Toshiba’s EV Battery Charges in 5 Minutes

Toshiba's EV SCiB battery charges in 5 minutes!!

Toshiba’s breakthrough SCiB EV battery charges in 5 minutes!!

A new battery that can be recharged to 90 percent capacity in under five minutes and lasts 10 years has started shipping from Toshiba Corp. The company hailed it as “a new energy solution” for cleaner transportation.

Toshiba plans to initially make the quick-charging Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB) for electric bikes such as the Schwinn Tailwind e-bike and soon others from Cannondale Sports Group.  The new rechargeable Toshiba batteries will also work well in forklifts, construction machinery and many other industrial uses. It can work in temperatures as low as minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit.

A newcomer in rechargeable batteries, Toshiba said the lithium-ion battery could be used in hybrid and electric cars starting as early as 2010, Mochida said.  As of December 2010 the Toshiba Super Charge ion Battery (SCiB) was selected by Honda for use with it’s “EV-neo” electric motorcycle and in June 2010 Toshiba also won a contract with Ford to produce EV motors for their Electric Cars starting in 2012, bringing them one step closer to also producing EV batteries as well.

Battery innovations are expected to be key in making hybrid vehicles more widespread, because lighter and easier-to-recharge batteries will improve efficiency. Their continued battery success would ultimately spark mass-produced plug-in hybrids and and give all-electric vehicles (EVs) that use no fossil fuel the power they need to revolutionize the auto industry.

“This is a truly innovative battery,” said Toshiba Corporate Vice President Toshiharu Watanabe, emphasizing its potential “in the electronic vehicles markets as a new energy solution.”

Most lithium-ion batteries in use now, such as those in laptop computers, require hours to recharge to full capacity, with the fastest ones requiring about half an hour.

Toshiba also said its new battery, which is estimated to last 5,000 charges, is unlikely to rupture or catch fire, problems that have beset some lithium-ion batteries used in laptops.

The Tokyo-based electronics maker expects global sales of the new fast-charging battery to reach nearly $900 million by fiscal 2015.