Chrysler’s announcement proudly stated, “Stellantis Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Stellantis, announced an investment in Lyten to accelerate the commercialization of Lyten 3D Graphene applications for the mobility industry.” However, this would be a first if Chryler’s vehicles were to contain these batteries, as no other car company has them on the road. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but it’s unclear how the company will manage this unique feat.

The director of energy storage at the Electric Power Research Institute, Haresh Kamath, explained that lithium-sulfur batteries are a realistic alternative to the lithium-ion cells that are currently used. In fact, Kamath says that this has been known for the past 30 years. However, he added, “It’s likely to take years of steady work on the technology to [create] successful products, scalable manufacturing, and commercialization. There is no guarantee commercial lithium-sulfur products will be cost-competitive with lithium-ion. Mass commercialization will require us once again to address the big questions of fire and explosion hazards in a new technology that has important safety differences from lithium-ion. Taking any battery technology from the lab to the field is no joke: It requires a lot of capital investment and the wherewithal to successfully design, build, qualify, and scale up cells, then batteries, and then systems. This takes years. Even mature, knowledgeable, well-capitalized companies rarely hit their timelines.”

Kamath did note, “Companies developing batteries today are huge operations backed by massive investment and the willingness to spend the time it takes to get there. These kinds of scale efforts by Sony and Panasonic in the 1980s resulted in the successful commercialization of the lithium-ion battery. These efforts are now being applied to solid-state batteries, silicon anodes, and others.” Only time will tell.

Pickup trucks are at the center of the automotive universe right now, because people keep buying them. The truck world will be getting a dose of the innovative, tech-filled, and highly-capable pickup truck that is the 2024 Ram 1500 REV on Super Bowl Sunday. The automaker just released images, specs, and information on some of its most exciting innovations coming to the pickup for the upcoming model year. As you may have guessed, we will discuss those exciting features and how they compare to the competition.

Trucks Sales Hitting the Roof

The car industry has seen some crazy changes over the past few years. There has been unprecedented growth in the number of people buying electric vehicles, hybrid cars, and self-driving cars. However, throughout this entire time, one market stayed strong – trucks! In fact, truck sales have actually gone down by less than 1% since 2009. Yes, you read that correctly — despite all of these new kinds of vehicles on the market, trucks are still selling well around the world. And it’s no wonder why – trucks are practical for everyone from farmers to families looking for a way to move cargo around their community.

The Target Market Is Exploding

If you want to understand the pickup truck, you have to understand its obsession. Pickup trucks were once for farmers and ranchers who needed something that could plow a field. Now, pick-up truck buyers are more eclectic than ever before with many different factors influencing their purchase. Another reason why people are more inclined towards buying trucks for their everyday use is that they are powered by fossil fuels. In fact, it has been seen that more and more female drivers are purchasing trucks. People are shifting from SUVs to trucks pretty quickly. If you are also planning on owning a truck, check out the new 2024 Ram 1500 REV.