Umm.. What? Looking the Arpa-E (btw.. 'Arpa' is 'a lottery ticket' in Finnish :P ) project list I start wondering if they already did solve all other issues remaining regarding the batteries.
The car body is the protective component which should provide shelter for occupants and fragile technology. It's a challenge to build the cells in a form and around the car body but laughing at the environmental issues is just nuts. They have now a cell design that has no issues between -40C and +55C? And such kind which allows 300 mile range? 5000 cycles and 15 year lifetime? Also getting below that $100/kWh? If so I missed the news completely. Looking at the article picture of the Volt battery pack says it all. 80% of that volume is something other than active materials. 70% of the weight is something else than active materials. They could solve it all just by rethinking the packaging efficiencies. Somehow building the door panels as batteries does not sound really convincing and a path to right direction. Actually it appears to be just a way to tell us that the technology is again so far away. If the approach in here is 'fund everything' and 'let all ideas fly' maybe then it is ok to waste money. -Jukka P.S.- We are no different here. Public money is wasted all around to create the smoke screen for other projects. http://www.google.com/profiles/jarviju#about 2013/12/22 brucedp5 <[email protected]> > > > > http://www.earthtechling.com/2013/12/why-ev-battery-and-vehicle-design-matters/ > Why EV Battery And Vehicle Design Matters > December 16, 2013 by Megan Nicholson, ITIF > > [image / GM > > http://www.earthtechling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/volt-battery-pack.jpg > ARPA-E wants to make this Chevy Volt pih pack obsolete > ] > > Before its annual Energy Innovation Summit in 2013, the Department of > Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced > funding > for a new program aimed at rethinking electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The > program, Robust Affordable Next Generation Energy Storage Systems or RANGE, > was created as part of an integrated effort to accelerate electric vehicle > innovation to reduce costs and improve performance of EVs. ARPA-E > (recently) > announced the names and descriptions of the 22 recipients for the RANGE > program, representing fresh approaches to making EVs available to everyone. > > ARPA-E has invested in transportation technologies since its creation. The > new RANGE program complements the agency’s BEEST program for doubling the > energy density of EV batteries by altering battery composition and > materials, AMPED for seeking advanced power management technologies for > storage, and GRIDS, for developing cheap utility scale storage. The RANGE > program is a genuine reflection of these previous ARPA-E’s programs as it > supports truly far-reaching innovations and revolutionary energy > technologies. > > The program recognizes that significant breakthroughs in battery chemistry > and vehicle architecture are crucial for EVs to compete with internal > combustion vehicles. In response, most of the RANGE projects consider > alternative materials for batteries that are lighter than existing > batteries, safer in the case of collision, and don’t rely on > foreign-sourced > rare materials. We spoke with Dr. Cheryl Martin, Deputy Director of ARPA-E, > about the new program, which she described as the agency’s “twist on > improving the EV battery space.” > > Why EV Battery and Vehicle Design Matters > > The battery system is the most complex and expensive element of an EV, > which > means innovations in its size, material, structure, and placement are > integral to making EVs affordable and reliable enough for every American to > replace their conventional combustion vehicles. > > The RANGE program facilitates what Dr. Martin calls these kinds of “big > swing” innovations by investing in a variety of projects that address key > system challenges, but approach solving these problems from different > directions. The program invests in “seedling” early-stage projects – like > the collaborative project between EnZinc, Inc. and the U.S. Naval Research > Lab funded at only $448,000 ... > > On the other end of the spectrum, four of the funded projects in the RANGE > program focus on integrating EV batteries into the vehicle structure > itself, > which could reduce vehicle weight, increase driving range, and strengthen > safety standards. One such project run by UC San Diego, funded at $3.49 > million, is developing EV batteries as part of the vehicle’s support > structure, which will be incorporated into a redesign of the standard > vehicle frame. The principle investigator on the project, Professor Yu Qiao > commented, “According to our analysis, if low-cost, relatively-high-energy > batteries can be robust and multifunctional with the vehicle structure > redesigned, drive range can be increased to 250-300 miles at an affordable > price.” The project’s work focuses on creating batteries that can continue > to operate safely and efficiently under adverse conditions, in addition to > improving EV cost and performance. > > Dr. Martin noted that “these formable batteries can potentially be placed > in > many different spaces in the car or distributed throughout the frame,” > which > would allow EV batteries to operate not as a separate technical system from > the rest of the vehicle, but as a single but multifunctional technology. As > limited driving range continues to be a significant strike against existing > EVs, these transformative projects that rethink vehicle “architecture” to > decrease vehicle weight and increase range could be adopted by industry in > the near-term. > > Getting EVs Cheaper than Combustion Engine Vehicles > > ITIF noted in its 2012 report, Shifting Gears: Transcending Conventional > Economic Doctrines to Develop Better Electric Vehicle Batteries, that > electric vehicles still lag far behind conventional vehicles in reliability > and continue to be prohibitively expensive for most car-buying Americans. > Until EVs can match the cost and performance of conventional gas vehicles, > widespread deployment is unrealistic. Consistent and substantial investment > in battery system innovation is necessary to address the remaining economic > and technical challenges facing EVs. > > The RANGE projects represent public investment in energy innovation at its > best and could improve battery life, system design, and cost. As Mr. Burz > also noted, “The role of ARPA-E in our technology’s development will be > significant. They recognized the game-changing aspect of the technology and > were willing to take a risk where the commercial investment community would > not…The economy of innovation is by necessity risky because that is where > the possibility of great gains lies.” > > These revolutionary approaches to designing electric vehicles enable the > possibility of “drop-in” replacements for conventional gas vehicles in the > future. The RANGE program is another strong example of the inspired and > bold > mission of ARPA-E to identify and address areas of technical weakness > within > the energy ecosystem through effective investments in ground-breaking > projects ... > [© 2013 EarthTechling] > ... > http://www.innovationfiles.org/arpa-e-rethinks-electric-vehicle-batteries/ > ... > http://www.enzinc.com/ > > [image > http://www.enzinc.com/uploads/1/7/1/3/17138058/5629556_orig.jpg > chart > ] > > > > > For all EVLN posts use: > > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/template/NamlServlet.jtp?macro=search_page&node=413529&query=evln&sort=date > > Here are today's archive-only EV posts: > > EVLN: Malta electric car charging points free for a year > EVLN: theelectriccircuit.com , Québec.ca Level-2&3 for thou and thee > EVLN: Free Rides on modified GEM e6s nEV shuttle in Palm Beach, FL > + > EVLN: Warning, this Leaf EV accelerates from here in a hurry (video) > > > {brucedp.150m.com} > > > > -- > View this message in context: > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVLN-Why-ARPA-E-s-programs-RANGE-BEEST-AMPED-Matter-tp4666850.html > Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at > Nabble.com. > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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