Hybrid Car Battery

by Lisa
(Berkeley)

Hybrid Car Battery Pack (2002 Prius)

Can I use a hybrid car battery pack in an electric car? I saw "Who Killed the Electric Car?", and although they said NiMH batteries had been pulled off the market by Chevron/Cobasys who are reportedly squatting on the patents, there are still NiMH batteries in old hybrids. Even the new Prius has NiMH batteries made by Panasonic!

So could this be a source for good electric car batteries?

Lisa -
Sadly, no.
The NiMH batteries found in a hybrid are high-power (short bursts of speed, quickly recharged) rather than high-energy (which is what you need for an electric car). It's all in the amp-hours; the Prius has a 6.5AH battery pack, the Rav-4 EV has a 95AH pack.
It's not that much different from the difference between the gas-gobbler's Diehard and the golf cart's 12v batteries, really. One is a sprinter, and one runs marathons. It's no good to send a sprinter to do a distance-runner's job!

The patent Chevron is sitting on, according to the book Plug-in Hybrids, pertains to those large size, deep-cycle batteries that would so cheaply, conveniently, and safely power an electric car.

I wonder why?

Regards,
Lynne