But will it reduce emissions? This is the power distribution network, 71% of power is generated by fossil fuels still and that is the electricity going into your car. In fact I wonder the percentage will be in WA? Chargers every 200 km along a route that has thousands of km with no mains power, only on-site generated power. I can see that it will probably ultimately occur given the potential for solar development, but at the moment that would be an awful lot of expensive battery storage.
I suspect smaller batteries will be a development but I can't see a small enough batteries for simple changeover (works fine now on scooters). But humans are clever.....I pre-date TV, lasers, moon exploration. mobile phones and electronic voice recognition, CT scans, electronic limbs wired to brains and the abolition of smallpox.....Once recharge is easily obtained things will be better no doubt. But if intended use of vehicle is for length of trips greater than the capacity of battery can deliver then it becomes impractical unless change over points are along route. No waiting to re charge in other words. In rural areas this won't be in my lifetime
Yeah, a new coal fired power station.
There's still hope.
The complete engine on a Challenger tank comes out on rails complete with extended lines ect...it can be changed in a couple of hours...You could easily do similar with a vehicle battery pack, but it would require design standardisation across industry which is probably the biggest hurdle...
It is already being experimented - up on a hoist and swap in less than 30 minutes (batteries tend to be large and underneath). But super-fast chargers can now charge in 15 without that hassle. I can't imagine it catching on unless they can miniaturize batteries. The big potential is if they can simply increase battery range while keeping in that 15 minute charge range.
I think you'll find that warranty duration isn't the same as battery life.
Battery life is a little longer - more like 10 years.
And as I understand it, a battery that's no longer able to meet the demands of high drain vehicle usage, can still give useful service as a home storage battery with PV solar panels, after disassembly and refurbishment.
That is around 40+ litres of petrol cost, so at 10l itres/100 km, it is the same cost as 400 km of petrol driving - and it is for super-fast charge (otherwise cheaper). It is a saving overall based on careful figures that I have seen, but only with regular use not if it sits in the garage. And not as much of a saving as most people think, but a saving. Also there is a second-hand and a reconditioned battery market and they can cost only 15% of that. The issue that I see is that at 10 years you must replace a battery or else you have an unusable an unsaleable car, so it is really payment in advance for km that you may never do in it. I suspect the resale market for EVs may prove awful.
No chance.
That's probably true , but anytime after that period you would have to prepare to pay that cost , say you double that and get 16 years it's still costing you $43.50 a week plus power usage charges. It makes me sick when politicians come out and make remarks if people aren't happy with fuel cost then go buy an electric car. Who has 100k to pluck out of their A hole for one and be prepared to possibly fork out another 30k in 8 years if the battery dies.
