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[trikester]

More on the way in battery improvement.

http://www.udel.edu/udaily/2014/mar/battery-technology-032414.html

Trikester

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

You should post this under "tech".

[Richard230]

I wish I had a nickel for every new battery technology announcement that has been posted on the internet over the past 10 years.   

[trikester]

All developments require somebody to decide to put it into production and have the money to do so. That is the "squeeze zone" in new products.

That shouldn't stop us from being aware of things as they are discovered or developed. Some things make it and others don't. Some people sure didn't think those "horseless carriages" were going to amount to anything. Then along came Henry Ford.

Trikester

[dc5dd]

All developments require somebody to decide to put it into production and have the money to do so. That is the "squeeze zone" in new products.

That shouldn't stop us from being aware of things as they are discovered or developed. Some things make it and others don't. Some people sure didn't think those "horseless carriages" were going to amount to anything. Then along came Henry Ford.

Trikester

I agree it just feels hopeless

[LiveandLetDrive]

I think what is usually lost from the layman's perspective is the complexity and balance of performance factors that a change in chemistry entails.  So many of these new developments may improve energy density but hurt power density or not last in the real world or cost more or require a process that doesn't scale well, etc. etc.  Everyone sees headlines that say "New battery stores 10x more energy!" and we all expect a 2000 mile range bike next year and are left jaded when reality is much more incremental.  (Zero's 2012 to 2013 leap notwithstanding!)  Batteries are consistently getting better and the chemistry is frequently changing in ways that mostly hide behind the scenes but they are getting better far more quickly than ICE engines are getting more fuel efficient!  The future is bright, it will just never be "now", or else it wouldn't be the future anymore.   (;

[DynoMutt]

How's the state of large Zinc-air batteries at this point?  Shouldn't they have a greater power storage/weight ratio?

[protomech]

Zinc-air is great energy/weight .. terrible power/weight. Great for applications like hearing aids.. flashlights.. any type of device that needs to run for many many hours.

Not so great for EVs, bikes in particular, that at maximum power can discharge in tens of minutes.