In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
It's a 'concept' which has been around for a long long time. The holy
grail really.


I think you are not being quite fair or realistic.

Two things make the BEV a proposition these days, when it wasn't before.

One is the advanced electronics we can use to get the efficiency out of
the controllers and so on, and the other is the lithium in the batteries.

Both of which are only small advances on the scale of things.

Its always been possible to develop automotive batteries but with cheap
fuel, there was no commercial incentive. Its been the laptop palmtop and
mobile phone that has driven LIPO development.

But with energy at the price levels we have seen, BEV's suddenly make
sense commercially, as well as ecologically.

Err - you're assuming electricity will be cheap. My bet is as fossil fuels
become rarer electricity costs will rise in step. The investment required
to produce electricity from non fossil sources will require vast
investment - and that can only be recovered in one way.

If you think about it, there is a potential for the car battery business
to be an industry on the scale of the oil industry. Not as big, but
getting on that way.

Of course the potential exists. If only people would stop talking crap
about battery powered cars with the same range and performance as we're
used to.

Once Ford, GM and Chrysler are in Chapter 11, that should clear the dead
wood out..

All of those are spending billions on research.


There are HUGE returns to be made from the company that does indeed
develop and patent the battery of the future.

As I said - the holy grail.

And world economic conditions are actually highly favourable.


I think we are about 18 months away from usable batteries..at
affordable prices.

I've heard that one before...


The batteries exist, but they are expensive and fragile. They can be
made safer by adjusting the chemistry, and they can be made cheaper by
going into serious volume production. There is probably less in an
electric motor, controller and battery (in labour content`) than an IC
car power train.

There are always 'principles' that exist waiting only for some way of
making production a reality. Far more than ever see the light of day.



Panasanyo* will probably come out with something good by then.

*Or whatever the merged company is called.


--
*I brake for no apparent reason.

Dave Plowman London SW
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