Charging Ahead With A New Electric Car
The new LG Chem plant in Holland, Michigan is touted in the media as being a boon to local businesses, however, listen carefully as the mayor of Holland admits that the reason for locating the plant in Holland is because of cheap electricity. It takes a lot of electricity to make the lithium-ion batteries, making the net savings of energy doubtful. In any case, batteries require frequent electrical charges, and electricity is generated largely from burning fossil fuels. Therefore, the efficiency of battery technology has to be addressed, and zinc-air battery technology is being looked into seriously as an alternative by a Swiss company, ReVolt given that they hold five to ten times the charges of lithium batteries. The Swiss government has sunk millions of dollars into research of zinc-air technology.
Additionally, the August edition of Smithsonian magazine features this article on Shai Agassi, whose company Better Place is betting on the all-electric automobile in which batteries that power cars are envisioned as being an easily interchangeable unit of the car…
“Agassi’s business plan is unique among electric-car service providers. Others will make the vehicles. He will lease the batteries to car owners, and sell access to his switching and charging network. He expects to make his money selling miles, much as a cellphone-service provider sells minutes. Subscribers to Agassi’s plan would be entitled to pull into a roadside switching station for a battery change or to plug into a charging station, where dozens of other cars might also be hooked up, for an overnight or workday charge. Agassi estimates his customers will pay no more for battery power than they would spend on gasoline to travel the same distance. As business grows and costs fall, Agassi says, profits will soar. He says eventually he might give cars away, just as cellular-service providers offer free phones to customers with long-term contracts.”
With billions of taxpayer dollars being injected into battery technology, the short-term problem of increased fossil fuel usage may be curtailed, however, the larger problem of an across-the-board adaptation to the home and workplace is not solved. Nonetheless, we have featured Better Place on our blogroll for you to check out and form your own opinion. Whenever taxpayer dollars are spent, the question must be asked whether it is an efficient use of money. Are all available options being explored, or is this just another case of too little, too late?
