Turkey's ASELSAN to develop battery for electric cars with IBM

Turkish defense company ASELSAN and IBM have signed a deal to develop batteries that will enable electric cars to make journeys five times longer than the current distance after being charged, the company said in a written statement on Nov. 24.

The agreement was signed by ASELSAN General Manager Faik Eken and IBM Vice President Kenneth J. Keating Jr. to conduct research and development activities together on Metal-Air batteries for use in electric cars during the initial stage.

The companies will then start to develop a new generation of batteries.

“Metal-Air Batteries, which are planned to be developed jointly by ASELSAN and IBM, will be able to have five times more power storage capacity than a Li-on battery. The new batteries will thus become a milestone on the road to resolving a range of problems in electric cars,” said the statement.

An electric car with Li-on technologies can travel 160 kilometers (100 miles) after being charged, but the new Metal-Air technologies will enable such cars to travel 800 km (500 miles) after being charged, according to the statement.

ASELSAN and IBM will also cooperate in developing integrated circuits for a series of different radar technologies.