Only two days ago, General Motors announced that it had given contracts to two suppliers for further research on lithium ion batteries, the batteries required for production of the Chevrolet Volt.  Yet, at almost the same time, GM leaked the timetable for the Volt as 2015, five years behind the schedule which had been rumored.

Now comes a new development.

Technology Review, a website from MIT, has published an article claiming that GM has conquored the battery problems which have stymied every other manufacturer and had been delaying production of cars such as the Volt.  According to this article, the contracts were awarded by GM to the two companies that beat the problem, and are for further development, not further research.

This article says that battery packs with a ten year life will be in prototype production form in one year, i.e., by June of 2008.

Here’s the quote, from Denise Gray, director of hybrid storage devices at GM, who says that GM will be awarding production contracts within a year, as reported by Technology Review:

"Over the next 12 months, researchers from, Compact Power, Continental Automotive Systems and GM will be testing the battery-pack designs in the lab and in vehicles to confirm that the packs can work for the life of the car--at least 10 years, says Denise Gray, director of hybrid energy storage devices at GM. Initial tests of individual battery cells, along with projections about the performance of battery packs that can contain hundreds of these cells, have Gray optimistic that her company will have proven packs by June 2008."