When we discussed Capturing the Next Wave of EV Consumers, we learned that adoption of Hybrid Vehicles in the US is currently at 3% and growing as consumer interest in an alternative to traditional ICE vehicles continues to mount. Almost every major OEM has launched a Plug-In Hybrid or All Electric model to the market, or plans to by 2015. With increasing consumer interest comes concerns around battery cost and range anxiety. Batteries are the most costly component of plug-in vehicles where the auto industry is expected to purchase up to $25 billion in advanced batteries by 2013, according to Compact Power. The US Department of Energy estimates that the cost of batteries will drop 50% by 2015 as the race to build an affordable, long-lasting battery has begun. The question that remains, however, is what will the consumer choose? Will Plug-In Hybrids or All Electric seduce the coveted adopter of the next generation of Plug-Ins? Will there be a winner?

• Barriers to mass adoption presented by the current status of battery technology research, including range and cost
• A breakdown of the numbers as we compare the cost of ownership for Plug-In Hybrids versus All Electric

Speaker: 

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Vincent Battaglia, Principal Investigator of Automotive & Grid Scale Storage Batteries