33Nick

Alternative Energy Storage: Cheap Outperforms Cool

Wait a second, I will miss your in-depth technical article. Maybe you can do both? ;)

Lead-Acid, Lead-Carbon Batteries: The Only Option for Average Consumer

Taking into consideration these points explains why car makers are having such a hard time offering an EV that can meet the needs of a broad market. There is no such thing. Everyone has different driving needs and EVs have the potential to fine tweak them for individuals. Unfortunately, car makers are tooled to mass create gas cars. EVs truly point to a fundamental paradigm shift that needs to happen in the automobile industry.

Lead-Acid, Lead-Carbon Batteries: The Only Option for Average Consumer

Never say "never" john. plenty of people said the gas engine would never work, Western Union said no one would ever want to talk over a telephone when they could write, etc.

We are probably not looking in the right direction when it comes to batteries, but something will come along that will reduce the dependency on heavy batteries. And no, not hydrogen either.

Li-ion Batteries: A Speculative Field of Dreams

Hi John,

The idea is not to find an end in itself but to keep open to new technologies and realize that nothing rests, everything changes. Car companies are not addressing core problems of having a business model that relies too heavily on car maintenance.

We need to look down the road at new technologies. Apparently we are moving more and more into hybrid batteries, which makes perfect sense using lithium/ultracaps for small sports car, while using lead acid based or similar technologies/ultracaps for heavier vehicles.

Electric cars require much less maintenance than gas cars. On the flip side, switching over to lithium means costly battery pack swaps every few thousand miles or so. It seems we are trading one hostage for another.

Li-ion Batteries: A Speculative Field of Dreams

Hi John,

The idea of thinking 20 years down the road is not to find a solution for everything but keep open to the fact that nothing rests, everything changes. If companies adopt that thinking, then we can progress instead of staying stagnant for decades as we witnessed the car industries for past decades and be held hostage. It's a question of using what we have now for the short term while working on solution to get us into the future.

In this sense I like what you wrote about the use of more conventional batteries. It makes perfect sense now to work on hybrid batteries with small sports cars using lithium and ultracaps, while heavier vehicles could used lead based batteries and ultracaps. The idea is to get to work on future systems while using what we have today. And while we are at it, work on a business model that sells car with little maintenance.

Li-ion Batteries: A Speculative Field of Dreams

The problem is that again, no one is looking to solve the core problem, that of building a fundamental business model selling electric cars. In theory, normal battery cars require close to no maintenance and car makers cannot function on that, since they heavily rely on maintenance. They see Lithium batteries as replacing the easily worn out gas engine.

The sad part is that no one seems to be thinking more than two decades down the road. Lithium might be good for some cars, some of the time, but certainly everything seems to be pointing at hybrid batteries. Thanks John for your work :) And did we mention where most lithium metal deposits are? Countries that are not always aligned with the rest of the world.

Incredible how some companies never really fundamentally change.

Nick
Electricnick.com

Alternative Energy Storage Needs to Take Baby Steps Before It Can Run

John, what do you think about the 14 U.S. companies coming together to build basic batteries? It would seem like a good idea, at least on paper. It seems it would speed up development and beef up mass manufacturing.

Time for America to Fire First Shot in the EV Revolution

I think it boils down to with lemon, make lemonade. True Detroit has a formidable arsenal of SUVs and pickup trucks and "electrifying" them would be a good short term solution. Your point is valid, a few extra hundred pounds don't mean much for heavy vehicles. At least it will give the choice for those who need SUVs and pickups for their businesses to have them around their neighborhood driving, often less than 40 miles a day. It would be a much more affordable daily operation cost for them.

In the meantime, you made me curious to see how lead acid batteries will evolve going into the future. I still think a hybrid battery system makes so much sense. I recently drove AFS Trinity's "150 miles per gallon" hybrid and was greatly impressed both on papers and actually driving it. Mixing ultracapacitators with newer versions of acid-based batteries would make sense. AFS estimates the use of ultracapacitators stretches the life of its lithium pack to 180,000. Sometimes innovation comes from coupling different technologies and not necessarily inventing new ones.

One thing is for sure, we need a choice to rekindle the economy. People are too emotional. You have to look at what makes sense to your driving habit.

How Will Temporary Decline in Oil Prices Impact Energy Sector?

"This is no time to go out and buy a gas-guzzler!"

Surely you are not saying people are gullible to think since gas prices are coming down it is a god sign to go back to our big, bloated cars? Nah. That would be short sightedness and lack of memory. Wait a second, that sounds familiar...

Alternative Energy Storage: Cheap Will Beat Cool

It wouldn't be so bad if us "early adopters" and off the beaten path folks wouldn't be bothered by the choices of those other less fortunate, ill advised folks :) Still, the mass majority has the uncanny capacity to believe too quickly things that cannot be understood rapidly.

Yes, my next new car will be fully electric and with no PHEV or extended range gimmicks. Yes, I will convert my old cars to electricity, especially the light ones. Yes, my next laptop will still be an Apple, because it always works! When it won't anymore, the early adopter in me will go to another system. Yes, my next residence will be solar and wind friendly. If I can pitch a deep enough hole, I will use geo-thermic energy. I will continue using products that work and have my friends see them as the reality they are, that saves me money in the long run, work and are good fir the environment. Simple, no?

Alternative Energy Storage: Lithium, Lead or Both?

What is interesting is that we have a world of choices. Hopefully people won't get too bogged down with splashy PR pitches and marketing blitzes. Ideally it would be good to have some standardization for measurements but also battery bays in electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids so that one would have a set of cheaper lead-acid ones for every day drive and more potent, maybe some derivative lithium/ultracapacitat... for longer drives.

My favorite quote for your article which makes all so much sense is: "After all, we Americans have never minded lugging around a few extra pounds if the heavier choice is 40% to 80% cheaper." Indeed, as long as the cupholders are there!

Lithium-Ion Batteries and Centerfolds: The Final Chapter

Indeed John it is the white elephant in the room. There is plenty in the work for electricity stored for EV, such as V2G, and a quick scan will show the great EV alternatives offered already. The real work is in developing smaller, cheaper and packing more power batteries. It's no different than looking back at the monstrous engine of the early 1900 that revved very slowly, consumed vast amounts of gas and produced very little power. 70~80 years later and we had squeezed more out of them than we thought possible.

It always amazes me how people get when it comes to new technologies. We will see smaller batteries for vehicles and we will see storage substations and there will be many techniques used in different segments. Oh and just look at the electric train industry with the rest of the world for technological innovations.