New battery is safer than older technology

• Lithium ion batteries are so potent that they've become ubiquitous in laptops and cell phones, but the cobalt oxide used to generate such prodigious amounts of electricity per gram is highly volatile.
• That's prevented larger-scale uses -- in cars, for example -- because the risk of a deadly explosion has simply been too great.
• Not so with Valence's new Saphion battery, which is among a new generation of lithium ion cells that are beginning to crack the transportation market.
• That means a lithium ion battery can run at a higher power for a longer time than a nickel metal battery of the same weight.
• But most lithium cells use a cobalt oxide chemistry that can catch fire or explode if the battery is charged or discharged too quickly, or if it is physically damaged.
• Valence is aiming to open up new markets for lithium ion technology by proving that lithium can be safe, a move that would challenge both nickel metal hydride and lithium ion cobalt oxide cells.
• Saphion cells hold significantly more energy per kilogram than nickel metal hydride cells, and although Saphion carries less energy per kilo than lithium ion cobalt, Valence is betting that many users will trade some energy for enhanced safety.
• Tom Gage, president of AC Propulsion, a Southern California electric-vehicle company, said he is impressed by Valence's technology, but he is not ready to switch to Saphion.
• Phil LeMay, the electrical engineering director at Segway, is in charge of keeping tabs on battery technology and oversaw the process that selected Valence as a Segway supplier.
• Segway's Human Transporters can be involved in road accidents, and are often charged indoors, so combustible batteries are out of the question.