Battery breakthrough or false hope?

mikesim

mikesim

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Just read an interesting article about two professors in China who have developed a battery that when (if) perfected can offer up to 3,000 miles between charges. The article was somewhat skimpy on the technical details but the key feature is that is uses a silicon doped anode to allow the increase in capacity. This could be a game changer if and when the design comes to fruition. Many great discoveries have been made on paper and in the lab using small experiments but fail miserably when the attempt is made to bring them to practical scale. A good analogy is fusion power. We have been able to create and sustain (briefly) fusion on a small scale but so far we have failed in our efforts to use fusion in any practical way to produce scalable power. Until I see more usable results, I must remain skeptical. Failure doesn't mean quit trying, it just means try another way.

Mike

 
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The core question such news always raise:

how much emissions (CO² and other contaminants) does the production of this 'miracle battery' and the EV around it (mining raw materials/ores, transport, aluminum production, steel cooking, chemicals, rare ores, electronics, wiring, glass, paint, etc, etc...) actually cause, and how does this compare to the emissions by keeping to use my current, bought and paid for ICE vehicle...
Plus worth mentioning that all those oh-so-great-new-vehicles are rolling, data-collecting smartphones with integrated expiration date to begin with...
 
ST1100Y said:
The core question such news always raise:

how much emissions (CO² and other contaminants) does the production of this 'miracle battery' and the EV around it (mining raw materials/ores, transport, aluminum production, steel cooking, chemicals, rare ores, electronics, wiring, glass, paint, etc, etc...) actually cause, and how does this compare to the emissions by keeping to use my current, bought and paid for ICE vehicle...
Plus worth mentioning that all those oh-so-great-new-vehicles are rolling, data-collecting smartphones with integrated expiration date to begin with...
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Reminds me of Ethanol. Takes more energy to produce than what it has in it. Uses food to produce. Creates pollution. It is a loss, loss, loss product, but some very powerful politicians need it to cement their positions. If they told the truth, they would be done. It has nothing to do with energy and everything to do with votes and money, both of which come from us.
 
suvcw04 said:
Reminds me of Ethanol. Takes more energy to produce than what it has in it. Uses food to produce. Creates pollution. It is a loss, loss, loss product, but some very powerful politicians need it to cement their positions. If they told the truth, they would be done. It has nothing to do with energy and everything to do with votes and money, both of which come from us.
Click to expand...
Exactly! Corn liquor is a stupid fuel.
 
suvcw04 said:
Reminds me of Ethanol. Takes more energy to produce than what it has in it. Uses food to produce. Creates pollution. It is a loss, loss, loss product, but some very powerful politicians need it to cement their positions. If they told the truth, they would be done. It has nothing to do with energy and everything to do with votes and money, both of which come from us.
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What tickles me when riding thru Iowa is that when you stop for fuel, virtually every pump I see offers a non-ethanol pure gas option. Those farmers ain't dumb, they sell the ethanol to the oil companies but buy the good stuff for their ownselves..... he...he...he...
:thumb:
Mike
 
mikesim said:
Many great discoveries have been made on paper and in the lab using small experiments but fail miserably when the attempt is made to bring them to practical scale.
Click to expand...
All of us have had some “great ideas” that didn’t work out. It is a long road from theory to a working prototype and then to practical application at an affordable cost. I wonder if the inventor of the wheel was criticized for his idea being impractical. Energy density is great if we don’t kill ourselves in using it.
 
mikesim said:
What tickles me when riding thru Iowa is that when you stop for fuel, virtually every pump I see offers a non-ethanol pure gas option. Those farmers ain't dumb, they sell the ethanol to the oil companies but buy the good stuff for their ownselves..... he...he...he...
:thumb:
Mike
Click to expand...
I live in Northeast Iowa and the irony never fails to make me grin.
Ethanol plant 6 miles east of me, another 22 miles west of me.
Do you think farmers are going to put that crapgas in their $300,000 motorhome?
 
suvcw04 said:
I live in Northeast Iowa and the irony never fails to make me grin.
Ethanol plant 6 miles east of me, another 22 miles west of me.
Do you think farmers are going to put that crapgas in their $300,000 motorhome?
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I don't blame 'em! If pure gas was readily available i would use it too. As it stands, i have to drive over 25 miles to find the good stuff. Every fall i fill two five gallon cans with pure gas to have on hand in case of an ice storm to run the generator. Come spring i use the gas for my garden tractor.

Mike
 
Various grasses that often grow wild can produce the same energy as corn but at far less cost in planting, fertilizing, etc.
 
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