Robin van Spaandonk wrote,
The newer & lighter quick recharge lithium ion batteries would
be
a better than lead-acid batteries, if new vehicles are being
built
anyway.
Jed mentioned the same thing - and these are superior batteries
weightwise, but way too costly for now, and they will need
periodic replacment.
They are not perfected yet, even for laptops - as HP just recalled
several million lithium-ions which were igniting under that
low-stress situations. You do not want that risk on the highway.
The proposed lithium upgrade to the Prius, such as the reported
replacement of the standard 1.3-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery with a
9-kWh lithium-ion battery pack from Valence Technology in Austin,
Texas is horribly expensive compared to lead-acid - what 5 times
more for the same power? Maybe prices will come down, but I was
basing the redesign effort on what is actually economically doable
today.
A small 1 liter gen-set for longer highway use or to
recharge the batteries in an emergency. The H2 could be carried
in
a single pressurized cylinder in the safest place in an
automobile
(under the rear seat) giving a 200 mile range - when needed. In
a
normal commute, it would be all electric with a nightly
recharge.
1 L is a bit small all by itself. However if one lets the
vehicle
know ahead of time that the trip is going to be a long one, then
the H2 motor can run from the outset of the journey, topping up
the batteries from the start.
Yes. I should have been more clear on this, but it is obvious that
one should have the capability of using both the motor and the
batteries together on the highway.
BTW did you see the small Wankel? It is way less than 1 L, and
only 80 pounds. Fitted with a 50 Kw generator, this genset will be
adequate to propel the vehicle at highway speeds alone.
Jones
