"tony sayer" wrote in message
...
In article , funkyoldcortina
scribeth thus
On 20/12/11 10:39, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In ,
wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16244634
"It was later established that the bus had run out of diesel."
Just like a Pious, then. Half decent fuel consumption in start stop town
traffic, but far worse than a conventional vehicle at near steady speed
motorway, etc, work.
That's not true for the Prius. You still get better mpg than a
conventional
petrol car on motorway trips, as once you're up to speed you can ease off
the
pedal and the electric motor does most of the work to keep you at-speed,
requiring much lower power output from the engine.
So err, the electrical power is free of charge then;?....
What he means is that it will be on part load and energy normally wasted
would be used to charge the battery, which will mean the electric motor will
come in on accelerating on the Mway or just cuts in to assist when battery
is charged - management system decides.
The engine is running at optimum to what the conditions are. It is well
known that engines specifically designed for gennies and designed to run at
constant speeds are far more efficient than variable speed engines. Lotus
have designed a small aluminium 3 cylinder engine for general sale to any
maker for gennies in hybrid cars, running at two speeds, depending on load.
The engine is multi-fuel.
Where they improved a lot is in the lith-ion batteries and smaller more
efficient electric motors. Toshiba have set up sales offices to sell their
latest battery:,,,
Read on..... Temperatures as low as -30C Wow! I need one now!!!
......
http://www.toshiba.com/ind/data/news/news_241.pdf
Toshiba International Corporation, January 27, 2010 - Toshiba proudly
announces that it has established US-based sales and technical support for
its new product, the Super Charge Ion Battery, SCiBT. This nano-based
breakthrough lithium technology is noted for its rapid charging capability
of 90% charge in less than 5 minutes, long life of more than 10 years even
at rapid charge rates, and excellent safety performance. The SCiBT product
line will be supported out of the Toshiba International Corporation
headquarters in Houston, Texas and the SCiBT team will focus on business
development activities, battery pack design, prototyping, assembly,
technical support, and service.
The SCiBT battery technology offers numerous performance advantages that
make it an ideal solution for many of today's toughest energy storage
challenges.
* Inherently Safe - Advanced Lithium Chemistry Based on Nano-Technology
Prevents Thermal Runaway Even Under Extreme Physical Duress
* Fast Charge Rates - Capable of Full Recharge in 10 Minutes, 90% in 5
Minutes
* Superior life - Minimal Capacity Loss, Even After 6,000 Rapid
Charge-Discharge Cycles
* Greater Usable Capacity - Up to 85% Usable Capacity Without Compromising
Cycle Life
* High Output Performance - Equivalent Discharge Rates to those of
Ultra-Capacitors
* Superb Low-Temperature Performance - Excels at Temperatures as Low
as -30°C
* Proven Production - Produced on a State-of-the-Art Automated Production
Line
SCiBT cells comprising the battery packs will be supplied from Toshiba's
state-of-the-art automated production line in the Saku Factory located in
Nagano, Japan. Initial market development activities in the US will focus on
automotive HEV/PHEV/EV, industrial lift trucks, smart grid/grid storage,
medical equipment, wind and solar power, scooters, and UPS market segments.
Toshiba currently has two battery pack offerings commercially available, a
12 V, 4.2 Ah pack and a 24 V, 4.2 Ah pack. Both offerings are based on
Toshiba's 2.4 V, 4.2 Ah cells and include Toshiba's proprietary battery
management system, which ensures optimum performance and safety. Additional
packs are under development.
--------
This means the full Electric Car is now within easy reach. All it needs is
charging points around for most cars and a small range extender for some
longer range vehicles in remote parts of the world. Use a specifically
designed engine on a generator set and the combustion engine will rarely cut
in.
Toshiba claim the discharge is the same as supercapacitors. I would rather
have supercapacitors with a high energy density storage than a battery.
Supercapacitors do not wear out, they are more efficient as there is no
state change inefficiencies when charging or discharging.
Other applications for these batteries? Planes of course. CHP (cogen) in
homes? Roof mounted PV cells can charge them up and use the energy later.
The same with boats with cells on the roofs. Battery power tools comes to
mind. In a minutes and the drill is charged again.
Mass production will get the prices down. They could be retrofitted to
existing hybrid cars when their battery sets require replacing. This will
transform many of them.
The Internal Combustion Engines gennies are big and heavy and pollute far
more than the turbines. The heat is concentrated in the exhaust in a turbine
making it easier extracting heat for other uses.
A lot is is going for the turbines:
- small
- powerful
- uses less fuel
- light
- simple
- far more reliable
- should be cheaper to make one mass production is applied.
- etc
They should be fine for turbine/electric trains. In overground urban trains
using a battery/supercapacitor set as a buffer for acceleration and
claw-back braking energy, they should work well. These trains stop and start
constantly. And a cheaper alternative to expensive electrification.
In boats they shine in that they are very small. Lith-ion batteies, and the
new Toshiba?, store twice as much energy per size than others. So a bank of
Lith-ion low down to even out weight dstribution, maximising space.