 2010." That’s the firmest language we’ve yet heard, and the only date currently set by any manufacturer for a plug-in hybrd.

You can find the whole press release in the article at GM-Volt.com.

Hank Green contributed to this article. Cross-posted at EcoGeek.org.

Also on Green Options:

Will GM Revive the Electric Car? Parts 1 and 2.

Critics are always eager to point out that the Volt’s 40-mile electric range is significantly less than that of the only electric car on the road, the Tesla Roadster, which gets 220 miles per charge. But since batteries are the expensive part of electric vehicles, more battery capacity brings increasing cost (the Roadster is a $109,000 car and the Model S sedan, which will be released in 2011, will be $57,400). The Roadster’s battery pack holds 6,831 individual lithium-ion cells (compared to 200 in the Volt) with a total battery pack weight of 900 lbs.

In GM’s thinking, it makes more sense to use the least amount of battery possible while the technology is still new and expensive. Since 40 miles covers 80% of daily driving, keeping the battery pack minimal and supplementing it with existing and cheap(er) technology seems logical.

I’m getting ahead of myself here, but when I test-drove the Volt with Frank Weber (read his post for us), he told me the cost and weight of the Volt’s battery pack could be cut in half by version 2. If that’s true, it would support GM’s strategy to minimize battery technology now, optimize the car for 40 miles, and keep the price as low as possible.

Of course, not everyone agrees with this. Every company intending to develop and market an electric car is coming to the table from an entirely different set of assumptions. GM wants to make a car they can immediately mass market to mainstream consumers (although no one in the company would or could tell me how big they think the market for the Volt is). Tesla Motors is trying to gain a foothold in the upper echelon of car buyers and hopes to innovate the price down from there. And if you’re familiar with Shai Agassi’s Better Place, their vision is to provide a total solution to end petroleum dependence.

It doesn’t really matter where these companies are entering the market because, in the simplest of terms, the winner of this electric vehicle race will be the first company to produce an affordable electric car that meets the basic needs of consumers.

NEXT: GM’s Reinvention: Tour of New Electric Vehicle Battery lab.

Photo Credits: Clayton B. Cornell, supplemented by GM Pro. Sorry about the grainy pictures. Tell my boss to buy me a real camera.