Electric Cars - Better Place GDG

[Marvin S]

Source: WIRED - Sept 2008

A brief synopsis - someone actually has an idea that might work -

Build an electrial system grid similar to the gas station grid - test it in closed markets - Israel & Denmark have serious investors - Hawaii is interested.

In simplified form - you buy car, some serious players working on cars - company owns batteries & electrical stations - When you go to get a charge, you can either charge the batteries in the car or get a new set if you are in a hurry - Economics are not worked out completely but I'm sure cheaper than any government mandate.

I like the idea of some test beds to see things work - I would think it would avoid the idiocy we call "Ethanol".

[BIG DOG]

i was watching the history channel last night (in between comercials of football) and some guy has invented a chopper that ran over the speed limit (70mph) (full size bike) and a golf cart that runs 50+ mph and a car that runs about the same all battery driven

[Buzz]

I suggested this model at Hughes Electronics in Long Beach California back in the early-mid 1990's. They were doing the controls & batteries, I was working on the motor designs - all for GM. We had a really great system, the batteries were just not there...

What they are doing with the Volt at GM just doesn't look conducive to quick change-outs.

Source: WIRED - Sept 2008

A brief synopsis - someone actually has an idea that might work -

Build an electrial system grid similar to the gas station grid - test it in closed markets - Israel & Denmark have serious investors - Hawaii is interested.

In simplified form - you buy car, some serious players working on cars - company owns batteries & electrical stations - When you go to get a charge, you can either charge the batteries in the car or get a new set if you are in a hurry - Economics are not worked out completely but I'm sure cheaper than any government mandate.

I like the idea of some test beds to see things work - I would think it would avoid the idiocy we call "Ethanol".

[Steve]

If electrical capcity isn't increased, then it won't be viable solution.

And I wish ethanol was just idiotic. Unfortunately, it is another form of coporate welfare to farm states.

[Buzz]

If electrical capcity isn't increased, then it won't be viable solution.

And I wish ethanol was just idiotic. Unfortunately, it is another form of coporate welfare to farm states.

Are you talking about capacity of our generation and transmission infrastructure? There is a lot of unused off peak capacity to be utilized. And if you exchange battery packs at exchange stations, those packs can be shipped to central charging station, eliminating the need for big transmission projects. The question is, what is the most efficient long term approach?

[Marvin S]

I suggested this model at Hughes Electronics in Long Beach California back in the early-mid 1990's. They were doing the controls & batteries, I was working on the motor designs - all for GM. We had a really great system, the batteries were just not there...

The Israeli's are really after this - Renault & Daimler are working hard on the car designs. The batteries are a big deal as I am familiar with in umderground locomotion & heavy. But we've seen how the alternate fuel thing has just ran up against a wall. Will any one product do it all - probably not but - if we were not wasting our excess electricity it would be nice to reduce dependence on any one product.

I personally think they have gone after this in the right manner (without government other than tax breaks) & hopefully it will be successful. It would be better than government providing at huge taxpayer expense - public transportation that does little to cater to the customer.

[Cray Stephenson]

http://www.nedra.com/

[Colonel Blimp]

If the objectives of developing electric vehicles is to avoid pollution and dependency on (non US) oil, where is the energy going to come from to power the electricity plants? Fuel sources like coal are equally as polluting as oil, and hydro, wind, and tidal sources are capable of some expansion but only so much.

IMO the only answer is nukes. The technology is known and needs no further production development. Once governments actually screw up courage and recognise the obvious, nukes can do all we want. The French are way ahead of the rest of us, developing about 80% of their national energy requirement via nukes, a decision they took in the early 70s after the "Oil shock" of that time. They wised up and we didn't. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf40.html

As a side issue once you have serious amounts of electricity available you wont need batteries in vehicles, you'll run on hydrogen.

Eug

[Cray Stephenson]

As a side issue once you have serious amounts of electricity available you wont need batteries in vehicles, you'll run on hydrogen.

I read and see the hydrogen argument...that it only puts out water vapor as exhaust and how great that will be for pollution and to curb global warming. It all sounds great, but, I've wondered about all of us putting more water vapor into the air. Water Vapor is the #1, the most abundant greenhouse 'gas' in our atmosphere. If global warming is man made, wouldn't this have more potential to perpetuate it?