Cool stuff! Huge strides in battery tech lately. Carbon nano-tubes offer enormous potential IMO.
I want a practical/affordable/range extended/convenient Electric Vehicle (EV) TODAY! (asking too much LOL)
Have you seen the batteries developed by Altairnano?
http://www.altairnano.com/Battery characteristics:
1) Fast charges times: 6 min. full recharge using high-capacity charger (making a recharge comparable to filling gas tank)
1) Higher energy density: 3x
2) Fast Discharge rates
3) Long life-cycle: up to 20x standard Li-Ion (20,000 cycles)
4) Safety: reduced/eliminated thermal runaway
Drawback: Cost. Limited production of new technology results in excess of $40,000 for an EV application
With mass production reducing costs - this could be the technology needed to make EV's practical.
Hydrogen is NOT the answer as the losses converting say water to hydrogen and then H2 back to electricity are a HUGE waste compared to storing in a battery.
A battery will discharge to an electric motor 90% of the electricity used to charge it. If that same electricity were used to electrolyse hydrogen, at least 30% of the energy would be lost, and if that hydrogen were then ran through an on-board fuel cell to power an electric motor, another 40% of the energy would be lost. That is, if you put 100 kilowatt-hours into a battery, you?ll get 90 kilowatt-hours back to power your motor. If on the other hand, you put 100 kilowatt-hours into electrolysing hydrogen, then in-turn convert that hydrogen back into electricity to power your motor, you will only have 42 kilowatt-hours available from your original 100. For storing electricity, a battery is more than twice as efficient as a fuel cell.
- - - -
"The results of these tests have indicated that batteries constructed using Altair's nano-lithium titanate electrode materials could have the following characteristics:
-- Very fast charge rates - currently measured at six minutes to a full
charge. In the power tools market this is a major breakthrough compared to
the current two to four hours. And in the electric vehicle (EV) market this
would allow a recharge in the same amount of time as it currently takes to
fill a car with gasoline. Rapid charge rates would provide a significant
performance improvement for current EV designs, which presently take
several hours to charge and make them only practical for short haul trips.
-- Fast discharge potential - required when high amounts of power are
needed by power tools and electric or hybrid vehicles. An Altair scientist
commented that an EV powered by batteries using Altair's electrode
materials would have a 0-60mph speed that would leave other EVs in the
dust!!
-- Extremely long cycle life - Reported by Rutgers at 9,000 cycles and
estimated at 20,000 plus charge/discharge cycles. This compares with less
than 1,000 for all other types of rechargeable batteries. Using Altair's
electrode materials, this would allow lifetime rechargeable batteries. In
power tool applications, as well as providing a cost benefit, it also has a
substantial environmental impact because it would significantly reduce the
toxic hazards from discarded batteries. In EVs, it significantly improves
the cost of ownership because the batteries would not need to be replaced
during the typical life of the vehicle and in fact could be transferred to
a replacement vehicle.
-- Safe design - Because of the electrical characteristics of the Altair
electrode materials they are operating at a level that avoids the explosive
potential inherent with current Li Ion batteries.
This will enable large configuration batteries to be constructed required in EVs or telecom switching centers. As well as solving a major safety problem, it also will reduce the cost of battery manufacture because the safety mechanisms included in current Li Ion batteries to mitigate explosions will likely be minimized.
)--Feb 10, 2005 -- Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NasdaqSC:ALTI - News) announced today that it has achieved a breakthrough in Lithium Ion battery electrode materials, which will enable a new generation of rechargeable battery to be introduced into the marketplace, as well as create new markets for rechargeable batteries. These new materials allow rechargeable batteries to be manufactured that have three times the power of existing Lithium Ion batteries at the same price and with recharge times measured in a few minutes rather than hours"
