Friday, March 25, 2011

New posts from Gas 2.0!

New posts from Gas 2.0!

I Want it Now: New Batteries Can Charge EVs in Seconds

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 04:00 PM PDT

People don’t like to wait.  That’s what made Domino’s Pizza the success it was in the 1980s and it’s what makes electric cars such a tough sell today.  Call it “range anxiety” if you want, but you can run out of gas, too, and nobody complains about that.  What is really at the heart of the matter, I think, is impatience.  People want their car ready to roll, and ready to roll right now.

In other words:  build an electric car that can be “topped off” in 5 minutes and you’ve got a winner.

The stuff of fantasy, right?  Not so much.

Paul Braun and his research team at the University of Illinois have developed a three-dimensional nano-structure for battery cathodes that allows for dramatically faster charging and discharging without sacrificing energy storage capacity, which could result in phones and laptops that fully charge in a matter of seconds and cars that fully charge in a matter of minutes – without sacrificing overall range or performance.

The breakthrough comes from wrapping conductive film into three-dimensional shapes, resulting in high capacity and large current.  The group has made batteries that can charge (or discharge) in seconds, up to 100 times faster than equivalent bulk electrodes, but which can also perform “normally”, discharging slowly, in existing applications.

Braun is optimistic about the technology’s potential in electric vehicles, pointing out that “if you had the ability to charge rapidly, instead of taking hours to charge the vehicle you could potentially have vehicles that would charge in similar times as needed to refuel a car with gasoline.  If you had five-minute charge capability, you would think of this the same way you do an internal combustion engine. You would just pull up to a charging station and fill up.”

Exactly.

Braun’s work has been supported by both the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the Department of Energy, and will continue with the ultimate goal being commercial applications and (one would think) enough money for Braun to roll to class in one of these.

Source:  Science Daily.

First Solar-Powered EV Charging Station Opens in NYC

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 11:50 AM PDT

New York has perhaps taken a big step towards endorsing an electric car future by installing its first EV charging station at the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The station was donated by the Brooklyn-based Beautiful Earth Group and will operate completely autonomously as it is powered by solar panels which will produce 5.6 kilowatts of power – enough to charge five of Brooklyn Bridge Park's service vehicles as well as an electric car and a small home. The station is expected to save the park approximately $200,000 in gasoline costs.

I suspect this station is rather early on the scene, an anomaly rather than accurate indicator of New York's imminent future. The first lines of consumer EVs are only now starting to roll into showrooms, so it's not like the demand is there yet. And it accordingly sounds like the station will be used far more to service park maintenance than the general public.

Building an actual EV infrastructure is by comparison a much longer way off, if we even choose to go that route at all. Still, the Brooklyn Park station works quite well on a symbolic level. If nothing else its high-profile location in a rapidly-improving park—located in one of America's major cities to boot— is damn good publicity.

Besides, it makes sense that electric vehicles should catch on faster in government and commercial enterprises. Any large park or complex (let's imagine a university) which utilizes small carts to move employees and equipment around could easily benefit from installing an EV station and throwing a few solar panels up on top of their many buildings. Their investment is a purely internal affair which doesn't rely on outside variables like infrastructure or the market.

Actually getting public-use EV stations up and running for the consumer is a whole different matter. At the heart of the problem is the classic chicken-and-egg dichotomy: there can't be EV stations until the cars to utilize them exist, and EV cars likely won't catch on in a big way until the infrastructure to support them is adequately developed. My guess is we will be charging our electric cars at home for the foreseeable future, until enough of the public own EV cars to force the market's hand.

Until then, let's watch closely and see how well Beautiful Earth Group's endeavor plays out in New York.

Source: inhabitat | Image Source: nytimes

First Fisker Karma Built, Many More (Hopefully) To Come

Posted: 25 Mar 2011 07:00 AM PDT

It seems like its been a decade since Fisker first introduced the world to its super-sexy plug-in hybrid, the Karma (though it's only just over three years.) Finally though, the first Karma is complete, with more to come.

The Fisker Karma was first introduced in January of 2008 at the Detroit Auto Show. We’ve seen countless images, teasers, and even a sexy little video that made me want more, and finally the first cars are rolling off the assembly line of Valmet Automotive's plant in Uusikaupunki, Finland. It will take another month or so for the first cars to be delivered, and Fisker hopes to delivery around 7,000 of the $88,000 sedans, in order to ensure quality. While these first vehicles will be built in Finland, Fisker purchased an old GM plant in Delaware for $20 million where they can build up to 100,000 cars a year, including the Karma and an as-yet-unnamed cheaper sedan codenamed “Project Nina.” Seems expensive, but I think Tesla Roadster sales have proven that people will pay a premium for high technology automobiles.

The Karma's plug-in hybrid system uses a General Motors-soured 2.4 liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine to power four electric motors that delivers over 400 horsepower and over 900 ft-lbs of torque. That's enough to motivate the two-ton sedan from 0-60 mph in under six seconds and deliver "an annual average" of 100 mpg. The 20 kWh lithium-ion nanophosphate battery can propel the Karma for up to 50 miles on electricity alone (though I'm sure that drops in cold weather) and can be recharged in six to eight hours from a 220 volt outlet.

This has been a long time coming, and the Karma is at the top of the list of cars-I'd-give-up-beer-but-not-bacon-for. Never giving up bacon (and there's always whiskey!)

Source: Wired

Chris DeMorro is a writer and gearhead who loves all things automotive, from hybrids to HEMIs. You can read about his slow descent into madness at Sublime Burnout or follow his non-nonsensical ramblings on Twitter @harshcougar.
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