Game Changing Battery Technology: Is It Here Now?

Carlhole, I have a eestor thread over here if you are interested:

http://peakoil.com/open/electric-car-ma ... 1-150.html

Carlhole, I have a eestor thread over here if you are interested:

http://peakoil.com/open/electric-car-ma ... 1-150.html

Transcripts and audio files of a leaked phone conversation between the secretive CEO of Texas-based eeStore, Dick Weir, and an as yet undisclosed source have been doing the rounds online for the last 24 hours creating a stir amongst technologists and environmentalists around the world.

Energy to produce steel have to come from fossil fuels.
That is because:
Fe3O4 + 4CO ---> 3Fe + 4CO2
CO is made by partial oxidation of coke and synproportionation of CO2 with coke.

We do not have alternative industrial process which could be applied in such large scale.

And solar panels are producing electricity, not coke.

For aluminum production sacrificial carbon anodes are used.
For every 54 grams of Al 36 grams of these anodes must be consumed.
Alternative process relying on reduction by sodium or potassium of aluminum chloride would make aluminum about as expensive as titanium is.

If so, you are likely to achieve steady state situation involving relatively few solar plants within several decades and there will be no prospect of further growth.

It shows, that we are already loosing game.
Raw materials to build renewable infrastructure will prove much more expensive than we think now.

WOW, JUST WOW, to the following news! The world of energy as we see it is about to change for the better my friends, a new energy dawn is approaching. We may want to start a doomer suicide watch support group to be ready for the aftermath of this announcement:."

It shows, that we are already loosing game.
Raw materials to build renewable infrastructure will prove much more expensive than we think now.

* The price of tin went down because of an increased use of aluminium, a much more abundant, useful and inexpensive material.
* Better mining technologies allowed for the discovery of vast nickel lodes, which ended the near monopoly that was enjoyed on the market.
* Tungsten fell due to the rise of the use of ceramics in cookware.
* The price of chromium fell due to better smelting techniques.
* The price of copper began to fall due to the invention of fiber optic cable (which is derived from sand), which serves a number of the functions once reserved only for copper wire.

Where have I heard that before? Oh yes, Paul Erhlich said exactly the same thing in the 70's and 80's, until Simon proved him wrong

Here is why he was wrong:



Pwnage!

In 1996, Simon bet $1000 with David South that the inflation-adjusted price of timber would decrease in the following 5 years. Simon paid out early on the bet in 1997 (before his death in 1998) based on his expectation that prices would remain above 1996 levels (which they did).[2]

And therein lies part of the problem. You care about price, safety, etc. If you want a nice midsized electric sedan with modern safety features, reasonable comfort, and a 200 mile range, that is going to be very expensive. The EV1 cost around $80,000 and had less than 100 miles of range. The Tesla Roadster was even more at $100,000. To bring that price down to more reasonable levels, you might have to accept drastically shorter range, say 20-40 miles. Keep in mind that is slow driving with the ac/heat off. Chop that range further down if you want luxuries like heating, cooling, or highway speeds. All of a sudden, a quick recharge starts sound like it would be a bit more handy wouldn't you say?

The headline ambition of this project is a full recharge within 10 minutes, which would eliminate somewhere between four and ten hours of waiting. Speedwise, the Electric Vehicle Team is aiming for a 100 mph top speed from a 250-horsepower / 187 kilowatt AC induction motor, and a not unheard of 200-mile cruising range.

Energy to produce steel have to come from fossil fuels.
That is because:
Fe3O4 + 4CO ---> 3Fe + 4CO2
CO is made by partial oxidation of coke and synproportionation of CO2 with coke.

We do not have alternative industrial process which could be applied in such large scale.

You didn't read the last of the article. Simon lost his last wager

the forces of the market are trumped by reality (a finite planet earth) every time.

Nissan Adds Its Leaf to the Pile of Next-Gen Electric Cars
Mon Aug 3, 2009 5:14pm EDT
By James Murray

Japanese auto giant Nissan yesterday declared itself the winner in the unofficial race to develop a mass-market electric vehicle. It did so by unveiling a new battery-powered car called the Nissan Leaf, which the firm said will be in showrooms in Japan, the U.S. and Europe by the end of next year.

The car manufacturer said that unlike existing two-seater electric vehicles, the medium-sized hatchback would seat five adults, with a top speed of about 90mph and a range of more than 100 miles between recharges. It added that according to its own research, the range would be sufficient to cover 70 percent of journeys taken by motorists worldwide.

Nissan said the Leaf's lithium-ion battery would recharge fully in eight hours using a conventional power socket, allowing for overnight refueling, while "fast-charging" power units could charge the battery to 80 percent capacity within just 30 minutes.

[...]

GM to launch Buick plug-in SUV in 2011
Thu Aug 6, 2009 12:32pm EDT

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Aug 6 (Reuters) - General Motors Co [GM.UL] unveiled plans to launch a plug-in SUV for its Buick brand in 2011, its latest move away from gas-guzzling vehicles in response to higher fuel-economy standards.

The new five-passenger Buick crossover is expected to be the first commercially available plug-in hybrid sport-utility vehicle by a major automaker, and would follow GM's heavily touted Chevrolet Volt plug-in car into the market.

The Chevy Volt, slated for showrooms in late 2010, and other electric vehicles including the Buick plug-in are key to GM's effort to reinvent itself and win back consumer trust after the automaker emerged from bankruptcy in July.

GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens, announcing plans for the Buick hybrid at an industry conference in Traverse City, Michigan, on Thursday, said the company's "robust" balance sheet following its bankruptcy restructuring gives it flexibility to focus on product development.

[...]

For the first 40 miles, no gas is used and during the last 10 miles, 0.2 gallons are used. That's the equivalent of 250 miles per gallon.

CNN

What a nonsense. Following that logic my diesel car has unlimmitted mileage because it doesn't use any gas at all. Electricity is energy too.