I recently read this article about how german car makers increase their focus on electric cars since they are really pissed about Toyotas front-runner position on Hybrid cars.
(Especially since Daimler and Audi had it all figured out in the 90s but didn't go into mass production... it seems like a national sport to make no use of homegrown innovations in germany... )

Well anyways...
German car makers put their hopes and scientists on hydrogen cars.
But the hydrogen car is falling behind slowly due to the great problems of:
-a lack of infrastructure(hydrogen gastations)
-high production cost for hydrogen
-the energy losses in the proccess
(electricity -> hydrogen -> transportation to the gasstation -> conversion back into electricity -> propulsion)

But now it seems that the battery powered electric car is getting a new chance. A new kind of lithium-ion rechargeable battery has the potential to speed up the whole process.
While current batteries already have a very good preformence which could easily make a range of several hundred killometers possible, they have a giant weakness:
Lithium-Ion are incredible unstable when it comes to thermal or mechanic disturbances...
This means, its impossible to quickly recharge the batterie (cause it would heat up too much and selfdistruct) and that there is a high risk that a battery powered car would simply explode after having an accident...and I mean "BOOOM" and not "puff"
This weakness results from the thin membrane seperator within the battery that seperates the two carged chemicals.

The new lithium-ion battery by the german based company Li-Tec uses a newly discovered ceramic seperator that makes the battery safer and opens the possibility to use highend batteries in cars.

Of course those batteries are still expensive, but the price would fall significantly if cars using it would go into mass production.
But even then electric cars might be still more expensive than "conventional" cars.
But considering the low tax for zero-emission cars in most countries and the fact that using electricity is WAY cheaper than gas (0.50-2.00 € / 100km)

Other benefits would be:
That you do not necessarily need an engine room since the electric engines could and propably would be placed in the wheels. This means much more space.
Extreme efficency of up to 90% energy -> propulsion. (even the most efficent conventional engine have only 40%)

And like the "Tesla Roadstar" has shown, even high preformance is possible using lithium-ion batteries. (I think they connected numerous notebook batteries to get it done...it works but is incredible expensive)
It costs about 100.000 dollar...
It has a range of 400km using 53kWh of electricity. In Germany a full charged battery would cost only about 9€ ... and this is a ultra-high preformance sports car...

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Another option for electric cars is the use of Supercapacitor.
New capacitors have very interessting features.
They have a high energy density and recharge very fast.

The currently "best" Supercapacitor was developed by a Texas based company EEstor. The MIT, Japanese companies and others are currently developeing supercapacitors with even more capacity.

The EEstor Supercapacitor has these values:

With this techonolgy it is possible to make a car drive for 300-500km... recharge a few minutes and continue while paying only a tiny price in comparison...
Considering all the things you do not need in a electric car (engine block, cooling, fuelpump/tank,...) I guess it can even reduce the weight compared to a normal car.

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Interesting stuff, El Zoido. I like the capacitor as battery idea - a "capattery", if you will. Capacitors are showing up as power storage devices more and more. I wonder if they could incorporate battery and capacitor technology in automobiles - the caps for quick acceleration, and the batteries for distance.

Well I guess which will win the compitition for energy storage depends alot on which is cheaper, has more energy density and longer livetime.

The developement is fast and the market will surly getting more and more attention.

From what I am reading, currently the ultra-capacitors are clearly in the lead.
Especially the short recharging time and the long livetime give them quite a front runner position.

EEStor made some quite impressive predictions about the capability of their new inventions...
They basicly said that their technology will revolutionize electricity storage within a few years...
Their new capacitor is supposed to be safer, cleaner(no toxic chemicals), leighter and cheaper than any lithium ion battery...
They acctually speak of some kind of Battery-Ultracap-Hybrid.

Combine that with the long lifetime (10-20years) and the fast recharging (2-10 minutes) it really is impressive.

Well, anyways EEStor made a deal with Zenn Motors... I think a Canadian based electric car maker.
Their vehicle looks like a "normal car" and is currently has a limited range of about 50kms.
I guess the will boast their range significantly.
Perhaps the wrong continent (too long distances )


Considering the very small number production I really wonder how much such a car would cost if it would go in mass production.

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WOW! This is good news.

"The claimed energy density is 1.0 MJ/kg (a lithium ion battery has an energy density of 0.54–0.72 MJ/kg).[2]"

"An initial production price of $3,200, falling to $2,100 with mass production. Half the price per stored watt-hour as lead-acid batteries"

I assume there would be no need for a transmission in an electrical car? As a guy who will not drive anything but a manual vehicle it will take some getting used to.

Even if all passenger cars were replaced by electric. Trucks, planes, boats and the military will still be on OIL. Passenger trains and maybe freight trains can go electric.

Well... as for all of them... the most ecconomic solution will decide.

It's hard to imagine that planes would fly on electricity... But if from an enviromentalist point of view (and realistic => oil is to important to be burned (medicine, plastic,...) ) they could use hydrogen

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You might have a problem selling the public on that idea. Things didn't work out so well last time they used hydrogen for flight.

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Election 2008 – Addicted to Placebos

Which puts more carbon in the atmosphere? Gasoline or the coal used to make the electricity?

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"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

There is no obvious winner, so it would need closer investigation.

the pros for carbon emission:
- In a big coal plant you have (a lot) less useless heat generated than in car engines.
- Electricity is (a lot) more efficient than gasoline to produce movement.

the cons:
- Charging batteries is inefficient (maybe less with those fancy batteries mentioned before)
- There is more carbon in coal than in gasoline.


It will be a lot cleaner without all those combustion engines driving in the cities, thats for sure.

Yeah... maybe they could make us special manual versions.
We could convert to wind and solar and hydro.

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"Jesus said: I have cast fire upon the world, and behold I guard it until it is ablaze."
Gospel of Thomas

In many parts of the world, the railways are electrified and any train can go there on electricity, passenger and freight alike.

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President Josiah Bartlet: Sweden has a 100% literacy rate. 100%! How do they do that?
Leo McGarry: Maybe they don't and they can't add.

Well, the efficency of a coal plant can be quite high... while the efficency of car engines is quite little...

But as I see it, electrical cars and electricity are simply the cheaper way of traveling in the near future.

And the reason cars are being put in the focus, is because oil is really getting incredible expensive...

Of course I think that from a ecological & ecconomic perspective, alternertives to oil heatings must be pushed.
It doesn't help alot if cars have zero-emmisions as long as peoples homes burn several hundred liter of diesel every year.

Alternative heatings and low-energy buildings are being subsidized in germany, but people too often choose extra livingspace over energy efficency with they result that they pay twice or three times as much for energy per year.

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People often want it unnecessarily big, why else would there be so many SUV's in the streets?

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President Josiah Bartlet: Sweden has a 100% literacy rate. 100%! How do they do that?
Leo McGarry: Maybe they don't and they can't add.