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@HarveyD: I disagree.
The cost normally would be a factor of 2x larger without the grant.
This battery is providing frequency (power) regulation. Say there are 3 significant gusts/lulls per hour that the battery regulates, then the battery gets used ~70x per day. To eliminate traditional power with wind turbines you would have to cover month long non-windy patches, so the battery would be being fully utilised say once per 30x days. Combine that and you have a factor of 4200x.
All the above is very approximate and it doesn't show that the cost of the battery has to reduce by 4200x to succeed as energy storage as there are other costs like avoided power stations. But it illustrates that batteries being competitive for frequency regulation doesn't mean that batteries as grid energy storage is around the corner.
Batteries are currently being used for frequency regulation, off-grid energy storage and private (grid attached) energy storage. Best bet for grid storage is where the renewable energy is equatorial solar (rather than wind) so that 24 hour storage gives you 24/7 benefits. But if you don't want brown outs and you haven't the battery to cover long periods of low RE output then you're not going to decomission traditional power stations. The best that the batteries can do for you is increase the efficiency of these stations when they are in (spinning) reserve. Getting back to batteries as regulation again.
Seem like there is an analogue between cars and power systems
ICE <-> traditional power stations
HEV <-> traditional + battery regulation
PHEV <-> traditional + renewable + battery storage/regulation
BEV <-> renewable + battery storage
The HEV has a small battery that is used frequenctly, the BEV a large (expensive) battery but with the avoided cost of the ICE. And not many people are ready for their _only_ car being a BEV just as not many grids are ready to be RE + battery only.
Duke Energy upgrading Notrees 36 MW grid storage system with Samsung SDI Li-ion batteries
Duke Energy, Samsung SDI and Younicos are partnering to update Duke Energy’s 36-megawatt (MW) energy storage and power management system at the company’s Notrees Windpower Project in west Texas. The system, one of the US’ largest, has been operating since 2012 with lead acid batteries. Over the...
Don't see how it is storing solar energy, and nor is it a convenient hydrogen storage mechanism given that it requires light to release the hydrogen. It does provide a method for solar harvesting, but at 6% is currently worse than solar cells.
McGill team develops simple system for reversible H2 storage using organic cyclic hydrocarbons; alternative route to solar fuels
A team at McGill University in Canada has developed a reversible hydrogen storage/release system based on the metal-catalyzed hydrogenation and photo-induced dehydrogenation of organic cyclic hydrocarbons at room temperature. The system, they suggest in a paper published in the Journal of the Am...
What is a good power? If 95% of your energy consumption is covered by 2kW and you are connected to the grid then does paying for 10kW make sense? You can gain a lot of press by shouting about energy storage but the specs and even the press release talk about frequency regulation. Or maybe peak shaving, but are they big enough to do that for anyone who cares?
The Tesla pack made more sense to me: the business one seemed to fit a customer with solar cells that didn't operate on the weekend. But the economics still didn't add up.
Saft introduces 10 kWh/ 10 kW stationary Li-ion storage system for high-end residential and small commercial installations
Saft has introduced the Intensium Home 10M lithium-ion energy storage system, designed for high-end residential and small commercial solar PV installations. The 10M unit expands Saft’s Intensium stationary storage lineup, ranging from the residential Intensium Home 4M (4 kWh / 7 kW) unit to Int...
Thought the comment about aviation was revealing. Power unit ffficiency might not match that of a diesel but the improved power to weight allows for lower mass and so better system efficiency in stop-go applications.
Wrightspeed unveils new turbine range extender for medium- and heavy-duty electric powertrains; 30% more efficient than current microturbine generators
Wrightspeed Inc., a developer of range-extended electric vehicle powertrains for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (earlier post), has unveiled the Fulcrum, a new proprietary turbine generator for use in its Route family of electric powertrains (Route for Class 3-6, Route HD for Class 7-8). The n...
Was on a bus through the town centre that took a circuitous route with frequent stops to reduce the distance walked by passengers - and increasing the trip time. Thought something like TaxiBots would solve the performance compromise. Good to see some simulations on the subject.
A driving factor for me would be waiting time - frustrating to wait 10 minutes if you are only 2km from destination. The drop-off points could be adaptive. In non-peak times the Taxis might be able to go to the door, whilst during peak times they might should a least-bad route that gets them back to the next pick up point in time.
ITF report finds self-driving shared vehicles could take up to 90% of cars off city streets; total kilometers travelled increases
A fleet of self-driving shared cars combined with high-capacity public transport could make 90% of conventional cars in mid-sized cities superfluous under certain circumstances, according to a study published by the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the OECD. Even during peak hours, only a...
Think you are assuming the whole world is like your own experience.
Wikipedia entry on India is "almost all find electricity supply intermittent and unreliable", which is my memory from travelling 20 years ago. So there is a large market wanting many urban vehicles who are likely to be sceptical about BEV for a vehicle they need in the next 20 years.
History has shown that change takes a long time, 20~50 years, so ICE vehicles will be around for a while yet and there is merit in advancing them.
Shell, Gordon Murray and Osamu Goto to develop new ultra-compact ICE city car
Shell, in collaboration with Professor Gordon Murray and engine specialist Osamu Goto will co-engineer an ultra-compact, efficient car for city use based around the internal combustion engine (ICE). Initiated by Shell, the collaboration, which is called Project M, brings together Shell’s Lubric...
@HarveyD
A fuel cell would increase costs - certainly purchase cost and also running costs. Effect on GHG and fossil fuel use more marginal, depending upon source of hydrogen. Don't see why battery size would be affected in a PHEV. Though for a HEV a larger battery would be required to cope with the fuel cell being worse at load following than an ICE.
Citroën introducing new plug-in hybrid SUV concept at Shanghai Motor Show
Citroën will introduce a new plug-in hybrid SUV concept, the Aircross, at the upcoming Shanghai Motor Show. The company said that Aircross illustrates its international ambitions, rolling out its positioning initiated with the C4 Cactus with a body style intended for sale around the world. Cit...
Should match age: compared 3~6 year old ICE with 0~4 year old Leaf.
Should match category: compare Leaf with B-class cars.
The battery is logically more equivalent to fuel tank than ICE, Okay, now I'm just being pedantic.
Nissan reports failure rate of LEAF battery pack in Europe of less than 0.01%
Five years and more than 35,000 European sales since the launch of its all-electric LEAF, proprietary data released by Nissan show that 99.99% of its battery units remain entirely fit for purpose. The failure rate of the battery power unit is less than 0.01 percent—three units in total—a fracti...
Good technology. Makes me wonder what Victoria,Australia recently bought and then mothballed because they found conservation was cheaper than desalination.
"exclude the need to dispose of the concentrated brine reject into local waterways and oceans": What do they do with the solids if not dump in the ocean?
Texas: From Shale Boom to Water Revolution
by James Stafford of Oilprice.com Texas is famous the world over for two things on a massive scale: oil and droughts. Now the slick but dry state is becoming famous for water: that precious element that both resolves the drought problem and also makes it possible to pump more oil out of the grou...
@Davemart
Do you know which numbers to believe? A battery factory with 4GW capacity would produce ~8000GWh/year of battery on a single shift per day, 5 day working week. Is it actually 4MW, or 4GWh/year, or ...
Audi to have a plug-in hybrid in every model series; new BEV in 2018
Audi will have a plug-in hybrid in every model series in the coming years as part of its efforts in efficiency and sustainability, said Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Management at Audi AG for Technical Development, during his speech at Audi’s Annual Press Conference i...
Two concepts mentioned in article. The 48V HEV has a 20kg mass excess, unspecified battery mass or capacity. The PHEV has a 10.7 kwh battery of unspecified mass. So no typo.
Hyundai showcasing new Tucson 48V Hybrid Concept and diesel Plug-in-Hybrid Concept at Geneva
Hyundai Motor is showcasing a range of innovative fuel efficiency and connectivity technologies at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, among them a 48V Hybrid concept and a plug-in hybrid vehicle concept, both based on the all new Tucson platform. The 48V Hybrid combines a 2.0-liter diesel model with...
Scrappage schemes don't make sense. If a banger is scrapped for a new car then there is an incentive. If a banger is scrapped for a used car, bought from someone who buys a new car then no incentive is handed out. The net results on the car park are the same but not the incentive.
A friend scrapped a five year old one litre car to gain the scrappage bonus. Does not make environmental sense because any marginal gain in fuel efficiency does not overcome the energy ued in building the new car.
I tend to favour fuel duties as the way to reward owners of high efficiency cars. However the life time cost of fuel may not be such a salient factor for the purchaser of new cars especially if they're only thinking of owning for a couple of years. So moving some of that duty from the fuel to the initial purchase would make sense - and be unpopular and political suicide.
ChargePoint ranks US metro areas for EV friendliness; SF Bay Area still on top
ChargePoint—the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network—released a list of the top 10 friendliest metropolitan areas in the US for EV drivers. The San Francisco Bay Area (including San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose) led the nation, followed by Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego an...
@TP
Agree that the 2.0 diesel would be enough oomph. Only know of it being used in transverse orientations currently though.
Audi introduces Q7 e-tron quattro diesel PHEV SUV at Geneva; 138 mpg US
Audi introduced the Q7 e-tron quattro plug-in hybrid (earlier post) at the Geneva show. The Q7 e‑tron quattro is Audi’s second vehicle featuring a plug‑in hybrid drive system, and the first diesel plug-in hybrid with quattro drive in its segment. Powered by the 17.3 kWh, liquid-cooled lithium...
@mahonj
A transmission line hybrid can use the electric motor as starter motor as a starter motor. The electric motor can also benefit from the gearbox. Small benefits, can't think of any bigger ones, so Alex's list does not surprise me.
Would have thought the TTR hybrid was as easy to control.
TM4 receiving $3.7M to develop low-cost wheel motors
TM4, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, is receiving $3.7 million in funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s (SDTC) SD Tech Fund, through the ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative, to develop low-cost wheel motors for electric and hybrid vehicles. The objective of this project...
If you were going to install end of route chargers then you're going to go for fast charge batteries. The higher energy extended range batteries would be more attractive for routes with no on-route recharging.
Proterra introduces new extended range battery pack for electric transit buses; up to 180 miles
Electric transitbus manufacturer Proterra Inc. has launched a new extended-range product line. With the new TerraVolt XR extended-range battery, Proterra buses can now be configured to travel up to 180 miles (290 km) between charges. This newest high energy density battery complements the exist...
Subsidising charge points is placing a bet that BEV will come to the fore over ICE, HEV and FCV. At least for city car needs it may be the best bet going but I don't see why the bet needs to be placed yet. HEV and even PHEV can develop without the set up of charge points and fosters the development of all the electric ancillaries necessary for BEV. Old reports concluded that you got a bigger environmental benefit for your buck with HEV too - don't know if that is still true.
I'm cynical on the subject. The BEV subsidies only help a few people at the moment, likely to be the same people who are vocal on the subject. Such subsidies will keep them happy and purring. Helping the larger number of unseen HEV owners would not produce such a good PR result.
45% of commercial and public EV charging units in ChargePlace Scotland network went unused in August 2014
Almost half of the electric vehicle charging units in the ChargePlace Scotland network may be unused from month-to-month, official data suggests, according to an analysis by the RAC Foundation. Figures for August 2014 show that of the 482 units (with 885 sockets) in the network, 217 (45%) were ...
I understood that a big disadvantage for front engines were the aerodynamics. The engine is at the front and you want to shove the exhaust and radiator outflow out the back (eg diffuser). Still possible but longer ducts with higher resistance required. Agree with the copensating aerodynamic advantages mentioned.
Also thought you'd have a through-the-ground hybrid with rear electric motor. But if you've got only one motor/generator (that's what F1 do?) then you'd want it up the front for braking.
Nissan unveils front-engined, front-wheel drive hybrid GT-R LM NIMSO Le Mans challenger
Nissan revealed its Le Mans challenger, the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, during a commercial break for Super Bowl XLIX. Nissan interpreted the sport’s technical regulations in an innovative way, producing a front-engined, front-wheel-drive car that is powered by a V6 3.0-liter twin turbo gasoline engi...
Lad:
Agree with the 6% (relative to previous) corresponds to 1% (absolute). But you are applying the wrong percentage to the MPG, so it is 1.8 more MPG.
ZF showcasing second-generation 8HP 8-speed transmission at NAIAS; additional 3% boost in fuel savings
At the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, ZF is presenting its broad technology portfolio including the second generation of the 8HP 8-speed transmission. The new generation offers further developments ranging from lower drag torques and higher spread to an improved tors...
This compares the fuel efficiency of a diesel and petrol vehicle in pure number terms. Implicity assumes that a gallon of each are equivalent but they are not. Diesel is 12% denser and 13% higher energy density. So if you look at miles per pound then the Ram and F150 have pretty much the same fuel efficiency.
I bother to complain because people frequently complain about diesel being mor expensive than petrol when on an energy basis the reverse is true (in the UK at least). With the need to compare traditional fuels with electrical and hydrogen energy I'd hoped that this misconception would be sorted out but not yet.
Ram introducing 1500 EcoDiesel HFE full-size pickup with 29 mpg highway
The Ram Truck brand is adding a new, more fuel-efficient model to its half-ton truck lineup. The new 2015 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE will deliver the highest highway fuel economy (29 mpg) among all current full-size truck competitors—12% higher than the next-closest, the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-...
Good to see your positive view Henrik as I'm more cynical. The paranoia in the UK is that the energy utility market is not competitive. One tactic used is that the customer facing company points to low profits to justify reasonable competition. However the associated upstream companies make fat profits. This restructuring facilitates such a fiddle.
Major power and gas company E.ON splitting in two; focusing on renewables, spinning off conventional power generation
Düsseldorf, Germany-base E.ON, one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies, is adopting a new strategic direction under which is will split itself in two. E.ON itself will focus on renewables, distribution networks, and customer solutions. The existing conventional generat...
What do they mean by "a hydrogen-containing gas"? A gas containing molecular hydrogen (ie H2), or a gas containing elemental hydrogen (eg H2O). The comment about humid air makes me unsure. If the second case then you could use it on pure natural gas.
Harvesting from the atmosphere would be a waste - anaerobic digesters and other hydrogen producing systems might be worthwhile.
Univ. of Manchester team finds monolayer graphene permeable to protons; implications for PEM fuel cell and other hydrogen technologies
Researchers at the University of Manchester in the UK have found that monolayers of graphene—which, as a perfect monolayer is impermeable to all gases and liquids—and its sister material boron nitride (BN) are highly permeable to protons, especially at elevated temperatures and if the films are...
The battery capacity that can be recharged at the end stations will be fully used each journey. Any extra capacity will only be utilized once per shift. So there will be a big difference in benefit and pay-back per day between these two parts of the battery capacity. So I expect that the battery is sized to what can be recharged at the end stations, that is I'd guess the buses typically stop for about 6 minutes at the end stations.
Volvo Buses officially launches the all-new plug-in Electric Hybrid bus
Volvo 7900 Electric Hybrid with overhead conductive charging station and pantograph extended. Click to enlarge. As previously announced (earlier post), Volvo Buses will officially launch the new plug-in 7900 Electric Hybrid bus at the International IAA Commercial Vehicles show in September. ...
That comment puts the energy wast to heat recycling in perspective, thanks DM. However there are still the reliability issues caused by the heat cycling. So a good early application would not be a car but the APU of the plane as suggested here on GCC last month, or a long haul truck's main power unit.
Researchers devise gasoline-fueled SOFC with high power density; potential for vehicles
Researchers from Washington State University and Kyung Hee University in Korea have fabricated a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with a novel mixed conductivity MoO2-based anode that is fueled by direct feeding of premium gasoline without external reforming. In a paper in the Journal of Power Sourc...
Harvey:
From memory the SCiB have a great cycle life, good power density but only okay energy density. Characteristics better suited to HEV rather than rather than BEV applications though they are used in the Mitsubishi MiEV.
The 2MW and 1MWh scaling gives a nominal cycle time of 1 hour and so life of a bit over 1 year. Overly simplistic and hopefully overly pessimistic. Wonder if they deliberately unbalance the modules so they can measure the trade off between depth of discharge and life time.
Toshiba to supply Lithium-titanate battery for 2MW energy storage system project in UK; 1MWh SCiB
Toshiba Corporation will supply the battery for the United Kingdom’s first 2MW scale lithium-titanate battery based Energy Storage System (ESS) to support grid management. The company’s 1MWh SCiB battery will be installed in a primary substation in central England in September. Large-scale ESS a...
The ICE pollution is definitely produced in the cities. Don't know where the average coal plant is located but they may be out of the cities.
City of Hangzhou orders 2,000 BYD electric buses and 1,000 electric taxis
BYD Company Ltd. has received a record-setting order for their new energy vehicles from the City of Hangzhou, which is situated in east China along the Qiantang River. The order for 2,000 long-range, battery-electric transit buses and 1,000 long-range, pure-electric cars was signed this week by...
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