“It’s not important what the number on the battery says. The test is simple, it’s called “distance traveled.” If you can come up with a battery that can move the car for 300-400 miles at 50-60 mph then this battery will be a reasonable option.”
The Tesla S model can travel at 55 mph for 300 miles, so those batteries do exist. However, the current energy density levels means you need a lot of them to go 300 miles. If the new Envia batteries hold up after extensive testing, then the size and cost of a battery needed to go 300 miles should drop by 50%. The real limitation now is cost.
“But the charging time of that battery is still a factor. We know that it doesn’t take much time to fill the tank in a car. Perhaps 5 minutes if the tank is large. Fast charging of a battery is theoretically possible today, with damage to the battery; but will that new battery be capable of fast charging? Currents there will be huge.”
On most days, people would trickle charge overnight. You will just plug in when you get home like you would do with the cell phone. There is massive amounts of excess capacity for during the off peak hours, and it would take massive adoption of EV’s to make a dent in that excess capacity. With regard to fast charging, some chemistry is more forgiving than others, but both Nissan and Tesla have done extensive testing and warranty their batteries for 10 years and 8 years respectively.
To say that a battery would have to cost the same as an empty gas tank to be competitive is absurd. This ignores the cost savings per mile of the fuel, the elimination of an expensive, maintenance intensive engine and transmission. To be competitive the EV needs to come close to the ICE on total life cycle costs. Obviously, the more wealthy, can afford to pay a higher up front cost, but most people would pay some premium up front, if their total ownership cost would be the same or less over time. If an empty gas tank costs 300 dollars for a typical sedan, you are suggesting that a 300 mile battery that cost 400 dollars would not be competitive.
Your assertion that an electric car can only drive 5 miles in the cold is false. Yes, the cold does reduce range, but Leaf’s have operated in the northern U.S. this winter getting a lot more than 5 miles. Even if range dropped by 1/3 in the winter, a 300 mile Tesla would still have a lot of range. And don’t forget, that these cars can be programmed to hear / cool the battery and passenger car, using the plugged in power source before the owner gets in the car, so that the car’s battery is not wasted for that purpose.
Yes, we will need to burn coal, use nuclear, import Canadian oil etc. But even if we imported the oil, and used it only to generate electricity, it would still be more efficient than having an often poorly maintained gas power plant in each car on the road.
Driving an EV will always be different, plugging in at night vs. pulling into the WAWA, but when they become competitive in cost and convenience, you will start seeing a lot on the road. The ability to fill up a tank for 5-6 bucks will sway a lot of folks.
On a cold winter day that will get you about 5 minutes until you need to put the heater on. Same for the A/C on a hot summer day.
Just like rechargeable batteries for a flashlight.
I agree. Wake me when that ever happens. I don't understand much physics but I understand economics pretty well. Meanwhile I'm looking for free lunches somewhere else.
Absolutely true. It's just current EVs are not competitive. Pretty much all opposition to EVs is caused by the government giving people's taxes to EV manufacturers. If an EV manufacturer stands on his own and sells whatever, why would anyone care? There are many EV vehicles currently in use - such as indoor forklifts and golf carts. Nobody villifies them because they do their job and they are not consuming taxpayer's money.
The Tesla S model can travel at 55 mph for 300 miles, so those batteries do exist. However, the current energy density levels means you need a lot of them to go 300 miles.
Yes - and then you are facing a kind of a rocket equation. You need a 10,000 lb of batteries to move a 200 lb payload (the driver.) While mathematically possible, it's unreasonably expensive.
On most days, people would trickle charge overnight.
This is OK as long as the battery has enough charge to cover all the daily trips. This also presumes that the car returns to the home base every night. Trips anywhere else, with stays in random hotels, are not supported (the charging port may or may not be available.) Which again says that the EV, as it exists today and in the nearest future, is a car for local use during the day, under controlled conditions. If you live on a ranch and on a windy day a telephone pole falls and injures your spouse you can't just take an EV and drive her 100 miles to the hospital. You need to let the EV charge first. This is obviously not what people like to hear.
To say that a battery would have to cost the same as an empty gas tank to be competitive is absurd.
You need to give some incentive to the car buyer. If an EV has the same TCO as a gas car then there is no reason to buy an EV. An EV must be cheaper. In any case, today's batteries represent about 80% of the EV's cost, so there is a long way to go until we can debate this fine point.
And don’t forget, that these cars can be programmed to hear / cool the battery and passenger car, using the plugged in power source before the owner gets in the car, so that the car’s battery is not wasted for that purpose.
Yes, the car can be preheated or precooled, but that doesn't last more than 5 minutes. I know that very well, I lived in cold climate for decades. Thermal insulation of a car is poor due to many glass windows. I don't know how the measurements that you refer to were made; perhaps the driver was using fur clothes, gloves, and was breathing through a water vapor absorbent. In real life, though, defrosting requires a lot of energy - and the only source of that energy is the battery.