LockH
1 PW
Hehe... Suspect power to weight ratio of two vehicles compared is a "no brainer"? (Master P can't be THAT huge/heavy can he???)Dauntless said:absolutely toasting a P85 Model with an Electric bicycle ?![]()
Hehe... Suspect power to weight ratio of two vehicles compared is a "no brainer"? (Master P can't be THAT huge/heavy can he???)Dauntless said:absolutely toasting a P85 Model with an Electric bicycle ?![]()
CMU/MIT study finds large-scale battery manufacturing will do little to reduce unit costs past a 200-300 MWh annual production level
22 October 2014
A new techno-economic analysis by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and MIT has found that economies of scale for manufacturing current Li-ion batteries for light-duty EV applications (in this case, prismatic pouch NMC333-G batteries and packs) are reached quickly at around 200-300 MWh annual production. Increased volume beyond that does little to reduce unit costs, except potentially indirectly through factors such as experience, learning, and innovation, they determined.
“That’s comparable to the amount of batteries produced for the Nissan Leaf or the Chevy Volt last year,” said CMU’s Dr. Jeremy Michalek, the corresponding author of a paper on the research published in the Journal of Power Sources. “Past this point, higher volume alone won’t do much to cut cost. Battery cost is the single largest economic barrier for mainstream adoption of electric vehicles, and large factories alone aren’t likely to solve the battery cost problem....” more
arkmundi said:Increased volume beyond that does little to reduce unit costs
speedmd said:The major improvements come from many tiny ones put together.
LockH said:Ermmm... sorry to interrupt, BUT, assuming a smaller (lighter) vehicle PLUS fast batt swaps... at slower/urban speeds and distances... and the (smaller/lighter) ebike batt comes out the clear winner, yes? Just stripping away the seat belts, air bags and "crush zones" makes the ebike inherently safer (for all others on the roads/pathways, etc. Dangers and risks shift back at least partly to vehicle operator). Yes?
Daimler sells Tesla stake
Forbes contributor Neil Winton reports that Daimler raked in $780 million in profits. It was a huge surprise because earlier this year, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said they could possibly expand their partnership with Tesla Motors further. Currently, Tesla provides the batteries and electric motors for the Smart ForTwo electric car and the Mercedes B-class electric.
Daimler also said that the sale of its Tesla stake does not mean that the two companies will cease working together.
Tesla and BMW execs meet
Tesla announced earlier this year that it was opening up its patents, allowing competitors to use them in an attempt to move the electric vehicle market along faster. Then over the summer, executives with BMW reportedly met with Tesla executives to talk about standardizing an electric car charging network—something that is sorely needed.
Arndt Ellinghorst, an analyst with International Strategy and Investment, told Winton that while he didn’t think it was necessary for Daimler to retain its stake in Tesla for the two companies to work together, he has seen signs that the ties may be loosening. He also said that Tesla might be more interested in working with BMW because the German automaker has an interesting carbon fiber technology that Tesla would find useful.
BMW, Tesla a match made in electric car heaven?
At this point we can’t be positive that BMW did really buy Daimler’s stake in Tesla Motors, so all of this is entirely speculation. However, it is a partnership that makes sense. If Tesla and BMW can combine its battery pack and electric drive train with BMW”s carbon fiber reinforced plastic, then both companies could come out swinging with electric cars that not only have class but are also much less expensive to make.
BMW’s electric cars are often compared with Tesla’s Model S, and there’s no denying that the two companies would make an unbeatable team if they united in the fight to bring electric cars to the masses, especially if Tesla succeeds in bringing down the cost of its battery packs by building its gigafactory.
Joseph C. said:Another one doing the rounds this time with some credibility attached.
http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/new-battery-is-killer-app-for-electric-cars-1.1985314
New battery is ‘killer app’ for electric cars.... Independent experts in the US recently confirmed prototype cells in the battery developed by Dr Hu and Prof Sadoway can store more than twice as much energy as conventional cells.
The main difference between their battery and existing ones is that it has an ultra-thin metal anode with higher energy density than the graphite and silicon anodes in current batteries, and uses safer electrolyte material.
Dr Hu founded a company called SolidEnergy in 2012, just outside Boston, to commercialise the technology and hopes the battery will be in production for consumer electronics in the first half of 2016 and in electric cars by the second half of that year.....
....To speed up the process of getting the device to market, SolidEnergy only plans to make the core battery materials for larger manufacturers....
Tesla is hoping to bring down battery costs at the “gigafactory” battery plant it is building in Nevada. But most of the cost reductions are expected to come from economies of scale rather than the technological advances promised by batteries such as the one Dr Hu and Prof Sadoway are developing.
(c) 2014 The Financial Times Ltd.
Edit:
According to their website,http://www.solidenergysystems.com/updates.html, they claim to have a verified volumetric energy density of 1337 Wh/L.
If their assertion about 2X current lithium energy density is true then we should be talking about a gravimetric energy density of 600 watt-hours per kg.
Tesla mainly wants higher energy density and lower cost, existing power and cycle life are ok. If anyone develops a develops a new cell Technology with substantially better energy and/or lower costs, I bet Tesla will be in.Punx0r said:Seems unrelated to the Tesla Gigafactory?
Certainly , but I would bet their primary focus is on getting down to the lowest possible costs,MitchJi said:Tesla mainly wants higher energy density and lower cost, ......