Chevrolet’s Volt edges closer with new battery deal

General Motors has entered into a partnership with A123Systems Inc. to co-develop new long-lasting and safe nanophosphate batteries for production versions of its Volt plug-in hybrid. Battery technology is the remaining hurdle for the mass rollout of electric vehicles with the biggest issues being their reliability and safety.

This announcement comes hot on the heels of hybrid poster child Toyota's announcement that it’ll be delaying the introduction of its next-gen hybrid cars until 2011 because of fears that its new lithium-ion batteries could overheat, catch fire or even explode. In contrast, GM’s latest deal with A123Systems is expected to expedite the development of the batteries for both electric plug-in vehicles and fuel cell variants.

The new production models planned will be running GM’s new E-Flex electric vehicle architecture previewed in the Volt concept car. E-Flex combines an electric drivetrain with a conventional petrol, diesel or new hydrogen fuel-cell engine that’s used solely to charge the batteries. The benefit of such a design means users can charge their cars up on mains power for short trips and have the back up of the conventional engine for longer journeys. GM previously stated that first production cars should arrive by 2010.