Browsing Category: "Environment"
Who killed the electric battery?
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I watched “Who Killed the Electric Car” some time ago. Ever since I’ve been intrigued by electric cars and electric car conversions.
While doing my online research, I realized that the battery and the drive are the two most important components. The battery is where the real cost adds up. Range, cost, and weight are the 3 important factors that batteries dictate for an electric vehicle project. It turns out that 10 years ago we had a very good if not perfect battery to jump-start the electric car. It was the Ovonic NiMH. It had 70wh/kg capacity, 1,750 cycles to 100% depth of discharge. Discharge ability is important for EV’s. Energy Conversion Devices quoted them at $150/kWh for a production run of 20,000 cars.
General Motors didn’t wish the electric car to compete with their main-stream gas cars and trucks and sold the patent to Chevron Texaco. Chevron Texaco vigorously protects this battery technology and even sued Toyota for making a similar design. Further with the oil company winning that case, it was able to win a restriction on the maximum AH size of the batteries to 10AH. This prevents them from ever being used in a road EV. Further Chevron Texaco is responsible for about half the price premiums on today’s hybrids. They charge $1,200/kWh for the battery when it could be $150. How well do they control NiMH technology? Well every NiMH battery has to be licensed from a company - Cobasys, wholly owned by Chevron. Manufacturing is limited to consumer electronics size batteries. This explains why Tesla Motors is using thousands of small consumer-grade batteries in its electric vehicle.
These batteries could last 300,000 miles, but is unavailable. It would allow EV’s with a 200-300 range and make EV conversions with 150 mile ranges a possibility. It is such a shame that we developed the technology right here in the U.S.A. to lead the world in the next phase of automotive systems.
I have found some promising companies such as 123 Systems making Lithium Ion batteries that are quite expensive now. Unfortunately I see many references of them “partnering” with Cobasys. I can only believe that there will be some sort of collusion to keep battery prices high. I see the Cobasys link time and time again. If I were a battery startup, I would say the way to make big bucks if you don’t give a damn about society is simple. Build a better battery. Advertise your technology. If you don’t violate oil company patents, then sell out to big oil. Sad to say the least.
I recently came across a battery startup using high capacity capacitors in Austin called EEstor. There is a consumer screwdriver that uses similar technology. Unfortunately the EEstor technology is exclusively licensed to a Canadian electric car maker - Zenn Motors. What’s the play here? Well if I was a gambling man I’d say Zenn Motors will get bought out the moment EEstor’s batteries are proven. Big oil has the bucks. I hope the EEstor battery story does not become a story that was never heard.
My research continues, but boy does this tick me off! Batteries seem to be the key to any potential project. So the question is this… do I do a conversion with a small range of 50 miles (enough to get to work and back) and wait for battery technology to advance? or do I spend $10,000 to get a 150 mile range?
Note: The creater of the Ovonic battery now makes solar panels. The engineer/founder of the company truely is a pioneer in environmental engineering. It is sad that his technology was sold to an oil company.
My Garden is Green and so is my Asus bamboo laptop
In 1976, the first Apple was built in a simple wooden box. How fitting then, that 21 years later an OEM manufacturer for Apple is building a laptop in a bamboo casing.
Dubbed the Asus Eco Book, it is encased in laminated bamboo strips available in an assortment of shades. Bamboo is touted as eco-friendly because it is an abundant, flexible, fast-growing grass. It is less likely to harm the earth to process it than compared to trees, although glues might contain toxins. The laptop is still in the prototype stage and will face testing on how it faces heat and drops. Asustek had an earlier experiment using leather. They had a laptop that hit the market with a line that catered to high-end users with calf leather-bound notebooks and faux alligator-skin models. Asustek found success with the line and decided to experiment with other materials.
Asus makes some pretty sleek laptops I must say. The U1F is a laptop I wouldn’t mind owning myself. There’s still time to send me one before x-mas. :o)
Green Stock: Green Energy Resources
Today’s green stock pick is:
Green Energy Resources (GRGR.PK).
GRGR is making a move into Europe and is the only US exporter of wood biomass tha t meets UK and EU environmental standards. Great Britain’s energy secretary recently announced the construction of the largest wood-biomass power plant in the world.
Great Britain’s Energy Secretary John Hutton approved the largest wood-based biomass plant in the world last week. The 350 megawatt plant will be operating 24/7, 365 days per year on wood energy power. …The wood biomass will be supplied from the United States.
Since the wood biomass is slated to be coming from the U.S. and GRGR is the only one that meets EU environmental standards, odds are they are going to be the supplier. This could prove big if it materializes. They also had a press release about some recent contracts they won.
Save Paper, Save the Environment
The Gold winner on the Londen International Awards for ‘ambient indoor’ is this installation for the WWF.
There is a cut-out of the South America on a paper dispenser. As the paper towels are dispensed South America turns black. It makes you think about the world while you are in the “thinking room”
Why $100 Oil Maybe a Good Thing
Oil is approaching the once unimaginable $100 mark. The obvious reaction is to panic. This has to be bad right? Maybe it is not so bad.
The market determines what companies produce to meet the demand of consumers. This rule applies from video games to illegal narcotics. If there is enough demand someone will probably attempt to supply it. For future generations $100 oil may be exactly what we need.
Develop renewable energy
Until the recent high oil prices alternate energy sources and their development were considered financially unfeasible. Now we are seeing renewed interest in alternates such as wind and solar. For example in an earlier post I recommended purchasing First Solar. First Solar is a profitable maker of solar panels and is flourishing with current high oil prices. It is safe to say profitability would have been difficult to reach at say $30 oil. Alternate energy still has to become more efficient before it becomes a true replacement in our existing oil-based economy. High oil prices encourage investment in the alternatives and this investment will eventually yield dividends as it has for First Solar investors. By the way, the smart money is now investing in alternative energy. The Walton Family of Wal-Mart fame were big initial investors in First Solar.
We are seeing green campaigns and a renewed interest in recycling. We are also seeing some of the very big automakers that oppose changes now embracing hybrids. Toyota has gone through several generations of their hybrid platform, improving it with each revision. It takes time and with high oil prices companies can get the time to develop and REFINE their products. Sometimes it takes time and $100 oil maybe the right time for these companies and technologies to flourish.
Encourage energy efficiency
In addition high-oil prices make people change their behavior. Most people need a push before they change their consumption habits. This is perhaps equally important as developing other energy sources. The U.S. SUV infatuation is starting to wane as fuel prices take up larger portions of the household income. It is estimated that if vehicles in the U.S. were as efficient as those in Europe, oil consumption would fall by as much as 3 million barrels a day (roughly 4% of world demand).
Eliminate Wasteful Symbols of Excess
The super oil profits have manifested itself in the form of an unprecedented building boom in the Middle East. From artificial islands to crazy skyscrapers, symbols of petrodollar wealth is going up left and right in the Middle East. This is not the most efficient use of resources.
Stop Killing the Earth, and Me
Polluting the air, changing the environment, and killing people. These are the externalities of big oil. It is no coincidence that the occurrence of cancer is high in areas where there are oil refineries. That is why one of the most reknown Cancer Centers - M.D. Anderson is based out of Houston, TX, a big oil city.
The Petrodollars make for bad public policy
The unfortunate problem with oil is how profitable it is. In the near term, politicians get lobbied by oil interests such as refiners, oil drillers, oil services, and even the car companies keeping fuel efficiency standards down for cars and pushing generally bad energy policy. Take a look at our CAFE requirements set by the U.S. Government. Though auto and materials technology has improved, our CAFE standards have barely budged.
I recently came across a campaign to get 35mpg by 2020. In other words an improvement of about 5mpg over 13yrs. That’s just ridiculous. My next car will get 37mpg mixed and it is not even a hybrid. Why can’t the U.S. up their requirements sooner?
Petro Dollars. When you got em, you love em. When you don’t? Well just suck my exhaust sucker.
Update [12-2-2007] : Looks like Congress has come to an agreement 35mpg by 2020 is what it will be. Weak, but like I said I think the auto industry knows it is very easy to do and so they just fight it so Congress feels they did something substantial. Pathetic.
