surfingslovak said:
I believe that it's been established that the chemistries in the
Volt and the Leaf are pretty similar? I remember looking at an
older data sheet from LG Chem
last year, but it was quite old, and I couldn't find comparable information on the cells used in the Volt.
I believe the Volt and LEAF batteries are roughly comparable in many ways although obviously not identical. Nissan's battery company publishes some basic data sheets. I can't find anything from LG Chem or GM that is directly attributable to the specific cells used in the Volt however I have found various material that seems to describe cells that are either the same or very similar.
Here is a writeup I posted awhile ago elsewhere:
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The LG Chem cell used in the Volt appears to have struck a happy medium with Manganese Spinel plus some Nickel and Cobalt for the Cathode and a mixed graphite and amorphous (hard) carbon anode giving good energy density, high power, 5,000 cycle life and 10-15 year calendar life. The cells are each 383g and have a 15 Ah capacity at an average discharge voltage of around 3.7V for around 55 Wh. The Volt pack uses 288 of them for 16 kWh of nominal capacity. The data sheet for them reportedly rates them as 150 Wh / kg and 300 Wh / L which would put them near the top of the energy density bar chart of battery chemistries you posted recently. They are also specified for greater than 10C continuous discharge and show low and evenly spread heat dissipation.
The above cell specs are gathered from multiple sources (DOE, NASA, and battery conference presentations) but I believe them to be correct and to approximately represent the cell used in the Volt although to my knowledge GM and LG Chem have not published the data sheet online.
The battery supplier for Nissan publishes data sheets for the LEAF cell and also another cell intended for use in non-plug hybrids. The energy density of the LEAF cell works out to around 160 Wh / kg but the power dense hybrid cell is only around 80 Wh / kg. In addition, the LEAF cell looks to be just slightly less energy dense by volume than the apparent Volt cell.
Like the cells used in the Nissan LEAF, these LG Chem cells are state of the art for plugin automotive use and actually appear to have roughly similar characteristics.
Sources:
http://www.eco-aesc-lb.com/en/product.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20110011197_2011010830.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20120000040_2011025423.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/pdfs/program/2010_energy_storage.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (see pages 75-77 & 190-194)
Update: fixed AESC battery energy density typos (Wh, not kW per kg)