The transition to electric vehicles is underway, but one major hurdle is the range of these cars has long been eclipsed by that of fossil fuel-powered vehicles. Now, scientists have discovered a biologically-inspired membrane that has the potential to quintuple the range of electric vehicle batteries.
According to the Independent, the discovery was made by a research team at the University of Michigan that used recycled Kevlar, the material found in bulletproof vests, to create a network of nanofibers that resembles those in cell membranes. The researchers used this finding to fix a major issue with lithium-sulfur batteries, a next-generation battery being eyed as an alternative to lithium ion batteries in electric cars and a number of other technologies.
As a handful of countries at COP26 this fall committed to sell all-electric vehicles by 2040, it’s innovations like this that make such a sweeping transition more feasible.
Just heard of new, disturbing sales figures for EVs.
Looks like a good many happy customers are buying extra EVs. Households with two, three, even four are now not uncommon.
This trend kiboshes our sanguine expectations. The savings projections assume each EV will be used for normal commuting, replacing a gas-burning car. Over time, this use pattern will amortize the initial cost of the rare earths and costly metals used to build it. It it’s not in regular use, an EV will never reach the breakeven point.
(This also makes me wonder how much the initial price of an EV, even as high as it is right now, is subsidized by the vendor’s up-front investment in building a market.)
Just heard of new, disturbing sales figures for EVs.
Looks like a good many happy customers are buying extra EVs. Households with two, three, even four are now not uncommon.
This trend kiboshes our sanguine expectations. The savings projections assume each EV will be used for normal commuting, replacing a gas-burning car. Over time, this use pattern will amortize the initial cost of the rare earths and costly metals used to build it. If it’s not in regular use, an EV will never reach the breakeven point.
(This also makes me wonder how much the initial price of an EV, even as high as it is right now, is subsidized by the vendor’s up-front investment in building a market.)