Road Runner

The Truth About Fossil Fuels and Renewable Energy (Part II)

In all of this discussion, an important point may have been lost. There are generally 2 worlds of energy production and consumption that mostly don't cross: 1) oil which goes into mostly transportation fuels for "things that move", and 2) most other sources of energy that go into the electric grid, or used directly like natural gas, for "things that don't move". Heating oil is one of the few "cross over" products of oil that goes into heating homes, and natural gas is used for some vehicles.

The biggest issue that faces the US, and the rest of the world, is the coming shortage of oil. To use all the possible sources of energy mentioned in his discussion for “things that move”, something very important needs to be developed – high-energy, safe, and inexpensive batteries for plug-in vehicles. Without these batteries all the nuclear power and solar and wind, etc. that we can produce will not address the coming oil shortage. That is why battery technology is key, should be watched closely, and should be promoted.

Fortunately, battery technology is moving along a good pace due to large amounts of investment and technical breakthroughs. The advanced Lithium technology of Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO4) looks most promising to me. The major companies, in my opinion, are A123 soon to have an IPO, and BYD of China.

There are multiple other promising battery technologies. GE is investing heavily in liquid Sodium batteries for its locomotives, and for stationary storage for leveling wind and solar energy sources. Lead Acid battery companies are improving the long time workhorse with a Lead-Carbon technology.