Here’s an article about what you stated-
https://www.eetimes.com/self-charging-cars-to-become-the-evs-of-the-future/
In it they mentioned how far behind the electr8c grid is when it comes to electric cars- we are nowhere close to being able tO go all electric
” It is estimated that it would take $7 trillion and 20 years to upgrade the world’s electric grids to accommodate the expected increase in the number of EVs”
“It is estimated that it would take $7 trillion and 20 years to upgrade the world’s electric grids to accommodate the expected increase in the number of EVs.”
Thanks, but it’s upsetting to be fed so much propaganda. A few comments:
The $7T number above is about as real as what the California Bullet Train was supposed to cost when voters approved it ($8B, not today’s $150B or so). I could see the $7T paying for the cost of adding conventional powerplants, with some solar/wind/batteries perhaps mixed-in, along with line upgrades - but that would only be for the US (roughly 20% build-out). The claim for the world is insane. Beyond that, forget about the Carbon-Neutral aspect, the $7T might be enough for a large state to also become carbon neutral on electricity production, like Texas, but that would be about it when factoring in the energy storage costs (MC estimates that 30 days of storage is required).
The idea of cars generating power from solar and running at a rate of just sipping power falls flat because the two generally offset each other. For example, a nice, flat, aerodynamic, windshield means a very large cross section unable to generate power. An ideal solar-generating design would be a box, which of course would suck up energy when moving more than 5 MPH. You could get some power from their horizontal fish tail in the picture, but that gets hard to imagine given the density of cars on today’s roads, along with other problems (people breaking them off for fun, etc.). Without something crazy like the fishtail, my estimate of a month to charge was based on 4 miles per kwh (rough average today, and yes, they do everything practical to get to even 4 miles) and 500W of charging for 5 hours per day average (about the best that I can see from a reasonably designed car, given weather and cell-pointing limitations) - comes out to 75 kWH/month...or 300 miles. Better than nothing, but then if you limit EV charging to the above, that’s only 100W average (less than a TV), so a very small load to add to the grid...might as well dispense the with the solar cells, and just plug it in then. Also note that there’s nothing on the horizon to increase solar cell performance significantly and that battery technology doesn’t help in the above calculations - it’s simply the limited area that limits charging capability.
Using the road to power and/or charge EVs seems like a very sporty undertaking (assuming the physics behind it really works in the real world...where you have to maintain some road clearance, for example). I don’t know of any significant demonstration projects, seems that would be a start. Then you have to look at the real world, where roads aren’t always in new condition 10 years after the concrete is poured, to say the least. Maybe it could work, but we’re many years from claiming anything at this point.