How Much Longer Until Someone Breaks The Electric Car Range Barrier?

Besides the ridiculous headline on the USAToday story from Laura Bruno's Daily Record piece, it did get something right. The MINI E is the start of something special. But it is definitely not leading the electric car wave. This isn't General Motors's EV-1 project.

Regardless, having spent a day behind the wheel of the MINI E, I can say that it is unique. That's because it combines the fun of a MINI with the cool aspects of an electric car: a quiet driving experience; an obscene amount of torque; and best of all, gas-less driving.

But one thing the article conveniently misses is that the battery's range is supposedly 100 miles, which varies *heavily* depending on driving style and the driving environment -- that's the miss; battery depletion after years of deterioration; an unprepared infrastructure. These are all aspects that have been mentioned before, countless times, in fact.

More importantly, when is a firm going to legitimately break the barrier when it comes to battery technology with a full-on electric car?

Although the 2011 Chevrolet Volt is hardly a full-on electric vehicle, it does a damn good job at getting rid of range anxiety and providing a short-term solution with its dual-motor setup.


Todd Crook, a 42-year-old television advertising producer from California is convinced. So is Tom Mologhney, a 43-year-old New Jersey restauranteur. They're sold on the Mini E, BMW's first electric car to be put in the hands of consumers in the U.S.

For 15 months, they've been part of a select group of drivers in New York, New Jersey and California who have driven the fully-electric Mini E as their main commuting vehicle. And, as Laura Bruno from the Daily Record in Morris County, N.J., reports, these drivers could be in the forefront of showing their fellow motorists that electric vehicles are worth a try. She writes:

Now, with other electric cars poised to enter the market — the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf in November and December, respectively — the Mini E drivers are vocal advocates for battery-powered vehicles...

[Source: USAToday]








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t_bone - 10/24/2010 8:56:57 PM

+1 Boost

A couple that come to mind are Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) and Graphite Foam (basically a much more efficient lead acid battery). You don't hear much about these technologies because they are under intense private R&D.

I would be surprised if we hit 2020 without at least twice the current power density at half the current cost. At some point, the numbers will make sense. But then it will be a question of how much range do you really want to carry? I don't even want a 1,000 mile battery if it adds the weight of a couple heavy adults to my daily commute.

thstone - 10/25/2010 4:03:21 PM

0 Boost

Sorry, dispite hundreds of millions in research spent over the past 5 years, there are no real breakthroughs in battery performance (energy density) on the horizon.

Worse, we are only starting to understand the environmental nightmare that we have unleashed in terms of what to do with worn out batteries.

And if you say "battery recylcing", go and soak your head in cold water because if you think that processing acids and heavy metals is a "clean" process, then you need to wake up and smell the toxic wastes that a battery recycling plant generates.