Date: 15th July 2010
Panasonic's lithium ion batteries to power
solar cars in solar car race 2010
Panasonic said it is providing its 3.1 Ah high-capacity
lithium-ion batteries to the Nuon Solar Team of the Delft
University of Technology in the Netherlands and the OSU
Team of Osaka Sangyo University in Japan to support their
participation in the Dream Cup Solar Car Race Suzuka 2010
to be held at the Suzuka International Racing Course in
Suzuka City, western Japan, on July 31 and August 1. Panasonic's
batteries will be used to store solar-generated power in
their vehicles.
The Dream Cup Solar Car Race Suzuka, recognized by the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
(FIA), was started in 1992. It is a part of the Global Green
Challenge (GCC) in Australia.
Solar cars use motors that run on electricity generated
by solar panels. Excess electricity is stored in their batteries.
The batteries supply electricity to the motor when the electricity
from the solar panel is insufficient due to overcast skies
or at night. In other words, the performance of solar cars
in races depends not only on the capability of their solar
panels but also the capacity of the batteries and the weight
of the battery pack.
The Panasonic batteries provided to both teams are cylindrical
18650-type (18 mm in diameter, 65 mm in height) 3.1 Ah high-capacity
lithium-ion batteries. The batteries feature a high energy
density generated using the nickel based positive electrode
technology. These batteries are light and high-capacity.
Panasonic supplied its 18650-type high-capacity lithium-ion
batteries to the Challenge Center Team of Tokai University,
who won in 2009 World Solar Challenge.
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