Posted on 06/12/2014 11:16:36 AM PDT by thackney
Two companies have developed a new type of electric vehicle battery said to offer a 1,000 mile range, with prices and whole-life costs comparable to a conventional petrol or diesel engine. The joint project between metals specialist Alcoa and green technology company Phinergy has produced a demonstrator featuring an aluminium-air battery, designed as a range extender for the lithium-ion units used in most electric vehicles.
Already used in military applications, the battery uses a reaction with air and water over 50 aluminium plates, each of which can drive a car for up to 20 miles. The unit is designed so that drivers can exhaust the lithium-ion battery and continue using the energy in these cartridges but, as aluminium-air batteries are not rechargeable, the cartridges would have to be replaced afterwards.
Once depleted, the aluminium cartridges can be recycled to produce new ones. Alcoa and Phinergy hope to have the technology commercialised within the next year or two, boosting the range of electric vehicles by up to 1,000 miles without the weight or cost disadvantage of a larger lithium-ion unit.
Martin Briere, President of Alcoa Canada, said: ‘Automakers want technologies that enable zero-emission electric cars to travel distances that compete with gasoline-powered cars. The aluminum-air battery has the potential to meet that challenge using fully recyclable material with no CO2 emissions.’
Aviv Tzidon, CEO of Phinergy, added: ‘Electric vehicle adoption has been slowed by the limited range of regular batteries, causing what is commonly known as range anxiety. With Phinergy’s technology, and Alcoa’s industrial leadership across both the aluminum value chain and the automotive market, we see an exciting opportunity to help move electric vehicles into the mainstream.’
One of my buddies in Cleveland has a fleet of vintage Lotus cars.
Neat cars but rarely running.
First generation gasoline powered cars at the turn of the century were also crap.
Mrs Henry Ford drove Detroit Electric.
Second and third generation lithium ion electric cars will advance very quickly.
Gas cars also have lower range in winter, when using air conditioner etc.
Difference is they have longer average range and more refueling stations.
The gap is going to close rather quickly.
Particularly with a backup aluminum air battery pack.
I stand corrected. I appreciate the explanation.
I’ve been seeing it every year or so since 1979......
Maybe in ideal conditions.
How much government subsidy will be needed to make it competitive with a tank of gasoline and a good IC engine?
If you say so. It hasn't yet and people have been screwing with electric cars a long time.
That is the description of every battery.
because Electric motors and controllers are free, right?
$12K Nissan Versa's don't have "$8,000 Engines".
If it costs more than $200 to recycle this batery, its DOA. If the numbers add up to you, your math skills are lacking.
I do say so.
They have not made full size electric sedans that accelerate from 0-60 in 4 seconds flat for a long time.
Lithium ion vehicles have only been around for a little over a decade.
No automaker has taken electric cars seriously,none has used economies of scale to get the price down.
Tesla is now in the process of doing just that.
It appears that Nissan is beginning to follow Tesla too by increasing the the range of 2016 LEAF to a reasonable number and creating a new Infiniti EV.
Their cost estimate is based on commodity aluminium price without markup. Somewhere between their estimate and infinity lies the true cost.
Agreed!
PEMS fuel cells are heavy and fragile, and their dependence on hydrogen as the fuel source is a huge hurdle.
When solid oxide gets smaller, look for it to be a game changer. It is rather fuel agnostic able to digest every thing from NG to kerosene. A 20 Kw cell and a few Kwh of battery storage for acceleration and regeneration, nothing around now will be able to compete with it.
It would make a hell of a bang if it shorted out.
We’re is all this electricity going to come from?
Ignoring what Obama’s doing for now, I don’t think the grid in most of suburbia will support a very large percentage of electric cars. The transformers and wiring just isn’t there.
Most this electricity will come from overnight charging.
When rates are lower overall and specifically for electric car charging.
Currently, most of our electrical grid is idle overnight.
The USA can convert over 50% of our cars to electric without building a single extra power plant.
Wake up every morning with a fully charged car using American energy without having to go to the gas station.
Natural gas, hydro,nuclear, and renewables combined can more than handle future electric needs.
That’s because it takes that long to get back.
- April 25, 2014 was not quite seven weeks ago.
- You will be “still waiting” until sometime in 2015 per the article.
Obviously you missed the part of the article and also mentioned in my post that the target was to replace the engine in hybrids. I am not arguing for the technology, merely pointing out that your analysis does not account properly.
In your dreams. That's if you don't use the heater, or air conditioner, or wipers, and you don't go up hill, or around corners, or apply the brakes, or roll down the windows, or drive in traffic, and the battery is less than a week old, and the creek don't rise. In REAL usage, you start getting "range anxiety" after about 70 miles, or less if you need air conditioning.
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