SCIENCE: "Swiss Roll" cuts hybrid car costs

Engineers and scientists are claiming that a new type of battery with cells spirally wound as a Swiss roll could drastically cut the cost of hybrid cars that run on a combination of battery power and small petrol engines.

The research team was given the task of finding a solution to the problem that conventional lead-acid batteries cannot cope with the high power demands of hybrid cars, and very expensive nickel metal hydride batteries have to be used instead.

Although it uses acid, there is no free liquid in the Rholab battery. Instead, the acid is absorbed within a glass fibre separator and the individual cells are round, not square, and spirally wound as a Swiss roll.

Copyright: London Press Service