Some of the other forms of energy storage on this chart were discussed, but we’d need a full day to really explore the virtues of each option. Most of the conversation centered on why Lithium Ion is emerging as the technology of choice for electric vehicles, not just because it’s smaller and lighter than other battery types, but because it’s easy to manufacture.

Electrovaya was the star attraction of the panel since they are a leading Lithium Ion battery player, and their CEO talked about how they have a zero emissions production process, which plays well to the Cleantech crowd. It’s a good success story for a Toronto company (publicly traded), and as luck with have it, they had some major news to announce yesterday, which was quickly picked up here on the portal.

Despite its advantages, it was also pointed out that Lithium Ion is still quite expensive relative to alternatives such as Nickel Cadmium, so we still have some barriers to overcome before the plug-in vehicle displaces fossil fuels. Back to the positive side, we will not run out of Lithium Ion any time soon, and that contrasts favorably with our declining oil reserves. Furthermore, it was explained that today’s R&D is only getting about 25 percent efficiency out of Lithium Ion. This level is expected to rise considerably as R&D efforts intensify, which should improve the economics and help make it a mainstream solution.