Better Battery Business

The following article from Wired's Autopia discusses a decent alternative to the problem of rate of refueling for electric car battery packs. It's merely a swap out - drive-in with a 'flat' battery, drive-out with a 'fresh' one.

Though the article pooh pooh's the notion saying, consumers will equate changing out batteries to changing an engine, and then decries the fact that we'll never standardize misses a couple of important points.

1) The batteries are 'fuel' - and the consumer is likely to see them as that. Especially if a scheme is put in place to treat them as such, including the cost associated with 'using' the fuel. Charges based on the cell.

2) Battery powered vehicles are in their infancy. Standards will come. That's why automakers are members of the Society of Automotive Engineers (the US standards body). Think of it this way, at the dawn of the horseless carriage there was no standardization of controls. Today you can get into almost any car and drive it away without having an all day course to figure out how to drive it.

This idea has a lot of merit IF battery power is the fuel source of the future.

Fast Recharge Batteries

Toshiba announced it's 90 second recharge SCiB lithium batteries. Well . . . there goes the third leg of the puzzle; performance, range and now rate-of-refueling.

This battery technology in the Tesla Model S sedan and fathers will still be able to drive far enough to stretch their kids bladders and then rush them through bathroom breaks while they 'gas' up. Restores my faith in the electric car. ; -)

From MotorAuthority