Electric Cars: How Soon and What Kind?
Electric storage batteries cannot store enough energy to transport an electric powered automobile very far. This is a serious drawback, and one of the reasons that some people are predicting that it may be more than 50 years before electric cars are taken seriously by most of the buying public.
Brian Westenhaus takes a look at new competition for EESTOR, the maker of a mysterious hybrid battery : supercapacitor. He discusses a "Reticle Carbon", a new electrode material for ultracapacitors that may give electric cars a big boost. As described by Brian, the technology looks fascinating. They may have to wait for financing, however, in this extreme economic slowdown of 2009.
One California startup plans to boost the range of electric cars by placing charging machines at convenient locations. They call them "vending machines for charging electric cars." An important development for California, where daily commutes can be far and long. These special re-charging stations may become more practical if new, super-fast re-charging batteries come on the scene.
For those wondering, Elon Musk's Tesla electric car is still out there working, planning to make a big splash soon.
Hybrids are a necessary link in the development chain, combining internal combustion engines with electric motors. Here is an interesting look at the hybric car, going back to the 1800s.
Some electric car enthusiasts are promoting a "battery swapping" approach to extending range, but executives at Mercedes are giving that idea a thumbs down. Mercedes is promoting permanent lithium ion batteries with a driving range of just over 100 miles.
The bottom line is that traditional internal combustion engine automobiles are in no immediate danger of being replaced by all-electric cars. So far, hybrids have not lived up to their promise, and are more expensive in both short and long term calculations, when taking into account battery replacement.
Al Fin's prediction? Fuel cells that run on all types of hydrocarbon including ethanol and methanol will begin to replace the ICE within 10 years. The new power plants may very well also incorporate newer, lighter hybrid ultracapacitor : battery storage packs for extended boosting power when passing or accelerating onto a turnpike. Fuel cells are on a rapid developmental trajectory, as are ultracapacitors and batteries. But all electric (battery only) autos are an impractical solution looking for a cause. First come hybrids. Then come fuel cells paired with ultracapacitor:nextgen battery hybrids. Only carbon hysteria delusions underlie the persistent demands for all-electric (battery only) cars.
Cross posted at Al Fin Energy
Brian Westenhaus takes a look at new competition for EESTOR, the maker of a mysterious hybrid battery : supercapacitor. He discusses a "Reticle Carbon", a new electrode material for ultracapacitors that may give electric cars a big boost. As described by Brian, the technology looks fascinating. They may have to wait for financing, however, in this extreme economic slowdown of 2009.
One California startup plans to boost the range of electric cars by placing charging machines at convenient locations. They call them "vending machines for charging electric cars." An important development for California, where daily commutes can be far and long. These special re-charging stations may become more practical if new, super-fast re-charging batteries come on the scene.
For those wondering, Elon Musk's Tesla electric car is still out there working, planning to make a big splash soon.
Hybrids are a necessary link in the development chain, combining internal combustion engines with electric motors. Here is an interesting look at the hybric car, going back to the 1800s.
Some electric car enthusiasts are promoting a "battery swapping" approach to extending range, but executives at Mercedes are giving that idea a thumbs down. Mercedes is promoting permanent lithium ion batteries with a driving range of just over 100 miles.
The bottom line is that traditional internal combustion engine automobiles are in no immediate danger of being replaced by all-electric cars. So far, hybrids have not lived up to their promise, and are more expensive in both short and long term calculations, when taking into account battery replacement.
Al Fin's prediction? Fuel cells that run on all types of hydrocarbon including ethanol and methanol will begin to replace the ICE within 10 years. The new power plants may very well also incorporate newer, lighter hybrid ultracapacitor : battery storage packs for extended boosting power when passing or accelerating onto a turnpike. Fuel cells are on a rapid developmental trajectory, as are ultracapacitors and batteries. But all electric (battery only) autos are an impractical solution looking for a cause. First come hybrids. Then come fuel cells paired with ultracapacitor:nextgen battery hybrids. Only carbon hysteria delusions underlie the persistent demands for all-electric (battery only) cars.
Cross posted at Al Fin Energy
Labels: electric transport
posted by al fin at 8:28 am
2 Comments:
All you have to do is get to the next charge point. They have batteries that can charge in short time periods, they just have yet to be used by cars.
The community college I'm going to got an electric, can't remember the model. The campus police use it to collect the bills or something, instead of the big car. I can see electric cars being put up as fleet vehicles, especially for factories and other places that can support an on-site charger. This makes some logistics easier(current range is practical), and produces exposure. If someone works with one, they'll see it's not a bad idea, and would be more inclined to buy one for their short range work. Most households have two cars anyway.
A big problem the first batch a few years ago had was that they were leased only. This was a problem because as "Who Killed the electric Car?" showed, the car companies could pull them off the road.
Leasing did have an advantage though--free maintenance for the car. Unless they can get the battery life up, this is a killer. The smaller packs in the hybrids cost thousands to replace every few years, how much for the much large pack in the all-electric?
My thought was that a standard cell layout would allow anyone, from the dealer to NAPA and AutoZone to lease or sell the packs. By leasing, you make battery recovery much easier. You take it back to the dealer, who leases you a new pack, which they then sell back to the factory to be rebuilt into new batteries. Just as good, these rebuilt packs would be a bit cheaper. I think the logic of the cycle is sound, provided it would actually work that way.
Down the line when these super capacitors are ready I see us incorporating something into the road bed for instant charging. Light rail gets its power by contacting overhead lines and need constant contact. But a car with super capacitors could simply drop a contact bar down on a charging strip built into the road. Account information could be gathered from the car's computer into the charging strip computer and a bill sent to the owner for the charging cost. The government and the electric company could share the revenue. There would be no need to pull off the road or even stop. RFID type communication would tell the car that it was approaching a charging strip and if the car needed a charge it would drop down the charge bar at road speed.
I think most of the technology already exists...
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