Re: Chevron Restricts US Access to Electric Automotive Batteries Through Patent Control

"Tim Campbell" <timcall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1185124932.837092.62130@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chevron Restricts US Access to Electric Automotive Batteries Through
Patent Control
During the development of the EV1, General Motors made a controlling
investment in Ovonics's battery development and manufacturing, with
particular interest in the patents and trade secrets controlling the
manufacturing of large nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries. This
interest was subsequently sold to the oil company Texaco, which was
acquired in its entirety by another oil company, Chevron. The "large
format" NiMH batteries are no longer available to U.S. electric
vehicle converters or lightweight BEV manufactures. The manufacturing
unit, "COBASYS" (http://www.cobasys.com/home/home.htm), is currently
declining to manufacture and market these batteries for battery
electric automotive use in the US and has shut down (through patent
control) Panasonic's large format battery importation to the US. The
COBASYS web page concerning transportation applications (http://
www.cobasys.com/solutions/transportation.htm) addresses only large
multi-passenger hybrid vehicles, vehicles not comprising a
substantial
threat to the largest market of the oil industry. In order to use
NiMH
batteries without violating Chevron's patents, hybrid automobile
manufacturers are required to design vehicles which are at least 50%
powered by gasoline; otherwise, they are limited to the use of "D"
cell-sized NiMH ("small format") batteries.

source: Google the first sentence.


Some of the batteries for electric vehicles in the US were manufactured by
Saft in France. Were these made under license from Ovonics? I find it
difficult to believe it's impossible to make NiMH batteries for electric
vehicles without violating these patents.

Don W.


.

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