Peri Hartman wrote:
There's been a move back to LiFePo because it doesn't use cobalt. What else can be done?
EV List Lackey wrote:
Nickel metal hydride?
There are actually lots of rechargeable battery technologies that could be used. Each has different strengths and weaknesses.
It's unfortunate that manufacturers tend to prefer a monoculture. "One thing to rule them all". But anything that you try to apply to 8 billion people is bound to cause unforeseen problems. Different applications should really use different solutions.
Lead-acid is cheap, and widely recyclable. But it's relatively heavy and has a low energy density. It still makes sense for short-range EVs like golf carts, fork lifts, scooters, etc. Also, don't forget that virtually every ICE is still using lead-acids.
Nickel-based batteries (nickel-iron, nickel-cadmium, nimh) have higher energy density and longer life, and the materials are relatively abundant. Nickel is expensive, but fairly easy to recycle (though it's not being widely done for batteries).
Lithium-based batteries have the highest energy density, but are expensive, less safe, and (at least for the present) not being recycled.
And, there are lots of other chemistries that could be used. We should be exploring *every* option; not just blindly picking one.
Lee Hart -- "#3 pencils and quadrille pads." -- Seymour Cray, when asked what CAD tools he used to design the Cray I supercomputer -- Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com -- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. www.avast.com _______________________________________________ Address messages to ev@lists.evdl.org No other addresses in TO and CC fields HELP: http://www.evdl.org/help/
