Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisl
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.
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.
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Sorry, I should have been more specific. I was referring to the recent breakthroughs with graphene supercapacitors. The research scientists are claiming they hold as much charge as Lithium, except charge in a fraction of the time.
Everything I've read about regenerative braking is that even at low to moderate braking force the current batteries aren't able to absorb/charge-up all of that power.
Considering graphene doesn't require an electrolyte, it should mean we don't need gigantic 1-ton batteries to make a car go 100 miles on a charge. Also, even if it takes 10 minutes to charge the batteries, that's no big deal for a road trip and a comparable charge time to fossil fuel fill-ups if you take into account a piss break and grabbing a drink from the shop.
[ame="http://vimeo.com/51873011"]The Super Supercapacitor | Brian Golden Davis on Vimeo[/ame]