• Detroit Free-Press, Wednesday, March 5, 2008 11:30 AM

GM will introduce a new high-efficiency lithium-ion battery on one of its North American models in 2010, and plans to use it in a new generation of hybrid vehicles it will sell around the world. The vehicles will use 15% to 20% less fuel than comparable non-hybrid models and will include vehicles powered by biofuels and turbodiesels, says Dan Hancock, GM's vp of global hybrid engineering.

The new batteries provide 33% more power, but take up 24% less space and weigh 40% less than the nickel-metal hydride batteries in the first generation of GM's hybrids--the Saturn Aura and Vue and Chevrolet Malibu. The new batteries also provide more electric boost during acceleration and recover more energy for charging during braking, Hancock says.

While the new batteries will make hybrids more fuel efficient, they will not drive the vehicles faster than 3 to 5 m.p.h. in all-electric mode. By that definition, they will remain so-called mild hybrids with smaller fuel efficiency gains than full hybrids like the GM trucks, Ford Escape and Toyota Prius and Camry that can drive under electricity alone at up to about 25 m.p.h.

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