Nissan working on battery to double LeafÂ’s range
The Nissan Leaf EV isn't even on the market yet that its technology is starting to sound passé. The Nikkei reports that Nissan is almost done working on a new battery cell design that could almost double the range of the Leaf, and of other future Nissan electric cars.
This is exciting news, and I'm glad to see that Nissan didn't just dip its toe in the EV world but is actually putting some serious resources into R&D. Few things can have a bigger impact on the electrification of transportation than fast progress in battery technology.
Nissan is raising capacity by improving the positive electrode, specifically, using nickel and cobalt, not only manganese. The new battery can store about twice as much electricity as batteries with positive electrodes made only from manganese. It is robust enough for practical use, able to withstand 1,000 or so charge cycles.
Nissan estimates that the battery will cost about the same as conventional lithium ion ones to produce, as it contains only a small amount of cobalt, a relatively expensive metal.
Related News

Pacific Northwest's Renewable Energy Goals Hindered
WASHINGTON DC - Oregon and Washington have set ambitious targets to decarbonize their power sectors, aiming for 100% clean electricity in the coming decades. However, a significant obstacle stands in the way: the region's aging and overburdened transmission grid. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the federal agency responsible for managing the majority of the Pacific Northwest's high-voltage transmission lines, has struggled to keep pace with the growing demand for renewable energy integration.
The Grid Bottleneck
The BPA operates a transmission system that is nearly a century old in some areas, and its capacity has not expanded sufficiently to accommodate the…