I will be curious to see how GM handles the Bolt recall on every single one because of a defective design of the batteries. I have never been a fan if pouch cells myself they seem to be problematic. But sofar atleast GM has done the right thing in issuing a blanket recall. I was just reading about it the other day. I believe they are using entirely different vendors and cell technology on their future EV products.
I think the next 5 years should see that technology stabilize as companies like GM and Ford who understand the issues of mass production get some experience with the EV technology.
Yes the ff era is comming to an end.
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I agree that Toyota’s aversion to EV tech makes little sense. Panasonic as a battery supplier, is tight with Tesla. Perhaps Toyota wants to give a national champion peer space with their US partner? It’s hard to know. Honda is wed to hydrogen fuel cells, that make even less sense than hybrids. But they committed to hydrogen well before Tesla became important in the space.
My comment on low wind speeds came from a McKinsey article. I took that as authoritative, but it could be wrong. Regarding bombers getting blown off course… Japan is quite mountainous and it could be that wind near the mountains become concentrated. But offshore that effect wouldn’t be there. If wind was blowing hard onshore and they could build turbine I think they would?
Ultimately Japan is not a major contributor to CO2 emission. It would be great if they contributed to CO2 reduction with useful tech but it isn’t as critical as what happens in China/US/India/EU.
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I am a little conflicted about hydrogen. I think part of me wants it to work. The idea that you could refill an onboard tank just like a gasoline car would make it an easy transition for consumers, and the fact that it produces only water vapor is somehow cool to me. Energetically though, my understanding is that it cant compete with batteries. It just takes too much energy to make the hydrogen in a sustainable fashion. Its also not a trivial matter to store and refuel, and the gas stations would be incredibly expensive to build as I understand it. I could see it having a possible use for long-haul trucks or something like that, but maybe that is just another example of the sunk-cost effect; it is human nature to persist in a failed endeavor if enough energy has already been wasted on it.
I think becoming reliant on fossil fuels was a terribly short-sighted idea in the grand scheme of things. It did open a lot of doors to new discoveries, but the sooner we change gears the better off I think future generations will be. If there is ever a breakthrough on biofuels, I could imagine that some heat engines might be around for a very long time. I am not sure how we would go about powering planes and rockets without chemical fuel, for example.
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Yup its not when we run out by then its way to late. The problem will be and this will be a big problem is when we as the whole world can no longer balance the scales. There is plenty of fossil fuels left; hundreds of years worth left. But its not as obtainable as it once was and we also can not just simply convert to new technology for a number of reasons. It will need to happen through adjustment over time, development and advancement. This means we start now today not when its too late and stop the ““we cant use this tech because of ?”” No we find solutions and make it work. There will be a hydrogen future and we are right here doing it. Biomass gasification is the future of Hydrogen. Stationary biofueled hydrogen production to electric just maybe tomorrows solutions. The EV really is only its very infancy and it will the fastest evolving technology the world has yet to see. Battery development has been advancing in just the past year like never before in history. In ten years the EV will be the practical solution to the ICE. Fast charge times range will make them more practical. There solid state cells that can 80% in less than 15 minutes. Graphene tech will eventually make it to market along with hemp based cells. All these technologies can fast charge in 15 minutes or less with comparable range to the ICE. This is here right now its just not viable to mass produce yet but it will. Yes Hydrogen will have a part in the energy future just not in the ways most think.
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There was an article within the last few weeks that a Chinese company is building a fast charging EV with a range of 500 kilometers IIRC and a fast charging time 75% or 80% in something like 8 minutes. All that was said about the batteries was graphene was used to achieve the fast charging. But there was little to no information when it came to release date or chargers that would support it. I think the battery technology is a lot further along than those of us who have tried to follow it even know.
Personally I am less worried about fast charging and more interested in longer life and no fire risk. If I could get the cost to work I would be more than happy to convert my old equipment to electric with swappable batteries that would allow me to power say two of my smaller tractors or one big one with the same batteries. I could easily envision putting additional batteries in the bed of a pickup truck only when I need to make a long trip say taking a trailer load out to hay customers or the butcher. But running just find on the normal pack 90% of the time.
I think there will be a path for those of us willing to invest our own time and effort into something with more and more donor EV smashed up or simply aged out by the rest of society. I have debated looking for a Nissan leaf with a bad battery pack as a donor for an EV tractor.
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There is a ton of talk about electric planes with solid state batteries. My take on the airline industry is that it never made sence. Even with cheap jet fuel and heavy government subsidies for the airline industry the airlines have been going bankrupt since the 80s atleast. I remember being a kid when Reagan had to get involved with strikes from the air traffic controllers which are federal employees and all those federal TSA employees you see when you travel. I think the future will be more high speed rail that you see in the rest of the world. Those trains can hit 300mph on electricity alone. Perfect way to make both a new energy and transportation system in the same right away. People have already accepted enough flight delays in modern airports that you could easly get across the country in the same time if getting on the high speed train was as easy as getting on a subway car in the cities.
Hydrogen technology goes back to the 30s or 40s Allis Chalmers build a fuel cell tractor back then but today the ff industry is pushing it as a way to extend their lifespan because they are the cheapest source. I view it as nothing but a delay tactic today.
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I am going to stick with my solar powered 1992 Dodge Dakota truck. Carbon Neutral does not cause any green house affects now that it has been built in 1991/1992 only new parts for it is all that is needed.
Fuel, if It is only running on wood gas. Wood that grows from the sun light, heat, the earth, water and cabon dioxide. It goes 100% back to the earth with out adding any extra carbon or minerals traces back into the atmosphere or earth. I drive a truck with a Solar Carbon Fuel Cell Power Source Genator in it. (SCFCPSG) It was developed over a 100 years ago, and has been defined to it present day versions by every day hard working people that are doers. With no big corporations or goverment monies and support.
It can also make DC 12 volt or AC 110 volt power. Total cost and rebuilding/maintenance and gasifer build of the truck so far is $12,000.00.
It can tow my boat or utility trailer for hauling. It has 125,356 miles on it so far. There are more newer Electrical and hybrids in the junk yards all over the world than all of the Dodge Dakota trucks built in that year. Still a lot of the Dakota’s on the road driving on gasoline. They need to be converted over to a (SCFCPSG) and run on wood gas. Okay I am stepping off my Soap Box now. DOW, BBB, SWEM.
Will I buy a all electric car not at the price they want for them, and all the break down, burning up on the highway, battery problems and drive them through high water that totals them out, also the high maintenance costs they have on them right now.
Bob has just step off the soap box.
Lol
Bob
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I call BS on $1.16 per kWh…the Yoop pays the highest continous rate in the continental US. Uppco charges $.24 per kWh. This regardless of season or load timing (like Cali).
Hawaii is higher.
Was this in Australian dollars, perhaps?
Just think about the run time of a Honda generator on gasoline for a sanity check. Ours goes six hours on a gallon of gas, providing a 1000 watts…that’s 6 kWh. A gallon of gas here, is $3.30, that’s .55 per kWh. There is no way, the Honda should be better then grid power.
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I wonder about that too. It seems way too high for American numbers…
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Are you guys just using what the Utility is telling you that you are paying or are any of you actually crunching the numbers? None are paying that rate! Yeah Consumers energy will tell you that you pay only .09 cents. But oh here is the distro fee, renewable energy sure charge, networking fee, meter fee, etc etc. No crunch the numbers yourself.
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Matt, I take the monthly bill statement, and I divide the total bill by the number of kilowatt hours recorded. That includes all the BS Fees that I can’t change, which means they are an unavoidable part of my cost. My electric bill is reasonably stable. My cost therefore is about 18 cents per kilowatt hour. (last time I checked) 
I am on a rural co-op (Jay County REMC). I am not on a budget plan.
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Thank you! yeah this is more realistic.
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Lol! I go by what UPPCO told me when I set up the solar plants. They are very sneaky here, and no two bills are the same. The fees vary with the age of the installation, and what they agreed to pay wholesale.
I am off-grid myself, so I don’t have a bill to look at right now…my bill would start with a $35,000 installation fee tho…lol.
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I don’t think we can compare the cost of a gasoline car with the cost of an electric car. I also don’t think we know the true cost of gasoline, I imagine it’s just as heavily subsidized as all the green power.
One hilarious comparison was made by Chris martenson, where he compared the cost of labor for a man, or men doing the same work that gasoline does. He came up with $9,000 a gallon.
I know I don’t want to live without gasoline or electricity. I’ve seen all the rock piles these poor Finlanders stacked up around here before there was power. They had some very miserable lives.
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Exactly the points of Wood-For-Power BruceJ.
Sweating making fuel wood chunks for shaft powers ain’t nothing compared to hands& back sweating doing everything by Hand. As in the book post-collapse book: “A World Made by Hand”. Kustner? Read it as social commentary. NOT as a solution guide.
Even in that upstate N.Y. scenario the Sun: he did still shine. The trees and brushes did still grow. And the IC engines lay fuel-less idle.
Put the Mr Suns energy to working with human ingenuity being the true potentialize.
For sure doable on an individual/family/intentional group scale!!
Seen Jakob Norths, Seattle area overflight pictures?
2,500,000 folks living in that compacted single county area. All dependent on resources sucked in from hundreds, thousands of miles around.
I ain’t got no going forward solution for them.
Anyone says they do is fooling themselves.
I take no tuck from fools.
S.U.
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Actually it is far more subsidies than any other form of energy.
The ff industry doesn’t want you to know how much they are subsidized. If you bring this article up their paid supports quickly leave most discussions about the cost of energy.
You will notice that is ab old article.
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Dan,
It makes my head spin. I wonder what this world would look like if true market price discovery ever happened. Just like there has never been Communism, there also has never been Capitalism. I think the closest thing is those farmer’s markets. This is why I hate to see them do away with cash.
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Steve—
Just to make it easy, World Made by hand:
World Made by Hand is a dystopian novel by American author James Howard Kunstler , published in 2008. Set in the fictional town of Union Grove, New York, …
This book is available for as little as USD $4 in online used book stores.
I read it and some of his other books. I agree with your comments, by the way.
He also wrote “The Long Emergency” where he made dire predictions that didn’t come true. (at least not so far).
I think his major fault was to assume that we (the world) would run out of oil almost overnight.
But still, worth reading, in my view.
Pete Stanaitis
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