Development on New Nickel/Metal Hydride Battery for Hybrid Electric Vehicles Satisfying Power Capability and Cost Reduction

Abstract

A non-foam type nickel electrode has been developed to improve the power density of a Ni-MH battery. For the positive electrode, a new substrate with a low cost has been developed and substituted for the conventional foam-type substrate For the negative electrode, Mg-added MmNi₅-based alloys have been applied to reduce the cobalt content in the electrode material. A new current collector and lead terminal have been developed to reduce their internal resistances. In addition to 30% of the cost reduction as a total, these materials have realized the increase of the power density up to 1055 W/kg, more than twice that of the conventional battery, 480 W/kg. The HEV mode cycle life evaluated is more than 100,000 km.