As we continue to see advancements in battery technology I wonder if these advancements will somehow trickle down to owners like us with older hybrids. Do you think at some point we will be able to interchange batteries? For example, replacing a lithium ion battery pack with a nickel metal battery pack or vice versa, whatever is cheaper at the time. Will the market for replacement batteries get more affordable or will hybrid or electric vehicles always have a significant premium to pay over traditional ICE vehicles if you want to keep them for 10+ years?

Just wondering if anyone has insight or thoughts.

 

Thoughts ...

The issue is the eco-system and not just the voltage/current source. The drain, charge and use differences for proper/optimum use of batteries makes the swap not possible.As better storage technologies develop and the price comes down the whole eco-system has to be changed.

Salim

 

Do you think our vehicles are obsolete, with hybrid technology that has been left behind.

I can’t remember if Toyota is making a switch to nickel or lithium do you know?

 

I think the fossil fuel based vehicles are already obsolete .. this include hybrids.

That does not mean the fossil based vehicles would not be built or be wiped off the face of the earth. I am projecting a major shift in production and new development will happen. The big unknown are ... charging station & charging time and range and the general economic conditions. I personally don't think that I will purchase any vehicle that is not going to be EV.

Salim

 

I remember reading some time ago how someone managed to add in a lithium ion battery to a regular Prius. It kept the voltage level of the NiHM battery up high enough to force (fool) the hybrid system to rely a lot more on battery power than normal (if anyone has ever noticed, if the hybrid battery has full charge bars like after descending a long hill on regen, it will literally spill out electric power at every opportunity to drive the vehicle). Cute idea, but in the end too expensive, not enough benefit, and by the time it is not too expensive, the era of this type of hybrid will be over and only interesting for kids tinkering with what's left of high mileage vehicles. If anybody was going to make a go at shoving higher capacity, cheaper batteries into existing vehicles; it makes more sense to target the "Prime" line of Toyota hybrids. They are much better equipped for this. It's not like the good ole days when my friend dropped a V8 into his 74 Pontiac Astre that came from some old barn find or I dropped a V8 into my 86 S10 Blazer that came from some old Buick wreck. Not much more than a grinder and a hammer to make those engine swaps work. LOL. But as a wise little green guy said, "impossible to see, the future is".