Toyota has tamed battery technology
November 3, 2016Automaker believes that it has solved the problems associated with battery technology
Japanese automaker Toyota has made an ambitious claim. The company suggests that it has “tamed” lithium-ion battery technology. The claim follows years in which Toyota seemingly lost interest in battery technology, opting instead to support hydrogen fuel cells and more conventional solutions. Toyota has a long history with batteries, however, and during the company’s lull in outright support for battery technology, Toyota seems to have made major advances with its batteries.
Toyota has made batteries safer and more efficient
Toyota has announced that it has made battery technology safer and more efficient. The automaker’s engineers claim that they now have the ability to safely “pack more power at no significant extra cost.” Much of Toyota’s advances in battery technology are thanks to the Prius, which has been available for over a decade. Indeed, the Prius was one of the pioneering vehicles in the clean transportation space, exposing many consumers to the capabilities of battery technology and how it can be used for travel.
Batteries may now be able to solve their own problems
According to Toyota, its advances in battery technology allow the company to identify slight signs of potential short-circuits long before they happen. This will allow vehicles equipped with Toyota’s new batteries to prevent these short-circuits from spreading throughout their installed energy systems. Potentially, this may prevent serious issues for drivers in the future, as battery systems will be able to identify and mitigate their own problems.
Batteries will continue to be supported by Toyota despite interest in fuel cells
In recent years, Toyota has been showing more support for hydrogen fuel cells than it has for battery technology. Despite this, the automaker still has strong faith in batteries, as they have proven that they can effectively power vehicles. Whether or not Toyota opts to focus primarily on hydrogen fuel cells, the company is likely to continue supporting battery technology, especially after claiming that it has “tamed” batteries for the betterment of transportation as a whole.