Lithium ion rechargeable battery can be used repeatedly, and thanks to the advantageous features of being compact and lightweight, instead of the nickel hydride batteries used in the past, it is widely used for mobile applications in laptop PC, cellular phones and etc., In addition, it is favored as the battery for Hybrid-Electric Vehicles and fuel battery vehicles for the future because of the distinct features such as higer charging efficiency than the nickel hydride battery and has no memory effect. Currently, for mobile use, much cobalt, high value rare metal is used in in the lithium ion rechargeable battery, however it is required to apply inexpensive and abundant resource for automobiles.
The Research and Development Group of Hitachi Group is pursuing "long operating life", "high output", "high energy density", "high credibility", and "low cost" as the themes of development aimed for applications in automobiles.
