One of the most important research and development efforts in the world today is the quest for the perfect battery to power electric cars.  We all know that there is global warming, air pollution, and an increasing dependence on imported oil.  We know that petroleum is a finite resource that will be depleted in this century.  We live in a country whose culture and functionality is so dependent on the automobile that an alien might think the car is the dominant form of life.  Therefore, the solution to all of these problems and situations is to reinvent how the 200+ million vehicles in this country are powered. 

It has been 120 years since the internal combustion engine was invented and first utilized for a personal mode of transportation.  In that time, the 20th century, practically every technological aspect of our lives has been consistently upgraded, changed or replaced by a new invention.  Not so the power train of the automobile, which, at its essence, is still the mechanical, internal combustion engine we were using in 1900.

This then is the historical context for what the automotive industry and many of its suppliers are attempting to do regarding the invention of an electric power source for all the vehicles we drive. As readers of this blog know, I had been invited by General Motors to meet with some of their top management last month prior to the Chicago Auto Show.  In follow-up to that, GM invited me to come to Detroit to attend both a breakfast meeting and a briefing on the status of the development of the battery technology for the electric car.

 [Formal disclosure:  GM paid for my trip to Detroit from Chicago for an incredibly full schedule of events and meetings.  This was done because they had identified this blog as one of a select few blogs that are thought leaders and opinion shapers in the area of alternative energy and transportation.  At no time did they ask me to write anything specific or to make a case for anything. They were incredibly open and made all executives available to answer any and all questions.  More on that later.] 

While there are other automotive companies that are working on hybrid and electric cars, most notably Toyota and the yet to come to market Tesla, it is GM that has opened itself up to me, so it is GM that I will be writing about in this on-going series of posts on the automotive quest for the holy grail: a battery technology suitable for powering all our vehicles. 

There were several events I attended during the 24 hours in Detroit.  The major one, and the subject of this post, was the battery briefing.  GM had assembled not only several of their top executives and engineers, but also executives of the companies selected to help GM develop the battery technology needed, first  for the Chevrolet Volt and then for the rest of their product line.  GM has selected two suppliers for advanced battery development.  One is a joint venture between Johnson Controls and Saft, and the other is Cobasys who will work in partnership with A123 Systems, a company I mentioned here.

All executives made short presentations and then were all available for questioning.  The