DETROIT
- CT&T United today unveiled a
trio of new electric vehicles, including an electric sports car, an amphibious
vehicle and a small city-type car.
Of the three, the sports car represented the greatest
departure for CT&T, which bills itself as the "world's largest manufacturer
of electric vehicles." Up until now, most of the company's cars have been
neighborhood vehicles with top speeds of about 40 mph, but the new C2
sports car reportedly has a top speed of 93 mph and a driving range of about
155 miles.
The other two vehicles, both of which were also introduced
at the North American International Auto Show
today, included the Multi-Amphibious Vehicle, which can travel on land and
water, and the Cit EV e-Zone, which has a top speed of about 45 mph and a
75-mile range.
From a technological perspective, CT&T's new C2
differs from other EVs at today's show in its use of a lithium polymer battery.
CT&T said it teamed with two corporate partners - LG Chem and SK
Energy - to create the new lithium polymer battery.
Engineers from SK Energy said the lithium polymer technology
made sense for the new sports car because it reportedly offers greater safety
and lower cost than lithium-ion battery technologies. Lithium polymer batteries
employ a solid electrolyte, instead of the liquid electrolyte used in most
other vehicle batteries. As a result, the company said, the electrolyte doesn't
flow and therefore doesn't leak if it's affected by impact, cracking or thermal
issues.
The C2 draws its power from five lithium polymer
modules with a mass of 21 kg. The five modules therefore comprise a 10-kW-hour battery
pack of 105 kg (225 lb) mass. SK Energy engineers said the lithium polymer
battery pack offers an energy density of approximately 93 W-hrs/kg, which is
slightly less than that of lithium-ion batteries.
SK Energy engineers said the modular design of the battery
pack enables CT&T to minimize its costs. "If we can produce just one type
of cell, it saves significantly on cost," noted Byoung Jo, a senior manager of
marketing for SK Energy. "Likewise, if we make one type of battery pack to
satisfy all customers, it reduces costs even more."
CT&T did not reveal when any of the three vehicles is
scheduled to reach production.
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In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
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