Toshiba has announced it’s next-generation rechargeable battery, the Super Charge Ion  Battery, or SCiB.

Intended for use in electric vehicles, the SCiB can chage to 90 minutes in a blazing fast 5 minutes! It can handle plenty of recharging as well, losing only about 10% of it’s capacity after 3,000 recharges.  NiMH batteries, by comparison, only last about 500-1000 charges¹.

Toshiba is positioning these batteries for use in electric vehicles, mentioning electric bikes, electric motorcycles, construction machinery, and fork lifts specifically. They do plan to reach electric cars eventually as well.

The extra capacity for these batteries is fantastic, but the fast recharge rate is really the key here. A big concern for electric vehicles is charging time, with a traditional gas-powered car you can simply fuel up in 5 minutes and you’re ready to go. With the SCiB charging in 5 minutes, a stop at an electric “gas” station would be almost the same experience as what we have today, of course, it would be a lot more environmentally friendly!

We should see the SCiB hitting the market next year.

via AutoBlogGreen

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Well we’ve been seeing a whole bunch of new electric vehicle concepts, securing the age-old idea that we’ll all drive electric cars in the near future.

Unfortunately electric cars still have a problem with range. Most of them are very energy efficient, but still can’t drive very far without needing a recharge.

Mitsubishi has put some innovative ideas into the iMIEV to solve this problem. Use green energy!

The iMIEV features a solar panel on the roof and two compact wind turbines in the front to generate electricity. Along with solar and wind, the iMIEV has a regenerative braking system, which uses braking friction to generate electricity.

These technologies help recharge the car’s battery and helps to improve the car’s range. The solar roof alone adds about 20 miles to the range. It’s not much, but every little bit helps, and if it’s green energy, all the better!

In addition to the green power, the car features LED based lighting, heat-absorbing window glass, and green plastic - a plastic made from plant resin.

It’s great to see some innovative thinking in creating a green car, it’s ideas like this which will give us the car of the future, not just a simple concept.

via Treehugger

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