The best automotive battery tech still has an energy density only 1/60th that of petrol when measure by weight. Even worse, when the batteries are flat and useless they still weigh exactly the same. There's a long, long way to go before the technology matures to an almost forgettable everyday level.
Even worse is the lifespan. Early Leaf's, which aren't fitted with battery conditioning technology, are being sold in dreadful working condition. 2013 models with only 50 ot 60k miles under their belt are being sold second hand with a battery capacity permitting only 50 or 60 miles range left. Top Gear recently used such a car in one of their challenges. That makes an utter mockery of the supposed environmental benefits of the electric car.
The 2013 Leaf only had an original realistic range of 75 miles. So as a second hand car, it makes ideal sense for cheap, local driving, as it's only going to cost 4p a mile in electricity costs to drive. Bearing in mind 60% of all car journeys are 5 miles or less, the reduced range really won't be a problem.
As mentioned earlier the battery is not rechargable, it has to be replaced, the numbers in the article suggest that the battery would weigh around 60kg - 70kg if it were to replace the Tesla S battery pack.
With Tesla quoting 4p(at home) - 7p (public point) per mile for charging a model S the 1,500 mile battery needs to cost around £60 fully charged, delivered to shop, fitted and returned for recycling.
That is roughly the cost of the battery to start a petrol engined car.
So the plan is to use energy to make and charge a battery, using materials from all over the world, then use it once until it is flat, and use more energy to break it down, recycle it and charge it again?
I'm not citing Top Gear as a news source. I'm citing the car they bought as an example of an ageing Leaf with vastly reduced battery capacity. Trawl the ads and see for yourself.Top Gear as a reliable news source. Most unlikely.
Good morning,
My wording was a bit bad, like all non rechargeable batteries, you don't actually charge them, but yes, the idea is to replace the rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries with a single use unit that has to as you say "use more energy to break it down, recycle it"
If you are driving in the hills of Scotland for example you can fill up with petrol or fully charge a Tesla so that you can go where there are no refuelling facilities. So how much of this non rechargeable battery capacity will have been used when it is replaced?
If the battery is to be replaced at "petrol stations" then surely it needs to be a standard design, it needs to fit a Smart Car and a BMW 7 series. Once you have a standard design development of both the battery and cars becomes heavily constrained.
Bye
Ian
It will be a problem when the batteries drop off a cliff and it goes from 50 miles to zero.
Battery change over has been common place on electric fork trucks for years, if a standard battery casing was adopted by car manufacturers, then in theory petrol stations could be turned into a charging bay, ie you pull up, the battery is removed from your car & put on charge, a fully charged battery is then put in your car & off you go, however how many batteries would have to be held in stock? Where will all the raw materials come from to make them, how much more electricity would need to be available from the National Grid to charge all these batteries? It’s so far away from having electric vehicles that we can’t just do away with internal combustion engines in one go, perhaps a better solution would be an electric vehicle with a small petrol generator built in, not the hybrids that we have now, the generator starts to charge the battery as the available capacity drops to get you to a charging point, I think this could work.The other problem is that with the standard battery system they would also need to schepp the things up to our hypothetical Highland petrol station and of course, get the duds back down. How many of these things can a truck carry? Also, that means a diesel powered truck as the backbone of this allegedly ecologically sound transport system. You could use a battery powered truck of course, but that would reduce the cargo capacity.
Then we have to scale this up all over Scotland: every garage needs say 10 batteries? 50? 100? and a truck can't transport that many meaning you need loads of trucks.
Battery change over has been common place on electric fork trucks for years, if a standard battery casing was adopted by car manufacturers, then in theory petrol stations could be turned into a charging bay, ie you pull up, the battery is removed from your car & put on charge, a fully charged battery is then put in your car & off you go, however how many batteries would have to be held in stock? Where will all the raw materials come from to make them, how much more electricity would need to be available from the National Grid to charge all these batteries? It’s so far away from having electric vehicles that we can’t just do away with internal combustion engines in one go, perhaps a better solution would be an electric vehicle with a small petrol generator built in, not the hybrids that we have now, the generator starts to charge the battery as the available capacity drops to get you to a charging point, I think this could work.