More Battery Technology

Jan 19, 2010
12,662
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
THAT is cool....!!!!!!

Combine a few of those... with one of these...
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...and a wind generator and a few solar panels and your are good to go.

BTW: This sail drive will work as a hydro-generator anytime you are sailing over 6kts....
 
May 29, 2018
613
Canel 25 foot Shiogama, japan
Benny
Many establishments here in Japan offer free (fuel) charging to customers during certain times.
Supermarkets, Movie complexes, hardware stores, any place with a big roof area for solar panels.
Nissan offer free charging to Nissan cars, so my friend drops his car off at the Nissan shop and walks to work from there.
At lunchtime he walks back to the dealer and picks up his fully charged car.
He does this twice a week and in 4 and a half years has not spent a cent on fuel. Let alone oil, filters and what have you.
Not 5 minutes, but FREE.
Sometimes a little sacrifice and a change of habit pays off.
Gary
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,769
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
He also is likely healthier he is walking at least twice a day!
True. I see other benefits.

Smaller cars (part of the EV evolution) organized around charging sites could free up precious space that's been entombed beneath layers of hot, oily black top.

More areas returned to green spaces, eliminating runoff into water bodies and lowering the ambient temperature, naturally, with trees (that also clean the air as they cool it). The automobile has ruled and designed our world for a century. I don't think 'auto' got it right, I'd like to see some re-design.

There is a lot more to like from EV than getting some free miles from the sun (which is astonishing in itself).
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,311
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
At the risk of getting political ;), I'm going to suggest that these exciting technological advances are going to be led by industries (energy & automotive) that are thriving and have the capitalization, scientific expertise, exploration capacities (for natural resources), and a profit motive to satisfy the increasing demand for green energy alternatives. This doesn't happen when industries are subjected to repressive taxation and punitive behavior from government for the sin of being rich. In short, socialism will kill green energy advances. Keep that in mind! :cool:
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,769
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
Scott, are you telling us you're not the feelin' the Bern? :)
 

Tom J

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Sep 30, 2008
2,325
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
Battery technology is really moving forward. Who knows, maybe fossil fuel for the average person will become obsolete in our children's lifetime.

:plus:I am already seeing this to some degree. I use a Torqeedo on my dinghy, and no longer depend on gasoline, and the Torqeedo is charged by solar panels on my boat. The solar panels on my house produce more power than we use. At some point we will install a whole house battery pack when the prices come down a bit. Most houses and businesses locally are covered in solar panels, and wind turbines turn consistently in the trade winds. The power company has shut down one of it's diesel powered plants. Most shopping centers have charging stations for electric vehicles. Nissan Leafs and Teslas are becoming common. Our state is rapidly becoming less dependent on imported fuel.
At present, we have no utility bills. We catch and use rainwater for all our H2O needs, and the hot water is heated by solar panels. Perhaps someday the self sufficient home, vehicle and boat will be commonplace for our children.
 
Mar 29, 2017
576
Hunter 30t 9805 littlecreek
For electric car technology you would think they would standardize a battery that all cars use like forklifts you pull into fuel stations the station operator comes out pulls your batteries and sticks new into car plugs in and you back on way. Small car use 1. Big cars 2 big SUVs 4.
 
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Tom J

.
Sep 30, 2008
2,325
Catalina 310 Quincy, MA
For electric car technology you would think they would standardize a battery that all cars use like forklifts you pull into fuel stations the station operator comes out pulls your batteries and sticks new into car plugs in and you back on way. Small car use 1. Big cars 2 big SUVs 4.
I don't know too much about EV batteries, but my son has two Prius's. He bought them used, and found that he could buy used cells online for not much money, and they were not difficult to replace.
A modular system for the batteries would definitely be the way to go. I read somewhere recently that an EV "fuel" stop could be 5 minutes to swap batteries vs. 20 minutes to recharge.
 
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Oct 26, 2008
6,311
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Scott, are you telling us you're not the feelin' the Bern? :)
Not me! :biggrin: And apparently (surprisingly) not the northern "M" states either (Maine, Minnesota, Massachusetts). The growth of green energy products is going to require a robust economy in my opinion. I don't think that Bernie's attack on "income inequality" is compatible with the promotion of "green" products. While going green is likely to be more luxury than economy for a while, we need the bourgeoisie to stimulate the advances and grow the demand until technology and economy of scales brings pricing down for the proletariat, don't you think? :biggrin: In the meantime, battery production and all of the infrastructure still requires intensive use of natural resources, which must also grow exponentially as demand grows. How soon will it be when we start to see environmental problems created by the growth and production of "green" energy products? How do we deal with the disposables … particularly batteries? How much is recyclable?
 
May 29, 2018
613
Canel 25 foot Shiogama, japan
I will add a little more on the ground information on what is happening (in the electric car sphere) here in Japan.
A couple of persistent fears or complaints are range anxiety and load capacity.
There is an answer to both of these and that is gasoline or diesel driven vehicles.
My friend (the blokes who gets his fuel for free) has signed up to a full commitment to Nissan.
Insurance, tires maintenance etc. This is a type of club or pool or Nissan electric car owners.
When he needs a larger car to ferry visitors around town, or wants a car that will handle a 250 mile one way trip, he drives his Leaf into the dealer and in 5 minutes drives out with the car he NEEDS.
The rates are unbelievably cheap ( I can't quote at the moment).
When he returns he drops of the borrowed car and picks up his car which has been washed and detailed.


The answer to range anxiety and load capacity is not to buy those vehicles (as the maunufactures would want) but to use systems that work for you.

Gary
 
Sep 22, 2018
1,869
Hunter 216 Kingston
I don't know too much about EV batteries, but my son has two Prius's. He bought them used, and found that he could buy used cells online for not much money, and they were no difficult to replace.
A modular system for the batteries would definitely be the way to go. I read somewhere recently that an EV "fuel" stop could be 5 minutes to swap batteries vs. 20 minutes to recharge.
IMHO for what it’s worth ;)

Although a “standard” battery package is an admirable goal the current rate of research/development/implementation of battery tech would make that very challenging to implement. Even the charger plugs are not yet standardized as leaders such as Tesla decided that they can’t wait for a standards body to keep up with the evolution and have introduced their own “proprietary” solution.

From a financial perspective I would also be hesitant to let the “fuel station” take out my virtually new battery pack and replace it with an old end of life unit.

Safely replacing individual cells in a battery pack requires more skill than the average person has. Let’s not forget there is enough stored energy present to move a car:yikes:
 
Apr 22, 2011
952
Hunter 27 Pecan Grove, Oriental, NC
The graphene battery seems to be the next big breakthrough in battery chemistry. Much greater energy density and recharge rate than lithium batteries. Capacity barely degrades even after a thousands of cycles.

 
May 24, 2004
7,190
CC 30 South Florida
IMHO for what it’s worth ;)

Although a “standard” battery package is an admirable goal the current rate of research/development/implementation of battery tech would make that very challenging to implement. Even the charger plugs are not yet standardized as leaders such as Tesla decided that they can’t wait for a standards
The only way I see for EV to replace fossil fuel automobiles is through Government ordered standardization in a replaceable battery pack. The battery packs would be owned and maintained by independent power companies with a network of stations. You do not originally pay for and do not own the battery packs, you are not responsible for damaged batteries and will always be assured of receiving a replacement, now this comes with a fee collected by the power company through an account on a monthly basis. The charges will include a rental fee with additional charges for charged battery replacement through the month. You would always have the option of charging the car at home in which case you would only pay the rental fee for the pack plus your own electrical power bill. Such a system would insure that you would not have to worry about the cost of replacing batteries and that when in need to extend driving range that you could go an quick replacement put in. The charges would need to be competitive.
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,769
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
The growth of green energy products is going to require a robust economy in my opinion.
I don't think politics drive the green economy. Sure, one side is always fanning the flames while another tries to put the flames out but generally, good tech. drives itself, for good reasons. Politicians just follow behind.