New multi-speed Electric Vehicle transmission improves EV performance and range
This new transmission could help the SmartED go farther with the same amount of batteries or go the same distance with fewer batteries?
It is made by Vocis.
Sounds great. As tempting as electric vehicles are, I'm concerned about the gradually decreasing battery capacity over the life of the battery, meaning whatever the range of the battery pack is when it's new, it will be less than that 6 months later & less still in a year, etc. If something goes from full performance to zero, you can deal with that. But gradual decline is a big problem & requires more frequent replacement as well as decreased capability before replacement.
Sounds great. As tempting as electric vehicles are, I'm concerned about the gradually decreasing battery capacity over the life of the battery, meaning whatever the range of the battery pack is when it's new, it will be less than that 6 months later & less still in a year, etc. If something goes from full performance to zero, you can deal with that. But gradual decline is a big problem & requires more frequent replacement as well as decreased capability before replacement.
Similar theory to an internal combustion engine - torque gets you up to speed; power keeps you at speed. It takes a lot of torque to accelerate, but much less torque (thus power) to maintain a constant speed.
The relationship: British HP = (Torque (in ft-lbs) x RPM)/5252.11
My concerns about electric power developed after we bought the Prius. Regardless, it's a completely different issue. The Prius is powered by a gas engine as well as an electric motor. Aging batteries will make the car more dependent on the gas engine & less reliant on the electric motor, but it will not render the car inoperative. An electric car with diminishing range will run out of power before it completes trips that were within its range when new. With less efficient batteries may get worse mpg, but that will be the worst of its problems.
The other difference is that the Prius batteries are constantly being recharged, so even batteries with less capacity can continue to do their job. They will just seek recharging more often. Once the batteries in an electric car are dead, the car no longer has any power at all.
I know this because I own an electric boat & I've experienced decreasing range as the battery bank ages.
Is on the way! There are alot of companies doing work on improved battery technology....especially some really trick stuff like Altair Nanotech, A123, and many others are developing right now. Look how far basic lead acid battery life has come in the past decade. I still have an original battery in my 2000, S-2000 Honda...not bad for 9 years old I would say.
It was just announced on the news the other day that GE is getting into battery development and mass production soon here in the Albany/Schenectady area. Perhaps their contribution will nudge battery technology a step or two further towards a viable lithium ion battery for vehicle use.
The world has some catching up to do as far as EV/PHEV development is concerned but before you know it, you'll see them around on the streets like the Smart EV's being tested by Zytec and others in Europe.
The next decade will be a very interesting time for energy EV development.
Is on the way! There are alot of companies doing work on improved battery technology....especially some really trick stuff like Altair Nanotech, A123, and many others are developing right now. Look how far basic lead acid battery life has come in the past decade. I still have an original battery in my 2000, S-2000 Honda...not bad for 9 years old I would say.
It was just announced on the news the other day that GE is getting into battery development and mass production soon here in the Albany/Schenectady area. Perhaps their contribution will nudge battery technology a step or two further towards a viable lithium ion battery for vehicle use.
The world has some catching up to do as far as EV/PHEV development is concerned but before you know it, you'll see them around on the streets like the Smart EV's being tested by Zytec and others in Europe.
The next decade will be a very interesting time for energy EV development.
I only hope that the price is not too out of the park. The $7500 Fed rebate may just land in the hands of the manuf. as in the case of the Tesla S. Before the rebates were announced, Tesla had a price of $40K. After Tesla announced they would make the S, the price was still $40K, but INCLUDED the rebate. So who's the winner here? I suppose they must recoup their R & D costs but, jez, do they have to be reimbursed in one fell swoop?
I saw this happen back in the 80's with the tax credits for home wind powered systems and it appalled me then as much as this does now.
The Tesla S is due out end of '10 and promises to be a pretty good 1st generation of an mass produced EV. I have my doubts whether we'll see the Volt, unfortunately, but I feel that GM's approach is a better one (at this time) as it offers people an alternative to learning how to estimate fuel usage and not leave them on the side of the highway because they miscalculated.
Time will tell. I may have my $99 in there early too....depends on what the selling price will be.
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