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Research Promises Drastically Increased LiOn Capacity

Posted by Unknown on from the phones-that-last-more-than-five-minutes dept.

daem0n1x writes "Could this be the breakthrough we've all been expecting that will finally make the electric car a reality? Researchers of Northwestern University USA discovered a new way to build lithium-ion batteries that changes dramatically both the charge time and capacity [original paper, paywalled]. Guess what it involves? That's right, graphene."

2 of 378 comments (clear)

  1. Better Place by Enderandrew · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is a must read article on the subject. Electric cars fail because batteries are too expensive, and because they required infrastructure of charging stations. This company however solves both these problems. You make an electric car without the battery, which is cheaper than a standard car and more reliable to boot. Then this company leases you a battery, which costs less per month than gas. And they handle the infrastructure, which includes stations that swap your battery out for a fully charged one. You never wait to charge your battery, and they can swap it out since you don't own it.

    http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/magazine/16-09/ff_agassi?currentPage=all

    Part of this model is the assumption that battery technology still moves along rapidly. So the company can phase in newer, better batteries and you aren't tied to a battery you purchased when you bought your car.

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
    1. Re:Better Place by scamper_22 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Managing that battery inventory is going to be a huge problem. How are you going to make sure each 'gas station' has enough batteries on hand. Since they're not cheap, it's a huge cost. This might not be a huge problem in the city, but that's not where people have a fear of running out of battery. Heck, a simple EV you charge at home would suffice if you simply traveled in the city.

      It's the spaces in the cities or commuters.
      The roll out and management of this is a huge problem.

      But even assuming you could manage that well enough, there is another minor problem.

      Maybe I'm just paranoid coming from Africa where people will steal anything making infrastructure hard to build out... but you're talking about an expensive batter than can be 'easily swapped out'. Something tells me that makes it 'easy to steal'.