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Originally Posted by kuhlka
You're talking about 1st gen, mostly prototype technology. Give the auto industry 5-10 years and they'll have super-capacitors and solar in cars. Imagine having the bodywork coated in solar cells, bodywork also doubling as SC's, AND a huge SC cell running along the bottom of the car for an ultra low center of gravity.
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I wouldn't count on it. In 5-10 years, supercaps probably won't even be up to the energy density that lithium rechargeable batteries already have, and we don't have a ton of battery powered cars running around right now. Also, having the bodywork double as supercaps probably won't happen anytime soon, since then little dents and dings could cause shorts in your electrical system, which would be a very bad thing for a supercap-powered car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kuhlka
One of the reasons current electrics are so inefficient is because they're unable to store regenerative braking power fast enough. If a SC car could get at least 100 miles per charge, that'd be a game changer. If it only takes a minute or two to charge up, we'd have a viable cross-country electric for road trips. At that point, it's just a matter of charging stations catching up, and gas stations would probably start installing charging stations.
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Not true at all. The regenerative braking in modern electric cars can go directly to the battery without a problem, and the only time we can't store it fast enough is when you are slamming on the brakes. As for the minute or two to charge up? The problem there isn't the batteries/capacitors in the car. The problem there is the electrical grid needed to supply the power for charging.
Let's assume that the proposed car is about as efficient as a Tesla. To go 100 miles, such a car would need about 30kWh of electrical capacity. To charge this car in two minutes, you'd have to supply it with 900kW of power. If you're charging it at something like 500V, this means nearly 2kA of current will be flowing through the wire, requiring a conductor larger than 2000 kcmil in size (this is a copper wire nearly 2 inches in diameter). Alternatively, you could push up the voltage, but then you need thick, heavy-duty insulation. In addition, if 3 or 4 of these cars were charging at once, the charging station could easily pull as much power as a fairly large skyscraper, which the current electrical grid is not designed to handle. It really isn't as simple as you're trying to make it here.