March 1st, 2007
Lenovo to Recall 205,000 Laptop Batteries
By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews
I was listening to NPR today, and they had a story about PG&E buying 4 electric trucks from Phoenix Motorcars, as a trial. What caught my ear was the fact that the trucks used lithium-ion batteries. Those of us who have been paying attention have no doubt heard about the fires, smoking laptops, etc. associated with the battery recalls last year. So my ears immediately pricked up. Of course, then they indicated that the manufacturer was sure there would be no incidents of the type associated with laptop batteries. Whew, right?
‘Course, then I read this story and immediately had my doubts again, not because of Phoenix Motorcars, but in general about lithium-ion batteries.
Computer maker Lenovo Inc. on Thursday recalled about 100,000 lithium- ion batteries used in ThinkPad laptops after receiving four reports of the Sanyo-built batteries overheating.
In one case, a consumer suffered minor eye irritation, the company said. Source: Breitbart.com
We Say: Lenovo had previously recalled 526,000 batteries last September, but those were Sony batteries. My question is: just how minor is minor eye irritation? At least this is good news for Sony, as these are Sanyo batteries … but perhaps bad news for any of us who have seen their laptop manufacturers move to Sanyo batteries.
Update: The original story indicated 100,000 batteries, but an update at BetaNews indicates it’s 205,000 with 100,000 U.S. laptops.
Don says:
Look into the Phoenix Motorcars batteries, they are a new type of Li-Ion using nano particles in the Anode instead of graphite. They don’t have the thermal runaway problems associated with regular Li-Ion batteries. Manufactured by Altair Nano. They also charge and discharge faster than standard Li-Ion. Right now their only drawback is they only have half the energy density (range) compared to standard Li-Ion, but there is word that will be improved upon shortly. Check out their website:
http://www.altairnano.com/
March 2nd, 2007 at 4:44 am
nivoxz says:
High cycle life—10,000 to 15,000 charges vs. 750 for existing batteries — that would be greatt!!!!!
i only hope what they claim can be true
March 2nd, 2007 at 6:01 am
Kent Beuchert says:
The current deficiencies of NanoSafes is their low energy density and apprently their high cost, although this seems to be something of a secret as far as the company is concerned. Ed Begley claimed the batteries to be the Holy Grail, a typically exaggerated claim from the noodelhead who proclaimed in “Who Killed the Electric Car?” that 90% of drivers would find their transportation needs met by the EV-1, as preposterously idiotic a statement as I’ve ever heard.
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:39 am
Don says:
Yeah, they’re just starting to ramp up production so hopefully those prices will drop. One thing to remember is that their enormous cycle life means they last much longer than standard Li-Ion, overall cost may well be less. Pricing is still unknown since the initial batteries had R&D costs tied in. Hopefully they can solve the energy density problem, which they alluded to improving on their 2nd generation battery coming out in a year or two.
March 2nd, 2007 at 8:07 am
» 3M Sues Lenovo, Sony, Others over Lithium-Ion Batteries » Blog Archive Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech says:
[…] But it’s not for the reason you might think. No, it’s not related to the recent Lenovo recall of laptop batteries. Nope, this is a lawsuit over patents. At issue is the cathode materials used inside the batteries, which 3M claims makes them last longer and give off less heat. The company says it spent 10 years developing the technology, and says it is a $700 million business. […]
March 11th, 2007 at 6:44 am
Laptop FAQs » Blog Archive » Lenovo to Recall 205000 Laptop Batteries - RealTechNews says:
[…] Lenovo to Recall 205000 Laptop BatteriesRealTechNews, CA - 36 minutes agoOf course, then they indicated that the manufacturer was sure there would be no incidents of the type associated with laptop batteries. Whew, right? …Lenovo recalls 100000 Sanyo laptop batteries Lawrence Journal WorldLenovo Recalls 205000 Laptop Batteries ForbesLenovo Recalls 205000 Laptop Batteries FOX Newsall 568 news articles Copyright © 2007, Laptop FAQs | Theme based on design by haran and converted by John Hesch. […]
September 4th, 2007 at 2:35 am