New Scientist: Electric cars: Juiced up and ready to go

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327171.500-electric-cars-juiced-up-and-ready-to-go.html

Electric cars: Juiced up and ready to go

20 July 2009 by Michael Brooks

Picture the scene: in downtown New York City, all-electric cars glide through streets in a zero-emission transport revolution. Polluting, inefficient gasoline and diesel vehicles are nowhere to be seen - or heard. The only things getting in the way of these smooth, noiseless vehicles are the horse-drawn trams.

That's right, we're talking about the past. The electric car had its heyday over a century ago. Its brief reign came to an end in 1912, when gasoline-powered Cadillacs began to come fitted with starter motors. That did away with the inconvenient crank handle needed to get their engines going, and they could run for 100 miles or more on a tank on fuel. The all-electric car's battery would run out before you reached the city limits. It was no contest.

Now, in the first decade of the 21st century, history is about to go into reverse. The climate crisis is prompting thoughts of an all-electric economy, of which electric cars will be a vital part. The idea has been http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19926741.600-mean-machines-go-green.html">taking shape in engineering labs and on the roads for a while (New Scientist, 20 September 2008, p 26), and now fresh impetus is finally coming from on high. "Our dependency on oil is dangerous and short-sighted," US energy secretary Stephen Chu wrote in Newsweek in April. "We must... move toward running new vehicles on electricity and to generating that electricity from clean, renewable sources like solar and wind power."

There's just one rather large obstacle remaining - and it's the same one that stalled the electric car 100 years ago. "In the end, it all comes down to the lowly battery," says Donald Sadoway, who studies materials chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Though batteries have been around for more than 200 years (http://www.newscientist.com/articleimages/mg20327171.500/1-electric-cars-juiced-up-and-ready-to-go.html">see time line), precious little research effort has gone into improving them. That's changing fast. In May, the US government set aside $2 billion for developing advanced battery manufacturing methods and $400 million towards the electrification of transport. A combination of new computer modelling techniques, innovative thinking and this well-timed injection of cash are set to transform battery technology. "We're poised for a step change," Sadoway says.

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[tinrobot]

1. Can't wait to dump my gas burner

The less I have to give to oil companies, the better.

[intaglio]

2. 100-300 is when electric will take off

100kph (60mph) speed and 300km (180 miles) range. Long way to go but reachable

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Cost is also a factor

The Tesla Roadster meets your specs (and then some) however, the price puts it out-of-reach for the vast majority of drivers.

[TheWraith]

4. Actually that's not very high a threshold.

There's several EVs which meet that line and pass it.

[GliderGuider]

6. We'll need to see $6.00/gal gasoline as well.

For most people (e.g. the office commuters and errand-runners), it's all about economics. If the e-cars meet their logistical needs AND the gasoline alternative is more expensive, they will switch. Both those factors have to be in place for that to happen, though. I suspect the next oil price super-spike will start a big shift. A lot of people have thought about it now, they just need the next big push to start jumping. $200/bbl oil would do it. We could see that as soon as the end of next year if the economy starts to recover.

If the economy stays down the shift won't happen -- oil prices will stay low, people will drive less and hang onto their old cars longer, unless there is enough of an incentive offered by governments and/or car companies to overcome the economic barrier.

[excess_3]

7. the US is not the whole world

some countries already have 6 buck gas.

[GliderGuider]

8. Then when oil hits $200

You will have $6.00 gas, and they will have $12.00 gas. The impact will be the same in both cases.

[Wednesdays]

5. K&R

:kick: