Honda Cars : New Honda Insight Employs Sanyo Battery | 2013 New Honda Car Reviews 0

The new Insight hybrid, which Honda Motor Co Ltd announced at Detroit Motor Show 2009, sports the IPU (Intelligent Power Unit) whose volume and weight are 19% and 28%, respectively, less than the one equipped in the Civic Hybrid

The IPU is composed of a Ni-hydrogen secondary battery unit, a motor driving inverter, etc.

Because the new battery unit features a 30% higher output per module than the existing one, the number of battery modules in the battery unit could be reduced from 11 to seven, contributing to the small size and the light weight of the new IPU.

In the battery module, 12 cylindrical cells are connected in series. The new Insight is mounted with 84 cells in total, and the battery unit outputs a voltage of 100.8V, 57.2V lower than the Civic Hybrid.

The cell, which is manufactured by Sanyo Electric Co Ltd, has a current capacity of 5.75Ah and a voltage of 1.2V. The cell employed for the Civic Hybrid is a product of Panasonic Corp and has a current capacity of 5.5Ah.

The IPU incorporates an inverter and a control unit for the motor, which are positioned on the battery unit. It is an air-cooled type that intakes air from the sides of the rear seats and emits it to the sides of the luggage compartment. The battery unit is packaged in a foamed material to prevent water exposure even if part of the vehicle including the control unit and the inverter is soaked in water.

Source, with 2X more pic's of the battery;
http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20090115/164089/