Thousands of small electric scooters, bicycles and wheelchair throughout Europe and Asia are powered by LifePO4 - a material used in advanced lithium-ion batteries developed by Universite de Montreal researchers,reports spacemart.
"It's a revolutionary battery because it is made from non-toxic materials abundant in the Earth's crust. Plus, it's not expensive,'" says Michel Gauthier, an invited professor at the Universite de Montreal Department of Chemistry and co-founder of Phostech Lithium, the company that makes the battery material. "This battery could eventually make the electric car very profitable."
The theory will soon be tested, since the 100 percent electric Microcar that's set to debut in Europe this year will be and powered by the LifePO4 battery.
"It is a battery that is much more stable and much safer," says Dean MacNeil, a professor at the Universite de Montreal's Department of Chemistry and new NSERC-Phostech Lithium Industrial Research Chair in Energy Storage and Conversion. "In addition, it recharges much faster than previous batteries."
