While Apple may have moved on to selling the 4th generation iPod nano, consumer protection agencies are still focused on gen-1. For good reason too, apparently, as there's mounting evidence that those early white and black plastic players have a tendency to overheat, swell, and possibly burst into a nasty chemical fire. Responding to four formal consumer complaints made between December and June, the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards sent a request to Apple on June 25th recommending that Apple "aggressively" collects first generation iPod nano with Lithium Ion batteries made by the Chinese company ATL. Initially, Apple agreed to replace faulty units as they did in Japan upon request by the consumer. However, KATS is now reporting that Apple will recall the players under its own initiative making this the first formal iPod nano recall we can, uh, recall.

We've been tracking MIT professor Angela Belcher's attempt to build batteries and nano-electronics from viruses since 2006. Scientifically speaking, the so-called "virus" is actually a bacteriophage, a virus that preys only on bacteria while leaving humans of diminishing scientific knowledge alone to doubt that claim. Now, in a new report co-authored by Belcher, MIT research documents the construction of a lithium-ion battery (pictured after the break) with the help of a biological virus dubbed M13. M13 acts as a "biological scaffold" that allows carbon nanotubes and bits of iron phosphate to attach and form a network for conducting electricity. Specifically, MIT used the genetically engineered material to create the battery's negatively charged anode and positively charged cathode. Best of all, MIT's technique can be performed at, or below room temperature which is important from a manufacturing perspective -- a process that MIT claims will be "cheap and environmentally benign." Already MIT has constructed a virus-battery about the size of that found in a watch to turn on small lights in an MIT lab. Belcher claims that just a third of an ounce (about 10 grams) of the viral battery material could power an iPod for 40 hours. In time and with enough effort MIT expects to scale the technology to power electronic vehicles. Remember, when the time comes choose the red pill.

[Via Scientific American, Thanks James]

From our perspective, it appears that we've reached a tipping point with regards to interest in the electric / hybrid automobile. No wonder considering the environmental and national security risks presented by a continuation of an oil-only approach. Unfortunately for the troubled US automotive industry (and economy), the single biggest money generator from a global fleet of electronic vehicles -- the lithium-ion battery cell -- is likely to be manufactured in Asia along side the lithium ion batteries found in our consumer electronics. According to the Wall Street Journal, "More than four dozen advanced battery factories are being built in China but none, currently, in the U.S." That could change, however, with a little determination, private investment, and a government willing to clear the way for manufacturing of this highly toxic contributor to the US infrastructure. Already, we've seen that Intel is being coaxed into building electric car batteries. Now, a group of 14 firms (including 3M and Johnson Controls-Saft) have stepped up to form an alliance with a US government laboratory. The National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is modeled after SEMATECH, a public-private venture from the 80s that helped restore US prominence in computer semiconductor technology. The goal is to create a shared-cost, "open foundry" for members to perfect and ultimately produce automotive batteries. Problem is, they need upwards of $2 billion to build a plant to manufacture batteries that no one has ordered. Of course, that's a pittance when compared to the bailout requests made by the Big 3. Hmm, jobs and an industry dominating money machine... hey Obama, you listening?

[Via Ars Technica]

Former Intel chairman, Andy Grove, has been a prominent supporter of plug-in hybrid automobiles ever since he left his post at Intel. Now, in his role as Intel advisor, Grove is pushing CEO, Paul Otellini, to diversify Intel by manufacturing advanced batteries for plug-in electric vehicles. His argument is two fold: 1) the market is potentially huge (read: big profits!) as the world seems to be at an eVehicle tipping point, 2) with such little manufacturing capacity left in the US (and US automakers in deep trouble), if someone like Intel doesn't take on the challenge then the market will left be to Chinese and Japanese interests like BYD motors and the soon-to-merge Panasonic and Sanyo -- all of whom are positioning themselves to dominate the emerging battery market. While the move from silicon to battery tech might sound radical, it's worth remembering that Nokia, the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones was once a wood-pulp mill. Of course, if Intel ever perfects Tesla's its wireless power technology then this whole battery argument is moot.

Ah here we go, a major acquisition following a quarter of disturbingly bleak financial results from Japan's tech community. First from the chute is Panasonic, which according to Nikkei and other members of the media elite, has reached a preliminary agreement to takeover its troubled domestic rival, Sanyo -- details to be announced on November 7th. The chatter began in ernest over the weekend with plenty of folks blabbing about Panasonic's plan to create a "battery superpower" meant to dominate a future that envisions a taller, more slender mankind tooling about in form-fitting jumpsuits from the safety of silent, electric cars. The deal would also extend Panasonic's range of consumer electronics while giving it access to Sanyo's solar panel production. Yeah, yeah, we get it, now let's just make it official already, k fellas?

[Via Times Online]

Look, it's pretty clear that the lithium-ion battery in the first generation iPod nano has the potential to burst into flames. Seriously, how many more cases do we have to see? Even after giving Apple a stern talking-to and ferocious wag of the finger back in March, Japan's government is once again investigating possible battery defects that caused a pair of Tokyo nanos to burn: nano model MA099 recently singed a piece of nearby paper while a model MA005 nano burned a traditional tatami mat in January (no injuries were reported).

Presumably Apple is calculating the cost-of-recall at this very moment. In other words, take the number of 1st gen nanos in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, they don't do one.

Update: Japan has issued a warning to iPod nano users saying, "Users need to be careful about overheating of the machines," particularly when charging the players. Japan's government has reported a total of 14 similar incidents to Apple related to models MA004J/A, MA005J/A, MA099J/A and MA107J/A all sold between September '05 and September '06 -- two of which resulted in minor burns. NHK claims that Apple does not plan a recall but is ready to exchange defective parts.

Man, Tesla's been busy today -- in addition to the announcement of the Model S and Elon Musk's promise of a sub-$30K electric car in four years, word on the street is that the company's inked a deal with Daimler AG to supply it with lithium-ion batteries for upcoming electric cars. Daimler's CEO has said the company was open to leasing battery tech to get out an electric Smart by 2010 and it's rumored that the German marque is looking to ditch gas entirely by 2015, so going to Tesla, which has been working on battery tech for some time, isn't a totally out there proposition. Just a rumor for now -- given Tesla's generally-prickly relationships with others, we'd wait for an official announcement before getting too excited about a Roadster-powered SLR, but it's certainly intriguing.

Although's Moore's Law continues to race along, battery tech hasn't nearly kept up pace -- so we're excited by developments like the one just announced by Argonne National Labs, which has managed to increase Li-on capacity by 30 percent while making the batteries safer and longer-lasting. The secret ingredients in Argonne's new juice box are a new composite battery material that's partially electrically inactive and manganese oxide-based electrodes in place of the traditional cobalt oxide. Argonne says it's already licensed the tech to Japanese manufacturer Toda Kogyo, which has the capability to produce 30 million laptop batteries a year, but the lab is still working on improving charging rates -- while it's adequate for laptops and cellphones, the battery will need to discharge at least three times faster to work in a car. No word on when we might see these start shipping, but you can bet "manganese battery" is being added to our dream machine spec list right... now.

[Via ExtremeTech]

Uh oh. Japan's trade and economy ministry is now officially investigating the explosive nature of the iPod nano. The culprit is model MA099J/A -- AKA, the old black and white plastic model already reported to spew "chest high flames," cause bedroom fires, and explode across the floor. The Japan incident occurred in January when an iPod nano reportedly "shot out sparks while recharging." At this point, all odds are with the nano's lithium ion battery. Apple Japan has been ordered to investigate the issue and report back to the ministry with the cause. Kind of like asking the fox what it was doing in the hen house, eh?

Update: Apparently, the Japanese ministry "strongly warned" Apple for failing to report the incident (as required by law) when it occurred. Apple's filing with the ministry came on March 7th.

If you can believe it (and we think you can), Toyota is already hard at work on a new battery system to replace its lithium-ion units currently slated for use in upcoming models. According to a report in Automotive News Europe, the company is hoping to adopt a more advanced battery for its hybrid vehicles in about 12 years as part of its Global Vision 2020 plan. The automaker won't say what technology it plans on moving towards, though it has suggested that air-zinc batteries could be a possible solution for maintaining its dominance in the hybrid vehicle market. In June the company will launch a new division dedicated to developing technologies for future cell power, while its lithium-ion vehicles will hit the roads around 2010.

[Via Autoblog]

Prepare to be amazed at what passes for investigative journalism on television these days. Atlanta's WSB-TV Action News team ran a sensational iPod "nana" piece last night under the title "Man's Pants Catch Fire At Airport." To set the stage, WSB-TV says that the nano "uses the same technology as those troubled laptop batteries under recall due to the risk of fire." In steps Danny Williams -- mild mannered consumer, airport employee -- who claims that his iPod nano "burst into" chest-high flames while he was at work. So why isn't he covered in burns after exposure to such a serious chemical fire? We've all watched the horrifying video of a lithium ion battery explosion, right? Well, Danny claims that he was protected by a "glossy piece of paper" in his pocket at the time. Taking it up a notch, WSB-TV worries that Danny could have been mistaken for a terrorist due to his smoking airport trousers. Look, we're not saying that nothing happened, after all, we've written about an exploding iPod nano before. We're only saying that it didn't happen in the way described. Check the video of the hot-coffee-in-lap style legal preparation after the break.

[Thanks, Will]

It looks like those waiting for the next generation Prius to hit the road are going to have to hold out a little bit longer. Toyota announced this week that it would be delaying plans to bring its plug-in, lithium-ion-based model to market until 2011, as opposed to 2008, due to safety concerns over the company's chosen battery. In very related news, GM has struck a deal with Massachusetts-based battery developer A123 Systems to produce flat lithium-ion batteries for use in upcoming plug-in electric vehicles, such as the Chevy Volt. With regards to whether Toyota's setback could give GM an edge in the electric car game, Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said, "I think that our No. 1 competitor has some problems with their technology, and I do think that it very definitely opens a window of opportunity for us to be first to market with a genuine plug-in hybrid," which sounds like fightin' words, if you ask us.

Read -- Toyota delays next-gen lithium-ion Prius
Read -- GM says it could lead electric car race

Now that Tesla Motors has resurrected the electric car in screeching sports car form, it's the turn of the motorbike to get all Lithium Ioned up. While it's not the first electric motorcycle, it is possibly the most rough and ready design: if you can afford the $15,000 odd fee for a custom modification, a team at the Electric Motorsport shop in Oakland will take out the nasty engine in your ride and replace it with an array of Lithium Ion batteries. As a prototype, the company created a fully electric version of the Yamaha R1 which has a top speed of 100MPH, a range of 100 miles, does 0-60 in 3 seconds, and looks pretty damn ugly to tell the truth. Ya' see, the number of brick sized Lithium Ion batteries required to eke out this level of performance is 28, which have to fit all willy nilly underneath the bike. Fortunately, the company hopes to produce a more refined production model, as well as a cheaper design with less advanced performance.

[Via Digg]

Apparently Matsushita isn't waiting around for the (notoriously slow) IEEE task force to settle on a new Li-ion battery standard, as the company has announced that it will soon begin "mass production of a new lithium-ion battery that is safe from the overheating problems" we're all too familiar with. These batteries in particular will be built to replace those that prompted a massive recall of Sony cells earlier this year, and should be available en masse "by the end of the year." Sony's global recall affected "around 9.6 million cells" used on nearly every laptop under the sun, so we're sure Matsushita's conveyor belts will be approaching record speeds to crank out these replacements. Notably, the company asserted that while actual pricing would depend on the quantity ordered, it would be "higher than existing models" regardless -- which makes sense considering all the loot Sony is losing from this fiasco.

[Via Laptoping, thanks Kaztm]

Startup tech company Boston-Power seems to think it has a solution to the many woes plaguing lithium-ion batteries, emerging from stealth mode today (otherwise known as issuing a press release) to announce that it's raised more than $8 million in Series A financing. Not surprisingly, they're keeping most of the details on the batteries themselves under wraps, saying only that they employ "novel chemistry with groundbreaking innovations" to provide longer life, faster charging and -- most importantly to laptop manufacturers potentially looking to buy 'em by the truckload -- greater safety. The first cells using the company's seemingly cure-all technology are set to be available in the first half of next year, although we're guessing that we'll have to wait a little while longer than that for public consumption.

[Via EE Times]