Electric car isn't dead by a long shot

The light bulbs went off last week at Argonne National Laboratory as some of the world's best and brightest gathered for a conference on lithium batteries and their use in cars.

It was a timely event, given the paycheck-depleting price of gas and the announcement by General Motors on Tuesday that it planned to start production of an electric car, the Chevrolet Volt, in late 2010.

I dropped by just in time for some sessions with the sexy titles of "Dynamic stochastic models for battery life," "Molybdenum oxide nanoparticles for improved lithium ion battery technology," and my favorite, "Improvement of MCMB/LiNI1/3Co1/3Mn1/302 Li-Ion battery performance."

Fortunately, I had the assistance of translator Don Hillebrand, director of Argonne's Center for Transportation Research, who explained why lithium is the "it girl" of the automotive world and why nickel metal-hydride batteries used in hybrids like the Toyota Prius are so last year.

"If you look at the periodic table," said Hillebrand, (and who doesn't?), "you see that the lightest element is hydrogen, then helium, then lithium."

"It's the lightest metal, so if you can get energy into the lightest metal possible - then you have essentially the best energy density. There's no further you can go. It's a lightweight, reactive metal. The next step would be to get energy out of hydrogen and you can't easily make a battery out of hydrogen."

Fair enough. But if lithium's the perfect battery solution, why isn't it used in cars now?

Well, cost and size are hurdles, Hillebrand said. A battery in a model plug-in hybrid electric vehicle on display at the conference filled the back of the car and costs about $25,000.

There also are concerns about the combustibility of lithium batteries.

Right now, under certain conditions, "you could have a thermal event, also known as an explosion," Hillebrand said.

He added, "I don't want to oversell the danger - a gas tank also is extremely dangerous. It's 12 gallons of a flammable substance, but we've learned how to handle it."

But scientists at Argonne are confident that within a few years, a relatively affordable car that runs on a battery and can be plugged in at night will be a reality. In the case of the Volt, the car can go for trips up to 40 miles powered by its lithium-ion battery. When the battery is low, a gas-powered generator fires up an electric-powered motor and charges the battery at the same time.

This type of technology could save an average driver about $1,500 a year in gas costs, according to GM estimates.

Hillebrand noted that 2008 is the 100th anniversary of the Model T Ford.

"This is the first real change to an auto seen in 100 years," he said. "A conventional car has a gas motor and wheels - the gas motor powers the wheels. A hybrid has a gas motor that can drive the wheels or an electric motor that can drive the wheels like the Prius."

With a plug-in hybrid, the gas motor is not connected to the wheels - a major evolution in automotive history.

"If more people have vehicles like that, gasoline becomes less and less of an issue, so we do less and less extreme things to protect it," Hillebrand said.

Conference organizer Khalil Amine, Argonne's manager of the advanced lithium battery program, said wheels were turning as government wonks, battery experts, chemists and the auto industry gathered in one place, talking about the future.

"The feedback was very positive," said Amine, who lives in Oak Brook.

He hopes eventually battery systems in cars fall into the $600 and $700 range so it could be considered an option, "just like some people buy leather seats."

For more information on lithium battery research at Argonne, contact their Web site at transportation.anl.gov.

Up, up and away

This week marks the start of a series of ribbon cuttings at O'Hare International Airport.

On Thursday, planes can start using the new extended runway 10 Left- 28 Right. Workers built an extra 3,000 feet onto the 10,000 stretch than runs east-west. The extra length will allow big jets bound for Asia to take off. O'Hare already has a 13,000-foot runway that runs on a diagonal and is destined to be taken out of service in the future to make way for a new parallel runway system.

The latest addition to the airport won't make a noticeable difference in whether you land or leave on time but "it's nice to have a choice of runway," FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said.

Then, on Nov. 20, the city of Chicago will open the first new runway at O'Hare in decades. The north runway is expected to reduce delays by about 4.3 percent on average.

Specialized equipment to help pilots land in bad weather will be ready to go on Nov. 24 at one end of the runway. A second bad-weather system will be up and running in 2009.

And on Oct. 31, flight caps will be lifted at O'Hare. The FAA instituted the caps in 2004 because of congestion and delays. Of course, given the fragile state of the aviation industry, don't bet on airlines adding flights any time soon.

Flotsam and jetsam

• And speaking of airports, what about the plan to build one in Peotone? Well, although it's moving at a snail's pace, the FAA is still committed to a third airport in the region and it seems as if Peotone is the place. "It will be needed in the future and it needs to be planned," Molinaro said Friday.

• Did you buckle up today? Congratulations, you're part of a growing trend. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced 83 percent of vehicle occupants used seat belts during the daytime in 2008, up from 82 percent a year ago. Van and SUV users are the most law-abiding with 86 percent compliance, followed by a car occupants with 84 percent. Pickup truck types were more laissez faire with 74 percent compliance.

• How expensive is that free ride program for seniors? It will take up to $97,000 for the Regional Transportation Authority to find out. RTA directors Monday approved a contract with University of Illinois at Chicago researchers to see how much the new policy is costing. Free rides for seniors, which started in March, was a political compromise that allowed a sales tax increase rescuing mass transit to go forward.

Incoming

• Be kind to that tractor. The Illinois Department of Transportation is warning motorists that harvest season is coming, which means more tractors and farm equipment on roads in rural areas. In 2007, four people died as a result of crashes between cars and farm vehicles.

• If you're taking Metra to the Bears home opener, the Chicago Transit Authority is adding extra buses to and from Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center Sunday. For information, check transitchicago.com or call 836-7000 from any area code.

• Watch out for new traffic shifts on I-355 between 75th Street and Ogden Avenue near Naperville. Northbound lanes will be moved to the right. For construction-weary motorists, the tollway authority is promising northbound drivers will have four lanes ready to go by the end of 2008.