Thread: The batteries of the future, weightless, and invisible.

Scepticism is fine. Obstacles have to be identified and overcome.
I notice in the Wired story that the researchers have already made structural battery panels, such as bonnets and boots, to test their theories, so it's moving beyond the theoretical.

I think structural panels made from batteries will be possible. however lasting for ever is a different issue as is the safety of high energy density batteries. Lots of Energy released quickly equal lots of power and usually means heat and with heat comes expansion of gases etc.
This is all just challenge that people take on and try to resolve these issues. So far oxidation/burning of liquid fuels has allowed us to get great range and power from a tank of fuel. Lots of energy density there, yet it has been made safe enough for us to use every day all around the world. Self sealing tanks, mesh filled tanks to slow flame fronts all make liquid fuels even safer yet we don’t all use these technologies. It just has to be safe enough. Yes lithium batteries have had some bad press about catching fire etc. But we have various chemistries some maybe less energy dense but still better than lead acid,LiFePO4. So things can be made safe enough.

Who would have thought that electric cars would start to become available for the common man to use some 20 years ago, improvements have been made and why not structural batteries?

I’ve got nothing against the structural battery bit, I’m sure it could be done, but it’s the BS tech they’re sprouting around lasting forever. I’m also unsure if the safety of them in a crash can be worked through and pass crash testing - that would be interesting to watch.

Originally Posted by slug_burner

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Who would have thought that electric cars would start to become available for the common man to use some 20 years ago, improvements have been made and why not structural batteries?

Electric vehicles were more popular 100 years ago, than they are today.
What's happening today(and the past 10 years or so) .. is a resurgence in EVs.

One they are definitely not is 'available' to the common person.
Yeah, any old mug can go out and buy one and feel as though they are contributing to the climate change movement in some way, but 5 years(~100K klms) later and the vehicle will potentially cost something like $10K to replace batteries.

Once that reality smashes the 'common man' back to ground level, common mans' taste for EVs will be very bitter.

Teslas' practises aren't helping in any way either.

An EV battery warranty usually covers a loss of up to about 30% efficiency, so the battery might still hold 70% of capacity. Five to 8 years and up to 160,000kms seems typical. The battery warranty is better than the warranty for the car.

Which electric car has the best battery warranty? | CarAdvice

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

An EV battery warranty usually covers a loss of up to about 30% efficiency, so the battery might still hold 70% of capacity. Five to 8 years and up to 160,000kms seems typical. The battery warranty is better than the warranty for the car.

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Maybe I'm just too skeptical .. but unless all the fine print has been read, warranties are for mugs!

I can imagine that these warranties specify that they will replace the battery in some manner, but more than likely some (ie, most!!) of the cost will be expected from the owner.

But like I said in one of my replies .. the actual warranty itself, nor the situation that they cost so much .. really isn't the issue.
The future of resale value is going to put many people off.
Not everyone is afforded the perks of leasing/salary sacrifice/etc.
So resale value is an important factor .. or will become one.

Some current era Evs at selling at 10% of their original sale price with approx 5 years of use.

typical examples of this is say a Prius/Corolla comparo.

$50K Priuses sell for $15K with a few klms on them, $25K Corollas will be similar(low ball) to a bit more($17K) for the same klms travelled.
When more people realise that S/H Priuses are going to cost a lot of money to bring back up to scratch .. this will further reduce resale value for Priuses/EVs further in the future.

And there’s plenty of examples of $30K plus Nissan Leafs being worth scrap value after only 3 years when the batteries fail and Nissan leaves the owner high and dry even if the vehicle is just out of warranty.