RC-Monster Forums - Science news:Battery Breakthrough Based on Graphene Charges 10x Faster

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Originally Posted by BrianG (Post 413951)

Or some big company buys the tech and sits on it so they can keep selling their inferior product...

Chevron is the one who killed the electric car. They won the rights to the patent for the one battery everyone was using to power electric cars and discontinued it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_RAV4_EV

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Chevron Patent incumbrance
Main article: Patent encumbrance of large automotive NiMH batteries
Whether or not Toyota wanted to continue production, it was unlikely to be able to do so because the EV-95 battery was no longer available. Chevron had inherited control of the worldwide patent rights for the NiMH EV-95 battery when it merged with Texaco, which had purchased them from General Motors. Chevron's unit won a US$30,000,000 settlement from Toyota and Panasonic, and the production line for the large NiMH batteries was closed down and dismantled. This case was settled in the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and not publicised due to a gag order placed on all parties involved.[11][12] Only smaller NiMH batteries, incapable of powering an electric vehicle or plugging in, were allowed by Chevron-Texaco