Now this is what we'd consider a collaborative effort of epic proportions. Here are the key players: Robert Bosch GmbH, BASF, Wacker Chemie AG, SGL Group, Daimler and BMW. The investment is $43 million and the goal is to develop, in three year's time, lithium-ion automotive batteries with energy density of 250 Wh/kg, roughly twice the rating of some of today's li-ion batteries.
With this list of established players, the project seems promising. Bosch will take the lead, but all of the firms listed above will assist in what's referred to as the "Alpha-Laion" project.
The joint project kicks off immediately under Germany’s National Platform for Electric Mobility and is partially funded ($17.3 million) by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. The partners will be responsible for funding the remaining $26 million.
Both BMW and Daimler have a vested interest in the success of the project, as the result could be an electric vehicle with an effective range of up to 186 miles or, by reducing the size of the battery pack without sacrificing range, a low-weight electric vehicle that is more competitive in price with conventional automobiles could be possible.
Battery pack with 250 wh/kg are already existing and from a quite long time. My company is producing them and already available . The battery has been tested and validated and passed all the safety test requested by international regulation.