A significant barrier to the long-term success of the electric vehicle is battery life. Until that problem is addressed, the dream of carbon-free cars is likely to stay stranded at the on-ramp. Like a govenmental AAA, the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is looking to offer some roadside assistance to the dilemma by teaming up with battery-maker A123Systems.

NREL's 3 year contract with the company will support cooperative research and development to improve the safety, power, cost, and, of course, time between charges of the company's nanotech-based lithium-ion batteries. Specifically, the work will focus on thermal management programs and optimization of design.

"NREL’s expertise and state of the art thermal laboratories are an important national asset and we look forward to continue our collaboration with them to further advance the state of the art of Automotive Class Lithium Ion batteries" said Bart Riley, CTO of A123Systems.

As reported on this website in March, A123Systems is also working with the US Automotive Battery Consortium, a program of the auto industry group USCAR.

If the car of the future is going to run from the grid, we're going to need a major upgrade from today's rechargeables.Unfortunately, attempts to build the battery of the future have not resulted in the kinds of capacity and efficiency gains needed to create an electric transport system. As much as I support collaborative efforts like this one, I think the government should pursue a more focused and broader effort to bring about the Model-Tesla we've been waiting for.

Photo by Flickr-er AndyArmstrong.