• arclein
I have consistently argued that budget conscious consumers would prefer cheap lead-acid batteries to smaller, lighter and more expensive lithium-ion batteries, particularly for HEV applications. The timing of the new EU regulations has put automakers in a position where they can’t afford to wait for “the battery of tomorrow.” Instead they have to go to work immediately and meet the CO2 emission standards with batteries they can buy today from established manufacturers. Under those circumstances, I’m convinced that advanced lead-acid batteries will dominate the HEV markets until a clearly superior battery technology is developed.