JRP3
Hyperactive Member
Except in your charging scheme you mostly eliminate the daily full power operation for mostly low power operation with intermittent power ups for charging, unless the charge station is consistently very busy every day.
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I don't think fast charging will have daily usage by anyone. I think that a small percentage of travelers will be utilizing fast charging. It may be possible to supplement our infrastructure with batteries that can store some power for this infrequent high draw.
But that is the way most gas turbine powerplants run. They run hard during the very few peak hours of the day and are completely off overnight.
Robert.Boston, you reading this thread?
Gas turbines run as you describe, richkae. There are several practical problems with your otherwise attractive idea:But that is the way most gas turbine powerplants run. They run hard during the very few peak hours of the day and are completely off overnight.
Nah, these simple turbines are designed and built to be cycled, not base loaded. If you're going to be using a plant at a capacity factor north of ~20%, you spend more capital to buy greater efficiency in a combined-cycle plant.I don't believe this is by choice.
Assuming that's the case, let's say that by 2025 we have 1200-1500 mi range batteries. Doesn't that make all of this charging discussion moot? By that time, range will be getting close to the point where people really won't have to recharge at all during their trip. Or, perhaps if they're doing a long cross-country (3000 mi) drive, they might need to stop for a day to recharge.
Not only would density need to improve dramatically costs would also have to drop dramatically to make it practical to put 1000+ miles of range into a vehicle, something that no one actually needs, so I doubt it will ever happen.
Most of the battery experts that I've interviewed over the years say it's unfair to compare the rapid development of electronics to that of batteries. Electronics have been using the same material (silicon) for more than a half-century. To reduce the feature sizes of their chips, semiconductor manufacturers keep improving their chemical deposition processes and photolithography techniques. Their efforts are essentially a triumph of manufacturing.
In contrast, battery makers are constantly searching for new materials, combining them, testing them, and then waiting for the results. It's a physical sciences challenge. And it's limited by nature. "You're always working with something new, like a cobalt oxide one day and a manganese oxide the next," Brodd said. "You can do anything you want to those materials, but you aren't ever going to get any more energy out of them than the thermodynamics allow."
I'd think every traveler would use fast charging if there was any available. Even with fast charging, it's still 45-60 minutes. Or did you mean that just a small percentage of vehicles at any given time are travelers?
What I'm trying to figure out is what are all those corner lots going to be used for that are currently gas stations?
What I'm trying to figure out is what are all those corner lots going to be used for that are currently gas stations?
Not only would density need to improve dramatically costs would also have to drop dramatically to make it practical to put 1000+ miles of range into a vehicle, something that no one actually needs, so I doubt it will ever happen.
Is anyone really going to invest in a massive, expensive high output recharging infrastructure that will be useful for perhaps just a decade, perhaps 3 decades at most?
Of course, getting 85kWh of power into a battery in 5 minutes requires a rate of charging of about 1,900 kW (including losses). Pzzzap!
Would you prefer 4,750A at 400V? Or rather 1,000A at 1,900V? And did you remember to bring a couple of friends to help plug in?
Is there an EE in the house that can give me a realistic upper bound on the amount of power through a cable I can at least carry without help from my friends?
If you have handled the Tesla HPC the current cord is quite large at over an inch. It contains 3 #4 wires i believe. That will safely carry 100 amps. I do not think we can go much over that current and cord size and expect the average user to use it.Is there an EE in the house that can give me a realistic upper bound on the amount of power through a cable I can at least carry without help from my friends?