Will nanotech car batteries that recharge in a snap make electric cars finally convenient?

[capthek]

Electric vehiclesBatteries now included

Mar 12th 2009
From The Economist print edition
The missing piece of the electric-car jigsaw has just turned up

Corbis

Comments

[peristaltor]

Only if the tech is affordable and easily ramped up, something I doubt will happen. The better batteries will fetch a higher price for the most obvious uses like laptops, cell phones, power tools and music machines, all which demand quick charging. Only until that market is saturated will affordable batteries trickle down to the car level.

This is exactly what happened to the Nickle metal-hydride batteries. They were used to build the second generation of electric cars in the 90s, but used as ammunition by the auto makers who noted to the CARB officials that they were so expensive, nobody would buy the cars. Now the batteries are affordable, but no one is using them for cars. Why? The makers are "holding out" for the next gen of lithium (or hydrogen fool cells) and ignoring that there is very likely a market for the NiMH.

This new development, while technically exciting, means people will hold out for the quick-charging lithium and put off buying the standard lithium powered car.

I've seen this before, many times. When I got involved in electric cars, the common trope was that they would be "sellable" when they got the range over 75 miles, something none of the crappy flooded lead-acid batteries could do. Gel and paste electrolyte lead-acid allowed cars to beat that 75 mile requirement. (That's when I bought.) Suddenly the "sellable" benchmark rose to 100 to 150 miles in the popular press (as regurgitated from car maker PR flacks).

Then the NiMH batteries came out. The NiMH Gen II EV-1 got a solid 120 mile range, even on moderate freeway travel. The RAV-EV got 110 miles. The Honda EV+ also beat 100. Did that spur sales? Nope. Suddenly the benchmark rose to 300. Everyone suddenly spouted that magical 300 mile mark as a reason they weren't interested in the technology, despite the fact that most of them owned multiple cars and had short commutes. (I was selling small electrics at the time. It was a conversation I had again and again.)

Then Bush got elected appointed by the Supreme Court and all these cars -- and the technology they pursued -- disappeared.

NiMH batteries can run a car well, and cost effectively. No, you won't be road tripping. Yes, you'll have to wait for the thing to charge. So why aren't we seeing these cars?

Without solid requirements and some financial help from the govt, electrics will be silly looking snails (Google "NEV") clogging roads at 30 mph. No one but the pompous will want to own them, let alone drive them.