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'Instantly Rechargeable' Battery Could Change the Future of Electric Cars (sciencedaily.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Science Daily: A technology developed by Purdue researchers could provide an "instantly rechargeable" method that is safe, affordable and environmentally friendly for recharging electric and hybrid vehicle batteries through a quick and easy process similar to refueling a car at a gas station. John Cushman, Purdue University distinguished professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary science and a professor of mathematics, presented the research findings "Redox reactions in immiscible-fluids in porous media -- membraneless battery applications" at the recent International Society for Porous Media 9th International Conference in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Cushman co-founded Ifbattery LLC (IF-battery) to further develop and commercialize the technology. "Designing and building enough of these recharging stations requires massive infrastructure development, which means the energy distribution and storage system is being rebuilt at tremendous cost to accommodate the need for continual local battery recharge," said Eric Nauman, co-founder of Ifbattery and a Purdue professor of mechanical engineering, basic medical sciences and biomedical engineering. "Ifbattery is developing an energy storage system that would enable drivers to fill up their electric or hybrid vehicles with fluid electrolytes to re-energize spent battery fluids much like refueling their gas tanks." Mike Mueterthies, Purdue doctoral teaching and research assistant in physics and the third co-founder of Ifbattery, said the flow battery system makes the Ifbattery system unique. "Other flow batteries exist, but we are the first to remove membranes which reduces costs and extends battery life," Mueterthies said. Ifbattery's membrane-free battery demonstrates other benefits as well. "Membrane fouling can limit the number of recharge cycles and is a known contributor to many battery fires," Cushman said. "Ifbattery's components are safe enough to be stored in a family home, are stable enough to meet major production and distribution requirements and are cost effective." For the visual learners, Purdue Research Park has uploaded a video about Ifbattery's "instantly rechargeable" method.

150 comments

  1. Cost? Reuse? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Need more info, or else we're just spouting "if my car can start farting magic pixie dust it'll change the game" bullshit.

  2. So, capacitors by Snotnose · · Score: 1, Informative

    It's not a battery, it's a big ass capacitor that can take a huge charge instantly and let it our slowly.

    1. Re:So, capacitors by __aadota8673 · · Score: 0

      What we need is a spring dynamo generator in the shoes to recharge our wearables. I walk 4 times a week to work out - if there was a company that made a shoe charger for wearables, I would definitely buy stock, and would suggest everyone here to the same. It is an untapped goldmine. I unfortunately do not have time to work on this right now as my time is taken up by getting an A+ certification this year. Here's me walking (I'm the one who look like a football player) http://media.gettyimages.com/p...

    2. Re:So, capacitors by gumbi+west · · Score: 3, Informative

      A capacitor separates charge. A battery uses a chemical reaction. The speed is just a side effect.

    3. Re:So, capacitors by jandjmh · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, it is a real battery. A variant on a flow cell (look it up) that has the novel ability to work without membranes.

    4. Re:So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A capacitor separates charge. A battery uses a chemical reaction.

      I think you meant to say "a capacitor stores a charge"

    5. Re:So, capacitors by nospam007 · · Score: 0

      " I walk 4 times a week to work out - if there was a company that made a shoe charger for wearables, I would definitely buy stock, and would suggest everyone here to the same. It is an untapped goldmine."

      Americans use cars usually instead of walking and those have a 12 Volt charging gizmo right by your right knee.

    6. Re:So, capacitors by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Say you have a 100kWh battery in a car and you want to charge it in 1 minute. You need to provide a power source capable of supplying 6MW. You need a cable capable of carrying 6MW to the car, which is going to require industrial equipment to lift because a person won't be strong enough, and wouldn't be safe anyway. The car itself will need a charging port and wiring capable of support 6MW.

      Rather than concentrating on reducing charge times, which are already good enough for human beings, we need to concentrate on infrastructure to reduce the need to dedicate time to charging. Most charging is done while the owner is doing something else, like shopping or sleeping or working.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    7. Re:So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Better make it sturdy and replaceable.
      I walk to work and back, 6 miles 5 days a week.
      With the rate I have to buy new shoes I wouldn't want to pay for a dynamo every time.

    8. Re:So, capacitors by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Well, it separates the two charges by means of a dielectric. (Interestingly, the charges are separate but equal.)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    9. Re:So, capacitors by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 0

      It's not a battery, it's a big ass capacitor that can take a huge charge instantly and let it our slowly.

      Its just another flow battery. Nothing new here, except these guys claim their design is better, which every flow battery designer does.

    10. Re:So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      What are you talking about? This is a flow battery where they will exchange the electrolyte to recharge. And charging times are a problem that the industry is working on despite your personal decision to declare it isn't a problem.

    11. Re:So, capacitors by WhiplashII · · Score: 2

      You're missing the point.

      This is a way that you can recharge the cell by extracting a "used" liquid from the vehicle, and pouring in a "new" liquid. Think of it as a liquid battery, where you swap out most of the battery whenever you fill up.

      So the energy density problem is solved the same way as with gasoline - instead of a big wire pushing electrons, you pour in an energy dense liquid.

      --
      while (sig==sig) sig=!sig;
    12. Re:So, capacitors by AmiMoJo · · Score: 0

      So it's a tank for a liquid fuel system, not a battery.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    13. Re:So, capacitors by religionofpeas · · Score: 2

      You need to provide a power source capable of supplying 6MW. You need a cable capable of carrying 6MW to the car, which is going to require industrial equipment to lift because a person won't be strong enough, and wouldn't be safe anyway.

      As others have explained, this battery can be charged simply by replacing the liquid inside. But even if you wanted to charge it electrically, you don't need industrial equipment. You could make a cable that's not harder to lift as a traditional gas pump hose, rated for 20000 volts and 300 Amps to get your 6 MW. And if you could wait 2 minutes, and fill the tank half way, that could be reduced to 10kV and 150A. A well constructed cable would be much safer than the heavy gasoline spraying system we have now.

      Most charging is done while the owner is doing something else, like shopping or sleeping or working.

      Except when you want to make a longer trip.

    14. Re:So, capacitors by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

      What we need is a spring dynamo generator in the shoes to recharge our wearables. I walk 4 times a week to work out - if there was a company that made a shoe charger for wearables, I would definitely buy stock, and would suggest everyone here to the same. It is an untapped goldmine.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    15. Re:So, capacitors by stabiesoft · · Score: 1

      No it is more like a swapable battery without having to swap the container.

    16. Re: So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      True. It is a neat idea. What I don't see in the Purdue materials though is the reprocessing/recharge information. How efficient is that?

      The materials he says they use are meant to be reused but oxidize over time.

      Luckily they don't seem to be super oxidising like lithium and are plentiful. But how long will they remain that way and how hard will it be to separate out the increasingly oxidized materials for processing.

      One of the materials was an organic compound too that I think microorganisms would probably eat... If they could it being full of ions.

      Ehm. Not sure on alot about this but the concept seems pretty legit.

      More worried about a huge efficiency loss from hard to process waste or the energies required to make it a good medium of energy storage again after multiple uses.

      But I suppose there are ways to minimize that as well.

    17. Re:So, capacitors by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      They would have to make it almost indestructible for somebody your size to use more than a few times. And thats not a poke at your weight(get it?) thats just honesty. My brother is about 300-400 pounds and he annihilates shoes. Hell i go between 190-230 and i can destroy a pair of work boots in months. good ones too.

    18. Re:So, capacitors by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      The liquid is never "used" its depleted of its electrolytes, in a chemical process that creates electricity. when all the electrolytes are used its "dead" and the liquid is swapped with new liquid that contains electrolytes. while the liquid that was extracted gets charged with electrolytes in some process(I didn't RTFA so I don't know what that is).

    19. Re:So, capacitors by Highdude702 · · Score: 1

      That kind of voltage and amperage is very dangerous and not to be trusted to the general public. Picture people that drive off with gas pumps in the filler. you would have catastrophic death involved with that. and fires also.

    20. Re:So, capacitors by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      So this allows us to run cars on Gatoraid?

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    21. Re:So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So it's a tank for a liquid fuel system, not a battery.

      Of course its a battery.. Its a flow battery. Please stop and just read TFA.

    22. Re: So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're basically advocating people to basically plug a 500mcm electrical primary into their car? Have you ever seen what can happen when a backhoe operator hits one? If you have, I doubt you would think it a positive thing.

      Nevermind that your charge circuitry will have to be fucking massive, probably larger than the car itself. No; you'd have to leave such fast charging to infrastructure level operators (i.e. fuel stations)

    23. Re:So, capacitors by Highdude702 · · Score: 1
    24. Re:So, capacitors by jeremyp · · Score: 1

      There's no way you could allow humans near a 20kV supply.

      --
      All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
    25. Re:So, capacitors by __aadota8673 · · Score: 0

      I had a Chevy Chevette, but everything was broken, including the 12v. I finally trashed it when the seat came off its rail. Now I walk to the bus and on treadmills that can incline with my 350lb of ass on top. The one at my gym can do a 3% grade then I smell burnt rubber.

    26. Re:So, capacitors by minstrelmike · · Score: 1

      It's a kewl new technology that may or may not work (and will definitely not work at whatever economic bs price points they've calculated now).

      If you want "fast" battery changing/charging operations to supplement, not replace, home/work charging units, design the vehicle for easy battery replacement by professionals with forklifts. Return to the old-style filling stations where we take care of your car in under 5 minutes, wash the windshield, etc while you order a latte and rid yourself of the last one.

      You can trust your car to the man who wears the star, the great big Teslaco star.

    27. Re:So, capacitors by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      That's what I took away from TFS too. Though I wouldn't be so sure about the absence of a membrane - that mention of "porous media" makes me think that's where they've put their membrane - on the (perfectly reasonable) grounds that a slab of ceramic plate is likely to handle industrial construction better than something that actually looks membranous. Alternatively, if your two immiscible fluids react to form a membrane on contact (including within the pores of a "porous medium", but also at a leak point), then that'd work well too. You've performed the classical synthesis of nylon as a membrane at the interface of two immiscible liquids - well, who hasn't, it's infant school chemistry? Same sort of thing, but with the properties (conductivity, selective permeability) needed for the membrane in a flow battery.

      Interesting, possibly innovative, chemistry. Well done. Pumping chemicals into and out of tanks at your "fuelling station" is a challenge the transport infrastructure is well set up for - it would just increase the number of fluids needing tankage and shipping from 2 to 4.

      They'll have issues on maintaining purity of the chemicals; how to stop idiots (non-PC spelling for "users") from putting the wrong fluid in the wrong tank; recycling / recharging ; cleanup from tank leaks (which the hydrocarbon industry does pretty badly too). Plenty of challenges. but worth a try.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    28. Re:So, capacitors by danbert8 · · Score: 1

      20kV? Have you even heard of arc flash? For as flammable as gasoline is and as common as refueling is, gasoline is unbelievably safe. Diesel even more so.

      --
      Yes it's an anecdote! Were you expecting original research in a Slashdot comment?
    29. Re: So, capacitors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you watch the video, they specifically say that they don't use a membrane, and that is what makes it novel

  3. Great... by ArylAkamov · · Score: 1

    Instead of changing my oil, I'll have to change my electrolyte.

    1. Re:Great... by zm · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Wait.. you fill it with Brawndo?

      --
      Sig ?
    2. Re:Great... by ArylAkamov · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Of course, it's what cars crave!

    3. Re:Great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are electrolytes? Do you even know?

    4. Re:Great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's what cars crave!?

    5. Re:Great... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ONLY after pressing the appropriate icon-button at st. god's memorial hospital. Perhaps the live birth or broken arm button, I'm unsure.

  4. Brondo has what cars crave... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Its got electrolytes!

  5. This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    It is a flow battery and the idea has been around for a long time.

    The biggest problem is the nasty nature and quantity of chemicals used
     

    1. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is it nastier than gasoline?

    2. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      basically a strong acid

    3. Re:This is new? by elrous0 · · Score: 2

      Should make for some really interesting wrecks at least.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    4. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      How can it be basic and an acid?

      (ba dum, ching)

    5. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Silly. In the future all cars will be driven by infallible AI and there will be no more accidents ever.

    6. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      silly seatbelt laws there to restrict our freedom of movement

    7. Re:This is new? by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Informative

      It is a flow battery and the idea has been around for a long time.

      if only you were capable of reading the summary. :/

      "Other flow batteries exist, but we are the first to remove membranes which reduces costs and extends battery life,"

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    8. Re:This is new? by StevenMaurer · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Well, I didn't see anything about energy density, which is the main problem with flow batteries. They're lower than Lithium-ion.

      Furthermore, membrane-less flow batteries already exist. The problem is that they rely on laminar flow, which is basically impossible to maintain under any sort of acceleration. So, no. Can't use them in cars.

      I call this a meaningless hype article

    9. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      LOL
      A small tick in the evolution.
      Beside, what the fuck does that have to do with the noxious chemicals used?

    10. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not more interesting that gasoline.

      While the acid is strong it tends to stay fairly put.
      Any piece of plastic or cardboard will stop splatter, even if it doesn't survive being immersed in it for a longer time.
      What typically happens in a crash is that the container might crack and the acid leaks out, but no-one is going to roll their face it it for an extended time.
      It's just sticky to walk on and can cause some toxic gases if it gets in contact with the wrong material.

      When it comes to current car crashes everything is fine most of the time, but every now and then a spark ignites the leaked fuel and and you get a nice clusterfuck of everything engulfed in fire for everyone to deal with.

    11. Re:This is new? by Lennie · · Score: 1

      Here is what was mentioned in the video:

      "it still has a high power density that's key"

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (it's not easy to listen to because the music is crap and to high in the mix)

      --
      New things are always on the horizon
    12. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      They mentioned power density, but not energy density. Power density means that it can output enough power to run a car. However, even if its energy density is comparable to Lithium batteries, that means you have to pump that much fluid.

      The video mentioned water and ethanol, which would put its mass density near that of gasoline. Couldn't find energy density specs for this electrolyte, but if it's in the neighborhood of ZnBr flow batteries, then 200mi of range for a small car could mean pumping 1000+ pounds(well over 100 gal) of fluid to recharge your car.

      So, you could retrofit pumps to flow faster(they're currently legally limited to 10gpm in the US), but you still have the massive weight penalty compared to gasoline, so it won't scale to large vehicles or trucks, and definitely not aircraft.

    13. Re:This is new? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except as TFS says, this uses immiscible fluids, not laminar flow. Energy density may be an issue, but that's partially offset by fast refueling.

  6. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We need to ban gasoline powered cars in the United States "
    So force everyone to buy a new car(s)? Electric and hybrid cars are still pricey and there is really no charging infrastructure requirement for people who routinely drive more than 100 - 150 miles from their home charging stations. Not to mention people willing to wait a significant amount of time while their vehicle recharges before continuing on their journey. How about sticking with the current path of replacing fossil fueled electricity generation infrastructure? Solar energy adoption is steadily increasing in the home and business markets. Transportation is only responsible for approximately 25% of green house gases. There are plenty of ways to reduce global warming just by targeting the other 75% sources for reductions. Oh and since methane is a significant source of greenhouse gases I assume you want to kill every cow and pig on the planet and outlaw beef and pork.

  7. No prototypes yet by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 3, Informative

    The new company named Ifbattery is still in it's infancy because they are seeking funding to begin making prototypes. So battery of the future is right because it's at least 10 years off at best.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:No prototypes yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And like most wonder batteries will it scale to practical use or be stuck in a lab as a neat idea?

  8. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Agreed. We need to take desperate measures. Until we can find a way to get rid of all the CO2 in the atmosphere, humanity is going to be in grave danger.

  9. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ban, ban, ban, ban, BAN!!!!

    Don't be stupid and lazy. We will definitely have electric cars that are cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to operate, and cheaper to maintain than ICE's in the very near future (this coming decade, guaranteed).

    Any kind of mandates are just going to slow down the industry which is already on trajectory to exceed our ambitious desires.

    YOU are not smarter than the people who are building these things, so stop pretending like you have more information than they do.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  10. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by gumbi+west · · Score: 0

    Oh and since methane is a significant source of greenhouse gases I assume you want to kill every cow and pig on the planet and outlaw beef and pork.

    Yup, because of that and also because they have efficiency of about 1/6th of a vegetarian diet. Take that land of of use for corn and you can grow grass there, sinking (huge amounts of) carbon into the top soil.

  11. Yet another "miracle" battery claim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Been working in the field of battery chargers or power management since I graduated with an EE degree in 1986, and I've only seen tiny incremental improvements. I have never seen any of the "revolutionary" claims actually work. Yes Li batteries are nice, but that was only have they took years of improvements to finally beat NiCad and then later nickel–metal hydride batteries. I'm not holding my breath.

    1. Re: Yet another "miracle" battery claim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, you should hold your breath, because the auto industry is suppressing the Miracle Carburetor and the water-powered car.

      That means all the poison is out there.

    2. Re: Yet another "miracle" battery claim by elrous0 · · Score: 1

      They also apparently also suppressed the Mr. Fusion devices we were supposed to have in our flying cars by now.

      --
      SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    3. Re:Yet another "miracle" battery claim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This. We read about amazing battery advances here several times a month, but they never materialize.

    4. Re: Yet another "miracle" battery claim by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You fail to understand that "charging" this battery does not involve current flowing through it but replacing its electrolyte. It's a mechanical process, thus much quicker than electrical recharging.

  12. Standardization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sooner or later car battery packs will be standardized. Then you will just switch the pack out at the station.
    Charging of packs can be spread out through the day to even out load and the full packs can be used for load balancing the local area.

    To crazy 300kW connector to your car to charge your 100KWh battery in 20 minutes.

    1. Re:Standardization by dgatwood · · Score: 2

      The battery in a Tesla Model S weighs 1,200 pounds. Good luck coming up with a practical way to remove and replace a battery that weighs half as much as a Nissan Versa, not to mention a practical way to store hundreds or even thousands of them while they charge. Sorry, but offline charging of EV batteries is completely and utterly impractical.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    2. Re:Standardization by mea_culpa · · Score: 1

      Musk did a proof of concept not too long ago showing that this was possible. His robot swapped two model S batteries in less time than it took to fill up a ICE sedan.

      Video here: https://youtu.be/H5V0vL3nnHY

      Of course building out a traditional charging infrastructure is more important. Given enough time though I can see this as being a premium option.

    3. Re: Standardization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Car drives in, gets lifted a foot. Automatic sled reaches up and unhooks battery, takes it away. Next one places a new one.

      Any standard warehouse has everything needed except charge equipment.

      600kg is less than a hand operated fork lift is rated for.

    4. Re: Standardization by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shipping container twist locks will handle keep the battery in place.

    5. Re:Standardization by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Just because you can do it in a one-off demonstration with a single battery on a single car doesn't mean it would be practical to scale the concept up to a gas station that handles eight cars a minute all day. The power requirements alone would likely make such an arrangement infeasible, not to mention designing some sort of storage rack that could safely store that many batteries weighing more than half a ton each while charging them.

      If you assume that in the worst case, you have one car coming in every minute and that it takes an hour to charge the battery, that means that in the worst case, you would need to store sixty batteries per "pump". A typical gas station has eight to twelve pumps, so you're talking about storing 480–720 batteries. That's 288–432 tons of batteries taking up roughly 6,400–9600 cubic feet. To put that in perspective, that's anywhere from two to six times the size of the gas tanks that gas stations have now, and that doesn't include space for lift equipment, storage racks, power infrastructure, etc. Basically, you would have to start by digging a hole and building a basement that's twenty feet deep under the entire parcel. This is, not to put too fine a point on it, utterly nuts. Possible, yes, in theory, but....

      And remember that it would require 120 kW of power per battery, times 720 batteries. This is approximately 86 megawatts of power. If you wanted to power that by solar panels, it would take approximately 200 acres, or a little less than a quarter the size of New York's Central Park. For one gas station. Or a typical coal power plant would power approximately six gas stations. The roughly 13,500 gas stations in California, then, would require approximately 1.161 terawatts, or 560 Hoover Dams, or 295 Palo Verde nuclear plants running at full tilt.

      Mind you, they wouldn't require that all the time—only during the hour or so when demand is at its peak—but unless I'm off by a couple of zeroes, that would basically mean a peak power capacity that would greatly exceed the feasible power production that the United States could ever hope to build in the next several decades, just to cover California's car needs alone. That's why mass use of electric cars is only feasible if the vast majority of cars are charging slowly at night rather than rapidly during the day. The numbers just don't work otherwise (and maybe they don't anyway).

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    6. Re:Standardization by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      How would that work in practice with ten-year-old cars and batteries that have been pulled out and pushed in thousands of times? How many batteries per car do we have to have to make it work?

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    7. Re:Standardization by Cramer · · Score: 1

      It was about the same speed as filling a gas tank. While it looked good, and worked perfectly for the demo, it has all kinds of problems in the real world, which is why it never went anywhere.

  13. Commercialization by speedplane · · Score: 1

    Lemme guess, they solved all the hard parts and now all they have to do is commercialize it? Gonna do the typical 3 to 5 year prediction? Not holding my breath.

    --
    Fast Federal Court and I.T.C. updates
  14. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I would like to ban pornography because it's demonstrably terrible for people. And yet somehow, I bet you think I'm the weird one. Irony is ironic.

  15. It sounds awful by WalksOnDirt · · Score: 1

    They want to replace the need for home charging, which is half way there already in the USA, with going to filling stations every week or two. I suspect that this will cost more, both for the infrastructure and to the user. It might be better for the occasional long trip but it sounds much worse for day to day travel.

    I don't want to go to a filling station. I want to do my everyday charging at home.

    --
    a,e,i,o,u and sometimes w and y (at be if of up cwm by)
    1. Re:It sounds awful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They want to replace the need for home charging, which is half way there already in the USA, with going to filling stations every week or two. I suspect that this will cost more, both for the infrastructure and to the user. It might be better for the occasional long trip but it sounds much worse for day to day travel.

      I don't want to go to a filling station. I want to do my everyday charging at home.

      Add to that, I want it wireless, if possible. Can't we make a standard electromagnet interface we drive over? Either way, make charging painless and idiot proof, such that I seldom if ever need the fast chargers. For that matter shopping centers and other places could install wireless charging pads that negotiate with the car and charge an account for the energy used. The standard charging pad could also auto coordinate with the energy provider to avoid peak time usage, and instead charge the car at the best time. As long as it is full prior to the expected departure time all is well.

    2. Re:It sounds awful by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      I don't want to go to a filling station. I want to do my everyday charging at home.

      This. In fact, IMO, home charging is the main reason to get an electric car. Stopping to fill up once or twice a week is a pain in the backside, because unless you're the kind of person who always fills up on particular days whether your tank is empty or not, you'll always run low on fuel at the most inopportune times, like when you're running late for something. By charging overnight at home, you're assured that your vehicle will always be charged and ready when you leave in the morning, and will get you through the day, ignoring very rare long-distance trips.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    3. Re: It sounds awful by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At the currents required, wireless power transmission will cook anything nearby. Don't forget to turn it off before you approach the car.

    4. Re:It sounds awful by Hidyman · · Score: 1

      I don't think they are mutually exclusive.
      You could recharge your own electrolyte at home, while your car isn't even there.
      It is a method to move energy as a liquid.

      --
      You can't take the sky from me ...
    5. Re:It sounds awful by mark-t · · Score: 1

      IMO, home charging is the main reason to get an electric car.

      Yes, it is... indisputably so, in fact. Which is why if you live in an apartment or condo that was not built recently enough, or especially if you live in an older high-density neighborhood and the electric grid in your area just wouldn't be able to handle the load of a lot of people charging their cars at once, an electric car is just not going to be viable for you anytime in the foreseeable future unless you move.

      Stopping to fill up once or twice a week is a pain in the backside

      Not as painful as having to take 20 to 30 minutes out of every day just to go to a rapid charging station and fill up your car there... and that's further assuming that there's not a lineup at the charge pumps, even if the line is quite short you could be waiting an hour or more to get your car charged, while at a gas pump, it takes no more than a few minutes for each person so your wait time is going to be a whole lot shorter.

      But I'm totally on board with you on the subject of charging at home.... if I lived in a place where that was viable, I know that I'd be very strongly considering getting an EV.

    6. Re:It sounds awful by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      Flow batteries recharge slowly, and have low energy density so its hard to know how much charge you could achieve overnight. Theoretically you could have a tank an electrolyte charging tank at home, which you could use to replace the car's electrolyte, but that would actually require two tanks at home so you could empty the care battery first. So it doesn't sound practical, or something most people would want to deal with.

    7. Re:It sounds awful by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

      man my typing sucks.

  16. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by slazzy · · Score: 1

    That would be a terrible idea, there are many areas where electric cars aren't practical like Alaska. Industries such as trucking don't have electric technology available to them yet. Instead, a small tariff on gasoline a few cents per gallon, and a direct subsidy to cleaner cars would help to equalize the cost or tip slightly in favour of electric or cleaner technology. This would naturally cause many people to switch to the cheaper, cleaner options.

    --
    Website Just Down For Me? Find out
  17. Re:Cost? Reuse? by fluffernutter · · Score: 2

    I thought that was a major feature expected for the Tesla Model 3.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  18. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're aware that the most environmentally sound thing you can do is continue driving your current car, right? Replacing it requires a huge amount of energy. The only time buying an electrical car makes environmental sense is if your current one is at the end of its useful life.

  19. Re:Do the math for charging? by WalksOnDirt · · Score: 2

    I think the idea is to just replace the electrolyte. The electrolyte gets charged while you're not there.

    --
    a,e,i,o,u and sometimes w and y (at be if of up cwm by)
  20. DOH. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh no,not again..
    I'll stick to using bloody great big lead/acid batteries,they have worked ok for a century for lots of things,they will still be around in 2117..
    Anyone,what bats do they use in modern diesel/electric hunter/killer submarines ?
    I bet it's good old lead/acids...

    1. Re:DOH. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Burning wood & dung has worked for thousands of years

  21. Try reading even the summary first? by Khyber · · Score: 1

    I mean, come on, all you need to do is read the summary to know that this is a flow battery - you recharge it by pouring an electrolytic fluid into it to replace the worn out electrolytic fluid.

    Recharge speed is essentially as fast as refilling the electrolyte.

    --
    Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
  22. Re:Do the math for charging? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You think there is anyone left on this site who knows how to do math?

    Silly humans

  23. Re: Do the math for charging? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't you hate when you just posted your elaborate ramble only to find out how stupid you look not even having read the summary? Damn /. for lacking the edit function (lol)

  24. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know ... but it looks like you should be an example of how to solve be problem and simply stop exhaling CO2 into the atmosphere.

  25. "if battery" is a good name for them by Goldsmith · · Score: 1

    If they can turn this idea into a battery (they haven't yet), then that would get them to proof of concept.

    If that battery works for more than a few days without a re-fill, that might allow this scheme to work from a practical point of view.

    If the electrolyte can be made to not be toxic, then they might avoid environmental issues.

    If I had to guess, this is an SBIR shop, and not a legit company (they're going to be selling research papers to grant managers, not batteries to consumers).

  26. It's still a coal powered car by blindseer · · Score: 1

    In the USA we still get a large portion of our electricity from coal. Certainly natural gas and nuclear fission provides a good part of it too, and they have contributed greatly to our reductions in carbon output lately. The article mentions the potential for recharging the battery fluids with wind, solar, and hydro but wind and solar are much more expensive than coal and hydro is a resource we've already maxed out. Unless the prices of wind and solar can get below that of coal, or we build nuclear power at a rate that can replace the aging nuclear power plant AND aging coal plants, then we will be building more coal power plants to charge these cars.

    I have people tell me all the time, "just you wait, wind and solar will be cheaper than coal any day now". That's great! Only what should we do until that time comes? People will also say that the time has already come for wind power. That's great! Then what are we supposed to do if the wind is not blowing? People will tell me that we should charge up batteries for when the wind is not blowing. Great! Except now with wind AND the batteries then wind is not cheaper than coal any more because it relies on doubling or tripling wind capacity and the cost of the batteries. If instead one claims we use a national smart grid instead of the batteries then the cost is in the wires and other infrastructure.

    Any plan to reduce carbon output that does not include the use of nuclear power is a fantasy. Waiting for wind and solar to get cheap enough to replace coal is waiting for a ship that may never come to shore. I won't say it is impossible for wind to get cheaper than coal, only that we don't know when or if that will happen. Waiting for that to happen is not a plan to reduce carbon output. Taxing carbon is not going to make that happen any faster, it will only make us all poorer.

    I believe electric vehicles hold promise and I wish all of those developing this technology the best. The problem though is that this is just half of the solution. The other half is either nuclear fission or waiting. I say we should not wait.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    1. Re:It's still a coal powered car by hyades1 · · Score: 1

      The only reason you even dare to mention nuclear is that, in the event of an accident, the cost of any kind of cleanup has been externalized.

      You talk about coal and nuclear as though they are viable alternatives. They are, if you ignore the fact that they rape taxpayers in a way that solar and wind don't even come close to.

      So how about, for once, comparing apples to apples, then considering what we should be subsidizing going forward.

      --
      I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
    2. Re:It's still a coal powered car by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      Maybe you missed the memo, but unsubsidized solar is already cheaper than coal for new construction. Coal is only cheap because the plants already exist.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

    3. Re:It's still a coal powered car by blindseer · · Score: 2

      As I stated in my previous post we see this cost of wind and solar being cheaper than coal is only true if the fossil fuel back up remain in place (the coal plants already exists as you point out). If the goal is to go beyond nibbling at the edges of coal burning and replace coal completely then solar energy will have to be cheap enough to make up for the infrastructure needed to account that the sun does not always shine.

      This can mean shifting the sunlight in time with storage systems, in space through transmission lines, or more likely a combination of the two. Solar is not cheaper than coal because there needs to be a large build out of additional infrastructure for it to replace coal.

      We've seen a number of nations try to reduce their carbon output and reduce the cost of energy with a combination of wind, solar, and fossil fuel backups. Apparently because nuclear power is not popular right now. The result has been increases in costs and increases in carbon output.

      It does not matter WHY coal is cheap, only that it has set the standard for other sources to compete with. If solar cannot do that then it's not viable. This is all because people chose to stop using nuclear power. This is evidence in support of my claim that any plan to reduce carbon output that does not include nuclear power is a fantasy.

      I know of places with an abundance of hydro, sun, and wind, that have claimed to be carbon neutral. That's great until you realize that they have no heavy industry and this is due to a very unique geography. These tropical nations can do this but the USA, UK, Germany, and so on are not able to do the same. They will need nuclear fission or some technology we don't have yet and may never obtain.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    4. Re:It's still a coal powered car by blindseer · · Score: 1

      The only reason you even dare to mention nuclear is that, in the event of an accident, the cost of any kind of cleanup has been externalized.

      What of the external costs of wind and solar? These windmills and solar collectors are made of materials we dig from the ground. Materials extracted with toxic chemical and tails. All kinds of heavy metals go into these things, and leach into ground water. Where does the cleanup of that mess come in? I know the answer, it comes in being out of sight and out of mind. These materials are largely mined and refined in China where they dump this toxic stew into lakes. The lighter stuff evaporates into the air. Some of the heavier elements blow away in the wind or sink into the water table. We've externalized all of the USA environmental hazards to China. What happens when China decides it doesn't want to do this any more?

      Nothing is "externalized" in reality. Delayed perhaps but people will see these effects. It's only external if the person is ignorant, willfully or not, of the costs.

      You talk about coal and nuclear as though they are viable alternatives. They are, if you ignore the fact that they rape taxpayers in a way that solar and wind don't even come close to.

      If you fear nuclear power and coal more that global warming then global warming is no threat. The chances of an accident in a nuclear power plant goes up with the age of the plant. The longer we delay building new nuclear power plants the more likely one will fail. If the fear keeps people from building a new plant then an accident that costs many lives becomes more and more certain. We've not had any of these accidents in the USA for a long time because, as far as nuclear reactors go, they are still relatively new. If we keep them running from their 40 year planned life span and extend that to 80 years like Obama likely forced us to do then we will see accidents. We will have to build a new nuclear power plant in the USA at a rate of one per month to avoid skyrocketing electricity prices, nuclear accidents, blackouts, burning coal, or whatever else you might think of as disastrous.

      So how about, for once, comparing apples to apples, then considering what we should be subsidizing going forward.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    5. Re:It's still a coal powered car by blindseer · · Score: 1

      Stupid me hitting submit in the middle of my post. I'll continue...

      So how about, for once, comparing apples to apples, then considering what we should be subsidizing going forward.

      I've thought about this problem for a very long time, perhaps for longer than you've been alive. The solution does not involve subsidies because the government only fucks things up. Get rid of the subsidies unless there is a very specific problem to solve.

      The government subsidized a US Navy project to address the problem of having to ship so much fuel to ships at sea to allow the aircraft they carry to fly. They developed a process that turns seawater into jet fuel. Let's subsidize that, make it standard equipment on every aircraft carrier, destroyer, and amphibious assault ship. This technology relies on nuclear power to drive the process. Since the carbon comes from the sea it closes the carbon loop on the fuel. It's a carbon free process to produce jet fuel.

      We can use this same process on land for civilian fuel production. Since there are people standing in line at the Department of Energy to get permission to develop these technologies for commercial use there is no real need to subsidize it. The government needs to only give them permission to proceed.

      There's no raping of the taxpayer because these reactors can run off the tails that are left after the wind and solar people got what they wanted out of the earth. You think that wind and solar is free from producing radioactive waste? Uranium and thorium is everywhere. If you dig a hole and take all the stuff that is not uranium and thorium then it is left in concentrated piles.

      We can get energy while cleaning the earth. We get rid of radioactive material by consuming it in a reactor. We get rid of natural oil spills by digging up tar sands. By using only wind and solar this oil and radioactive material is still there to contaminate the environment. Once done in those mines they can be filled back in with clay and sand and trees planted on top.

      What's your problem? You don't like trees? Windmills and solar panels displace trees. I like trees and so I like nuclear power.

      --
      I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
    6. Re:It's still a coal powered car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It doesn't matter if you stated before if what you stated was wrong.

      Coal and nuclear doesn't need backup if you only ignore all the standby generation needed to cover its backup, and insist that this cannot be used to back up anything else.

      What you claim is arrant nonsense. Claiming you claimed it before doesn't change that.

    7. Re: It's still a coal powered car by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's your problem? You don't like trees? Windmills and solar panels displace trees. I like trees and so I like nuclear power.

      Too bad for you, this bullshit argument doesn't carry the day. There's more trees cut down to make cattle pastures than needed for wind and solar.

      Your precious nuclear plants will have to stand on their own. And so far, world-wide, they are tending to be over-budget and behind schedule.

    8. Re:It's still a coal powered car by dgatwood · · Score: 1

      As I stated in my previous post we see this cost of wind and solar being cheaper than coal is only true if the fossil fuel back up remain in place (the coal plants already exists as you point out). If the goal is to go beyond nibbling at the edges of coal burning and replace coal completely then solar energy will have to be cheap enough to make up for the infrastructure needed to account that the sun does not always shine.

      One of the cool things about solar is that it produces power when people most need power—during the day, and particularly during the hottest parts of the day. So the fact that the sun doesn't always shine is largely immaterial unless you're trying to use solar power for base load.

      But a reduction in carbon emissions doesn't depend on shifting base load to solar. We could drastically reduce carbon emissions just by reducing our dependence on coal during peak power use, reducing the use of natural gas peaker use during the day, etc. without even considering the addition of nuclear plants, contrary to your initial argument.

      And we could go even further without adding nuclear. Because solar is cheaper than natural gas already (assuming you aren't trying to store the power), we could easily replace nearly all coal use during the day with solar power, which could provide for our power needs during the day with ease, leaving coal and natural gas producing power only at night, which would mean those plants would be running only about half the time on average, representing a whopping 50% reduction in fossil fuel use without adding a single nuclear plant to replace the fossil fuel plants.

      Don't get me wrong; I think nuclear power probably will be necessary to provide our base load at night if we actually intend to completely eliminate coal, natural gas, and diesel as means of power production. But clearly we can go a long way towards reducing fossil fuel use right now using the technology that we already have, and taxing carbon emissions is an entirely effective way at making solar seem even cheaper by comparison, thus promoting its use on new projects instead of the much less environmentally friendly natural gas peaker plants that seem to be so popular these days.

      --

      Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.

  27. This is a vanadium flow battery. Sigh... by Cyberax · · Score: 1

    From the looks of it (colored chemicals in test tubes) this is a vanadium flow battery. They are known for quite some time but suffer from low energy density, so they aren't even used for stationary applications where additional weight (and volume) is less of an issue.

  28. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "We will definitely have electric cars that are cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to operate, and cheaper to maintain"
    Wishful thinking. We keep thinking we will develop some magical technology in the future to fix today's environmental problems. That's why the actions taken today are so feeble. We may look like the problem is being addressed with all our heart but we really aren't. The Paris treaty in the news lately is a prime example of making it look like we are doing something when in fact that particular treaty does not do a single tangible thing to better than environment. This treaty is about as useful as a UN declaration. It's non-binding, has no monitoring, no enforcement mechanism, or compliance oversight to make sure countries actually honor any of their public declarations. However this particular treaty did provide jobs to the diplomats, consultants, and academic advisors who created the treaty contents.

  29. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you get rid of all the CO2, then plants will die.

  30. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by AC-x · · Score: 1

    Oh and since methane is a significant source of greenhouse gases I assume you want to kill every cow and pig on the planet and outlaw beef and pork.

    At least biologically produced methane is carbon neutral and short lived in the atmosphere...

  31. one long sales pitch by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

    "“We are at a stage in the company’s growth that we are looking for additional financing to build large-scale prototypes and subsequently manufacturing partners,” Cushman said."

  32. Re:Do the math for charging? by Hidyman · · Score: 1

    In the US it's about (38 liters) 10 gallons per minute, so It would take about 2 minutes (not counting the slowdown period for pre-pays).
    But, I think you missed the point.
    You would change the electrolyte, not do a rapid electrical charge.
    Since you are reusing the electrolyte, you need to take the spent electrolyte solution out, so a "gas station" would have to have at least one holding tank.
    The cool part is that you can keep it all contained because the connections need to be sealed and there should be very little loss, as opposed to basically pouring a highly volatile fluid through the air into a container.

    --
    You can't take the sky from me ...
  33. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by blindseer · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Don't be stupid and lazy. We will definitely have electric cars that are cheaper to manufacture, cheaper to operate, and cheaper to maintain than ICE's in the very near future (this coming decade, guaranteed).

    HEY EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP!

    Okay, not that I have your attention I have great news to share. It seems that all of our problems are solved.... Well, they'll be solved in ten years. But don't worry. You don't have to do anything in that time. We have it all figured out. Come back here in ten years, with your check books mind you, and we'll be selling planet saving cars for your garage and solar collecting shingles for your roof.

    These cars will cost no more than your last car and be just as convenient and luxurious, more likely even more so. These solar collectors will cost no more than shingles and last just as long. The two together means you'll never have to pay another utility bill or visit a filling station. All with the power of the sun.

    Thanks everyone for your attention. In the mean time do as you were, there's nothing to worry about.

    [/snark]

    Is that the message you want to send? Because I assure you that is the message a lot of people are getting right now.

    What does your guarantee give me if you cannot provide what you promised? Won't this mean people will be making the problem worse in the mean time?

    I have a solution, maybe just part of the solution but it is something we can do right now. We can build more nuclear power plants. Nuclear fission is as clean as wind and solar, as cheap as coal, safer than all the above, and does not require some future technologies to work. If we give the US Navy some money to develop their jet fuel synthesis program then we can produce fuels made from carbon extracted from the air and hydrogen from seawater. I won't guarantee the synthetic fuel technology in ten years because it is possible the Navy wants to keep this for themselves for a while. But the nuclear power we can have right away. We can build a gigawatt scale nuclear reactor in a matter of a couple years. In a couple years later with experienced manpower we can build two in that same time. Then four, then eight. in ten years we could have dozens of nuclear power plants giving us cheap, clean, and safe energy.

    We can't stop there though. We'd have to keep going as those nuclear power plants age and need replacement. That's how we keep them safe, by taking them out of service before they become a problem. Don't worry about nuclear waste either. We know how to turn that waste into medical isotopes, portable heat and energy sources for spacecraft, and so on. All that stuff will be used as it decays away to inert elements or get shot off into deep space.

    --
    I am armed because I am free. I am free because I am armed.
  34. Ifbattery by nathar · · Score: 1

    Sweet, terminal access. Ifbattery bat0 recharge Ifbattery bat0 up Vroom vroom. (So lame... I apologize)

  35. I don't understand the marketing by thegarbz · · Score: 5, Interesting

    From TFS: "but we are the first to remove membranes which reduces costs and extends battery life"

    The battery life of flow batteries is already ahead of all others which is why they are being seen as a potentially better alternative in grid applications.

    From TFS: "Membrane fouling can limit the number of recharge cycles and is a known contributor to many battery fires"

    As above the recharge cycles of flow batteries are already well above every other type of battery. And fire? Well the fact that flow batteries don't catch fire is one of their key selling points.

    Is this just marketing fluff that is using buzzwords to try and get across? The big problem with flow batteries is their energy density at best is currently less than half of an equivalent lithium battery system. This is a far more important problem to fix.

    Mind you I do like what they are talking about. One of the big problems with electric cars is the grid connections for fast chargers. It makes the highway rest stop model of petrol stations difficult to convert to electric. All you need is 3 fast chargers in use at once and you're using more power than the currently biggest petrol station in Europe, and many of the highway stops are in the middle of nowhere which don't lend themselves to easy electrical infrastructure upgrades.

    1. Re:I don't understand the marketing by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Can large amounts of charged electrolytes be transported in tanker trucks to remote locations? Can a pipeline system be developed for less than grid transport? Can remote filling stations, where land is presumably cheaper and customers fewer, be adequately supplied by solar/wind around the station?

  36. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by blackpaw · · Score: 1

    Ok, I'll bite - demonstrate this - with peer reviewed evidence please, not just "Because I say so" or "Everybody knows"

  37. This is a step in the right direction by bothorsen · · Score: 0

    I can't comment on the physics, but I can comment on the impact of something like this.

    I am searching for my next car and have been looking at various electric or hybrid options. Most of those fail because they only cover 95% of my use cases, and that's due to the charging time. For example, I sometimes drive a distance for meetings that would not let me get there and go back on one charge of the battery. Which means I have to charge the car somewhere. I also drive to other countries in Europe and that's just not something you really can do in those cars.

    The Toyota hybrids sort of solve the problem by charging with a petrol engine. But I don't like the way those feel when driving them - and I have had Toyotas as my last four cars, so it's not that I have anything against them.

    If I could get a normal, electric family car with an almost instant charging system, I would definitely buy it. Sure, we would need to have the charging stations built first and other issues. But when fully implemented, this is what solves the problem for me.

    I really hope they or someone else can pull this off, so I can stop burning stuff when I drive.

    1. Re:This is a step in the right direction by green1 · · Score: 1

      If your meeting doesn't happen while driving, that seems a perfect time for the car to be charging. And if you can't make the one way trip without charging with a modern long range electric vehicle, you also probably can't make it without at least 1 meal break, and probably 2 bathroom breaks, which are also good times to charge.

      Modern long range electric vehicles don't have a problem with range, and they don't have a problem with recharge time.
      The only real remaining problems are:
      - lack of charging infrastructure in some specific locations.
      - refusal of most car companies to build any compelling models.
      - initial cost (mostly because of the above refusal to build any)

  38. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It may be carbon neutral, but it's not global warming neutral. Atmospheric carbon in the form of CO2 has much lower warming effect than in the form of CH4. That is the issue.

  39. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Barsteward · · Score: 3, Informative
    --
    "The hands that help are better far than lips that pray." - Robert Ingersoll (1833-1899)
  40. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It depends. In my home country of Sweden, an electric car will contribute 81g CO2 per km including manufacture, driving electricity and disposal. That equates to tailpipe emissions from 0.3l gadoline per 10 km, which does not include the energy used for extracting, transporting or refining the fuel. And good luck getting your existing car to even match that number.

  41. no need to buy new cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just do without one.

    Nobody is forcing you to buy a new car. Do or do not, there is no force.

  42. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Whoosh

  43. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Kartu · · Score: 1

    Japan happens to have the most comprehensive porn market in the world.
    Japan also happens to have one of the lowest sex crime rates in the world.

    I hope you can bring some facts to support the idea that pornography is "terrible for people".

  44. Interesting concept by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    It's technology like this that will eventually make electric vehicles commonplace. Since the batteries are safe enough to be inside a home, maybe they could store electricity generated during the day from solar panels for use at night.

    I wish whoever made the video for Purdue Research Park had left out the background music. It's very hard to hear the speech over the music. At least make the volume of the music such that the people speaking can be heard.

  45. Confused by AndyKron · · Score: 1

    It's June 3rd and we only have one super battery story so far this month? What's up with that?

    1. Re:Confused by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The snake battery salesman hasn't done their monthly pitches to so-called "editors" of /. yet.

      --sf

  46. Re:What would happen if... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nah, Trump's too busy getting it on with Rosie O'Donnell to bother with Obama. The feud between them is just a big cover up.

  47. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    Many have decided the only solution they will accept is wind and solar, even if it means failure to significantly reduce CO2. The US has greater CO2 reduction in the last 6 years than any other country, but everyone likes to point to Germany as the model, despite spending hundreds of billions with essentially no CO2 reduction, and they expect to see an increase each time they take a nuclear unit offline.

    Meanwhile, the French Academy of sciences has made it their official position that France cannot achieve meaningful CO2 reductions without their entire nuclear fleet, based a lot on what they have seen in Germany.

    The right answer is a mix of technologies that include wind, solar, and nuclear, and even replacing coal with nat gas in the near term. Its the only one that we know for certain will work and doesn't depend on some miraculous breakthrough in storage or other. China gets its, and they are moving faster than anyone because they don't get caught up appeasing the solar-wind or bust crowd.

  48. Some practical questions... by david_bonn · · Score: 1

    Power is energy per unit time. And pumping unleaded into your Toyota represents about 15MW of power. If you have an electric car charging setup that charges as quickly as you pump gasoline, you will have approximately the same power transfer.

    So what is the connector going to look like? Are you going to want to be anywhere near it while your car is charging?

    Which leads to another question. Charging a battery is not one hundred percent efficient. Even with very efficient designs you are probably going to have ten percent power loss. That would represent approximately 1.5MW of waste heat. Enough that you could easily use the passenger compartment of your car as a kiln. Where would that waste heat go? And how do you keep your car from melting?

    1. Re:Some practical questions... by fyngyrz · · Score: 3, Informative

      Here's a practical question: Why didn't you read, or understand, the summary?

      --
      I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
  49. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What was the assumption for electrical source generation in your numbers? Was it today's mix of generation technologies or some future, not yet existing scenario?

  50. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

    Replacing goal with gas is good, but when the gas runs out, will you switch back to coal ?

  51. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Gavagai80 · · Score: 1

    We have fixed or improved so many of our environmental problems already in just the last half century. It's not magic, it's steady technological progress plus regulation. You might as well be standing here saying unleaded gasoline can never be competitive and the only way to fix the lead problem is to ban all cars. Absurd as well as impossible.

    --
    This space intentionally left blank
  52. At least spell it correctly, dumbass by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Brawndo

  53. What happens to the spent electrolyte? by Streetlight · · Score: 2

    I presume the used electrolyte can somehow be restored to its former usefulness in these batteries. Can that be done at the "charging" station or must it be stored in large tanks and then transported to some nearby industrial plant? Otherwise, it will need to be disposed of as hazardous waste.

    --
    In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
    1. Re:What happens to the spent electrolyte? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe it can be vapourized into the air we breathe. If it's good enough for ICE vehicles to fart poison into the air, do as the romans do.

  54. Re:Existing infrastructure my patootey by Streetlight · · Score: 1

    There are some extensive systems that recycle huge volumes of liquids such as spent motor oil generated at car dealerships and oil change locations (Jiffy Lube and such) and the spent deep fat frying oil from fast food places and other restaurants. Both of these sources of liquid waste are recycled into useful products.

    --
    In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
  55. Re: Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    China gets its, and they are moving faster than anyone because they don't get caught up appeasing the solar-wind or bust crowd.

    And just a few posts away, I can find someone complaining about China's growing coal fleet.

    Meanwhile, in the US, the few nuclear units under construction are over budget and behind schedule.

    So don't blame this solar-wind crowd, find the real problem, not a scapegoat.

  56. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by mark-t · · Score: 1

    I would assume that any gasoline ban would apply only to manufacturers... not owners. It would likely take no more than a generation for electric to be utterly dominant. Used gasoline cars would continue to be available in used car lots, but as more charging infrastructure is continually added to enable the installation of rapid charging pump facilities throughout the country, the demand for gasoline cars would continually drop.

    I'm not saying I would advocate such a ban, only illustrating how, I think, such a ban could feasibly work. Kinda like how DVD's and then Blu Ray ultimately all but completely replaced VHS.

  57. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by mark-t · · Score: 1

    Crap! I meant to hit "Preview", and I hit "Submit". I know full well that VHS was never banned.... I was using that as a comparison for how, over time, one would replace the other, not because I thought that VHS was ever outlawed.

  58. The issue is infrastructure. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Tesla 100 kWh battery to be reachrged "instantly" let's say in 1 minute (60 seconds) using 220 V DC infrastructure would require only 30,000 A current. Does anyone imagine electronics and cables capable to control 30,000 A 220 V currents?

    1. Re:The issue is infrastructure. by green1 · · Score: 1

      Nobody can imagine it because nobody would be crazy enough to do that at 220v.
      There's a reason that current fast charging stations work at almost 400v, and why future standards are looking at even higher voltages. If you double the voltage you halve the current.
      Also, why pick 1 minute? that's much faster than you refuel a gasoline car, and everyone says that they are fast enough.

  59. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    Why would we switch back to coal? I did clearly say 'in the near term'. Do you think giving ourselves more time to find other workable and more economic solutions while very quickly reducing our CO2 output for lower cost is a bad thing?

  60. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by religionofpeas · · Score: 1

    Why would we switch back to coal?

    Because it's cheap and available.

    Do you think giving ourselves more time to find other workable and more economic solutions while very quickly reducing our CO2 output for lower cost is a bad thing?

    Of course not. As long as you don't lose the sense of urgency, which is a real risk.

  61. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by Mr+D+from+63 · · Score: 1

    As long as you don't lose the sense of urgency, which is a real risk.

    Urgency is the main reason to replace coal with gas, it is the fastest and lowest cost move to make the biggest dent in CO2 emissions. But unfortunately many don't like that approach.

  62. Instantly rechargeable batteries are impossible. by bluegutang · · Score: 1

    A relatively small car battery stores around 50 amp-hours of charge.

    That means to fully charge it, you would need to input 1 amp of current for 50 hours. Or 50 amps for 1 hour. Or 3000 amps for 1 minute. Or 180000 amps for one second.

    The average house wiring is capable of carrying 10 or 15 amps. 3000 amps, much less 180000 amps, is beyond anything imaginable for a local charging setup.

  63. Re:Need to ban gasoline powered cars by ArylAkamov · · Score: 1

    You can pry my gay little miata out of my cold, dead fingers.

  64. Re:Instantly rechargeable batteries are impossible by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 1

    A relatively small car battery stores around 50 amp-hours of charge.

    At 12V, so the stored energy is only about 0.6 kWh.

    The average house wiring is capable of carrying 10 or 15 amps.

    At either 120V or 240V, depending on the country, so energy can be delivered at a rate of around 1.8 to 3.6 kW from a standard 15A output. If internal resistance were not an issue, you could draw enough energy to fully recharge that 50 Ah car battery in 10-20 minutes. Or with a dedicated 50A 240V appliance outlet, about 3 minutes.

    A Tesla Roadster has a 54 kWh battery capacity (90x as much), so a full recharge would require at least 4.5 hours even with the dedicated 50A 240V outlet. That would be a significant improvement, but still well short of "instantaneous".

    Of course in this article "instantaneous" refers not to the time required to recharge the battery, but merely the time to replace the electrolytic fluid. The old electrolytes still need to be recycled or processed to restore their original charge before they can be reused. It would be fairer to compare this process to physically replacing an electric car's batteries with pre-charged spares, which could be done in moments if the car was designed for it.

    --
    "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat