In the words of that dynamic duo of Chuck D & Flava Flav, DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE! Well, that is sort of what Vinod Khosla said recently about the potential of lithium ion batteries at the AlwaysOn Summit at Stanford. And why should you listen to this Mr. Khosla, you may ask. Well, this is the man who founded Sun Microsystems and is one of the top investors in clean technology. For example, he currently is a major investor in both Sakti3 and Seeo, two lithium ion start ups.

The problem, according to Khosla, is that lithium ion batteries are still cost restrictive. In an interview with GoodCleanTech Khosla states, “The most important thing to remember is economic gravity — the cheapest thing ends up winning.” The only way that lithium batteries will become cost competitive is if oil jumps to $150 a barrel. (Which is a very real possibility once the global economy rebounds.) ... read more