[News] Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced

[happypig]

To recharge a car battery in 5 minutes will take absolutely huge amounts of current. Doing it is one thing, putting in that kind of charging infrastructure is another

A nissan leaf has a 40kw/h battery. That gets it 160 miles. to fill it in 5 minutes would need a 480kw feed. That's 2000 amps (at 240v), Way beyond the current infrastructure (I think the biggest fuse you can have in your home is 100A).
Of course if you live next door to a power station.....

By far the biggest one of thee to me is Vehicle price.

Everything else I can work around

You can buy a Nissan Leaf for under £10k now.
I'm considering getting one next year as I don't regularly do long distances and can hire a car for when I do.

 

[Dr Q]

Of course if you live next door to a power station.....
.

whaaaaat, you mean electricity for EVs doesn't just appear like the green army would have you believe!!

 

[Notters]

View attachment 132667

Oh for the chance to go to Paris!

 

[nwgull]

A nissan leaf has a 40kw/h battery. That gets it 160 miles. to fill it in 5 minutes would need a 480kw feed. That's 2000 amps (at 240v), Way beyond the current infrastructure (I think the biggest fuse you can have in your home is 100A).
Of course if you live next door to a power station.....



You can buy a Nissan Leaf for under £10k now.
I'm considering getting one next year as I don't regularly do long distances and can hire a car for when I do.

The fast charging isn't really required from a home charger. Like you say the average domestic set up doesn't permit it, but could be a real game changer at commercial filling stations with the appropriate infrastructure.

I initially had a plug-in hybrid that only had about 30 miles fully electric range. Doesn't sound much, but I could go for over 3 months without having to put petrol in as most of my journeys were completed on battery power. Sold me on electric and got myself a fully electric car last summer.

 

[The Large One]

Hydrogen still likely to be the answer.

Unless the science has changed dramatically in the past five years or so, hydrogen is still way behind the curve compared to electric.

A former family member is a scientist in Oslo working specifically on hydrogen fuel cell technology. To get cars to run efficiently on hydrogen is fairly easy, he pointed out, provided you have your own lab and a few million quid. While hydrogen is the single most abundant element in the universe, it is almost always attached, quite strongly, to another element.

It's releasing it from that element (and they have the choice of many) that costs the money. They do all sorts of things to all sorts of elements and compounds, but the trick is ultimately in doing it cheaply. And they're not there yet.

Unless you fancy paying a couple of million quid for a hydrogen-fuelled mini, that is.

 

[beorhthelm]

It is. Electric is a sideshow. Makes governments look good and helps car companies sell new cars. The correct solution is less car mileage.

car companies like the battery limited life span, new cars to be made every 8-10 years.

 

[The Large One]

I think that, even now, electric car manufacturers are missing a trick.

At present, most people's concern - and part of the whole culture of driving - is in not running out of fuel. And with a petrol station rarely more than 10 miles away, even in rural areas, you'd do well to cock up your fuel tank.

An idea - get owners of electric cars to pay on a contract basis, like a mobile phone or broadband, for electric fuel cell usage. That way, when they're out on the road, and the battery needs a charge, you simply pull into an electric battery refuelling station (no reason why it can't be where petrol stations are), put your card in a slot, and simply take your old battery out, and replace it with a fully charged one off the shelf in the station.

Then the old battery gets re-charged for the next person to use.

A battery may only get you 100 miles but (a) as technology improves, so does the distance and (b) you have the peace of mind of knowing the infrastructure is there.

It may be a bit of a pain in the arse right now, but that's the nature of where we're at.

 

[Notters]

Unless the science has changed dramatically in the past five years or so, hydrogen is still way behind the curve compared to electric.

A former family member is a scientist in Oslo working specifically on hydrogen fuel cell technology. To get cars to run efficiently on hydrogen is fairly easy, he pointed out, provided you have your own lab and a few million quid. While hydrogen is the single most abundant element in the universe, it is almost always attached, quite strongly, to another element.

It's releasing it from that element (and they have the choice of many) that costs the money. They do all sorts of things to all sorts of elements and compounds, but the trick is ultimately in doing it cheaply. And they're not there yet.

Unless you fancy paying a couple of million quid for a hydrogen-fuelled mini, that is.

There are certainly challenges, but we already have hydrogen powered buses.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It is. Electric is a sideshow. Makes governments look good and helps car companies sell new cars. The correct solution is less car mileage.

39% of electricity generated is still from fossil fuels.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Battery will come, it is coming, I work with the things every day. Lead acid, advanced glass mat, deep cycle, lithium, lithium hybrid and on.

A five minute charge for 100 miles is either extraordinarily expensive tech (long term cheaper), or very damaging to the environment. Probably somewhere between the two.

But until there is a long term decision on which technology is the ultimate end goal, we should all expect to ‘break down’ far more than is the norm now. Even tried and trusted lead acid has a failure rate of around 1%, all of us know the lifespan of lithium in our mobiles, and that is in a ‘friendly’ life in our warm home/car/pocket. Lithium loses its cranking power below freezing point, it does not support constant draw accessories like stereo, sat nav, heated seats.

Electric cars will come no doubt, but it will be dull. New cars will be fitted with limiters and trackers, even when you find an open road you would not dare use it. These days I look for fuel bargains as the petrol market here fluctuates wildly, with battery driven and monitored new cars a government will charge you what they want, when they want, do too many miles this month and the car may be immobilised?

In the short to medium term I look for my final petrol fuelled toy to power me to the end.

 

[studio150]

this is not the solution you are looking for, move along.

Just give me overnight while I charge the battery and I will.

Good headline but some years away

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

whaaaaat, you mean electricity for EVs doesn't just appear like the green army would have you believe!!

Plymouth Argyle fans are world renowned experts on the subject, after pasties its all they talk about.

 

[Chicken Run]

Do that, and combine it with a real world 300 mile range, and it becomes a no brainer for me. I’d be delighted to dump the only diesel car I’ve ever owned - thanks, Gordon Brown for telling me it was the most environmentally friendly option when I bought it.

Indeed , £20pa RFL (tax) has proved extremely helpful in these unprecedented times!


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[Chicken Run]

To recharge a car battery in 5 minutes will take absolutely huge amounts of current. Doing it is one thing, putting in that kind of charging infrastructure is another

God you really are a pint half empty aren’t you, this is advancement and your first word on it is negative ffs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Driver8]

I think that, even now, electric car manufacturers are missing a trick.

At present, most people's concern - and part of the whole culture of driving - is in not running out of fuel. And with a petrol station rarely more than 10 miles away, even in rural areas, you'd do well to cock up your fuel tank.

An idea - get owners of electric cars to pay on a contract basis, like a mobile phone or broadband, for electric fuel cell usage. That way, when they're out on the road, and the battery needs a charge, you simply pull into an electric battery refuelling station (no reason why it can't be where petrol stations are), put your card in a slot, and simply take your old battery out, and replace it with a fully charged one off the shelf in the station.

Then the old battery gets re-charged for the next person to use.

A battery may only get you 100 miles but (a) as technology improves, so does the distance and (b) you have the peace of mind of knowing the infrastructure is there.

It may be a bit of a pain in the arse right now, but that's the nature of where we're at.

Problem there is my car actually has 4,416 batteries and they weigh over half a tonne. (Edited having checked).

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Do that, and combine it with a real world 300 mile range, and it becomes a no brainer for me. I’d be delighted to dump the only diesel car I’ve ever owned - thanks, Gordon Brown for telling me it was the most environmentally friendly option when I bought it.

You have owned the same deisel vehicle for 14+ years? Extraordinary work

I bought a deisel vehicle a couple of years ago for similar reasons (environment plus running costs plus MPG made it the best 'package' for my budget). It has been a revelation compared the petrol GTi I bought around the time you bought your deisel.

I'd like to be able to thank Gordon Brown but I was never a fan and wouldn't have taken any notice of what he recommended anyway.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

39% of electricity generated is still from fossil fuels.

I think Boris has promised it will all be wind in the next 10 years. Although that could just be hot air.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

I think Boris has promised it will all be wind in the next 10 years. Although that could just be hot air.

It's a shame the Swansea tidal scheme was refused.

 

[zefarelly]

It's a shame the Swansea tidal scheme was refused.

I've been saying for years they should generate power from the River Adur, on average it goes up and down 4.5m twica a day, thats a lot of water moving about, freely, and it's not paying.

 

[The Large One]

I've been saying for years they should generate power from the River Adur, on average it goes up and down 4.5m twica a day, thats a lot of water moving about, freely, and it's not paying.

Given that it damn-near drains out to nothing at low tide, where would you suggest putting the machinery?