The first cars didn’t run on gas—they ran on electricity. Over a century later, the high cost of fuel has finally forced automakers to take the possibility of battery-powered cars seriously. On today’s show we look at three kinds of batteries that have been proposed as transportation solutions.

SHOW CLOCK

00:00 Opening Credits

00:31 Introduction

01:13 Element of the Week: Nickel

03:08 Mystery Solved! Hydrogen fuel-cell cars

06:38 GM’s lithium-ion battery lab

11:13 Closing Credits

CREDITS

Special thanks to Devin Browne and Chi Chan for researching this show. Additional credits available at chemheritage.org/distillations.