Quote:
Originally Posted by flecc
These are the car technologies that I've referred to previously, the aim being ultra quick charges rather than very high energy density. From the electric bike users point of view, it's not the best news, for that's the opposite of what we need, which is energy density for range. The motor industry knows there's no chance of enough energy density for 300 mile ranges, so all the effort is to get charge times possible during frequent stops at around 80 to 100 mile intervals for one or two minutes or so each time.
|
Actually, the Tesla roaster can do 250 miles with current battery technology (a proprietary Lithium ion battery pack), so 300 miles doesn't seem too much of a stretch:
http://www.teslamotors.com/performan..._batteries.php
Quote:
Originally Posted by flecc
Toshiba have done most of the early work in this direction and have twice announced availability in the following year, and they should be here with us now. They're not of course, and that's the trouble with these future promises, they never quite seem to make it in the manner described in the laboratory.
|
A123 batteries are in the wild, not just in the lab. They're already being widely used in power tools for example. True, some of the claims are inflated marketing speak, but that's always the case. Here's a test on them in DeWalt power tools:
DeWalt 36V Technology (A123 Systems)
Dissecting DeWalt 36V Packs (A123 Systems)
Altairnano's stuff is newer, but it's already been packed into an all-electric SUV for the Californian market:
http://www.altairnano.com/documents/...s_11-30-06.pdf
Electric Cars, Green Vehicle :: Phoenix Motorcars, Inc.
Unfortunately, the CNET article does say this:
"Changing the anode material does reduce the ultimate performance of the batteries. In a notebook, an Altair-like battery might only give a user a four-hour charge, versus a six-hour charge with a high performance lithium battery, said Gotcher. But the Altair-style battery will store more energy than a conventional car battery, which explains why the car manufacturers are intrigued and the notebook manufacturers are less so."
Quote:
Originally Posted by flecc
There will be advances of course, but I'm prepared to bet they'll be something like those to date, a very gradual improvement, which for us has meant a doubling of range over the last ten years The labs keep quiet about the disadvantages of their developments, since it's continuing funding they need, so spin pays. So here's some examples:
The claims of huge numbers of charges and very long life for lithium batteries of various kinds all depend on minimal discharge depth. In other words, if a lithium rechargeable battery is designed for discharge of only a seventh of it's capacity each time, with immediate recharge, it can last for very many years. Only the words in bold are announced. This kind of use is in satellites today. That would mean us only doing about 3 or 4 miles at most before recharging
|
A123 shows lifetime specific stats on 100% depth of discharge:
A123 Systems :: Technology :: Life
Altairnano also used 100% DoD testing:
http://www.altairnano.com/documents/EETimes11-01-06.pdf
Quote:
Originally Posted by flecc
The claims of very high performance, in a sports car for example, are met by using vast numbers of tiny near AA size cells. I won't go into why that is, as the explanation is very long, but it's sufficient for you to know that the charger that has to be used for this setup is as big as a large room. Again, you only hear the words in bold.
Yes, I'm a cynic, but that cynicism is born of very long professional experience in many branches of technology, and I know the politics of development.
|
Well, I think scepticism is good, but there are genuine advances being made imho.
Cheers,
Q