Huge Batteries = Great Potential
Well, yes. That is also a literal statement, in that a huge battery does contain a great amount of potential electrical energy. But that’s not the potential I mean. I mean the potential to transform industries, particularly the Auto industry.
A company called Altair Nanotechnologies has developed a Lithium-Titanate battery system that can be scaled to 250kWh, and deliver a 1.0MW draw for up to 15 minutes. The system is also able to be charged at roughly the same rate, which far exceeds any quick-charging technology we have available elsewhere.
Down to a reasonable scale, this technology could transform the way electric and plug-in hybrid cars are built. With these batteries, a charging station could bring a car back up to full power in a matter of a few minutes, rather than several hours, which would be required even for such advanced current technology as Lithium Ion. The batteries can also be charged via ‘trickle charge’ which sends a much smaller current, but charges the battery much more slowly. In fact, to create a practical full-power charging system for a home, serious power reworking would need to be done, as the batteries would require a 3-phase industrial power source to utilize the system’s full charging potential.
That’s where the real cleverness of ideas comes in. Rather than attempt to rework the wiring in a consumer’s home, why not create a dual installation: One in the car, one in the home.
Home Installation: Continuously trickle-charges off of the home’s existing grid connected power, holding enough potential to charge the in-car system several times over. In particularly sunkissed areas of the world, these systems could even be exclusively trickle-charged from a solar-power installation on the roof, requiring no grid access at all.
Car Installation: Standard electric vehicle installation, with two-charging modes available. Full power and trickle.
Configuration: So we have the large in-home system charging continuously for 23.9hours every day. When the car arrives at home, the consumer plugs into the home system, and selects a trickle charge for overnight. If, by the time the consumer needs to leave the house again, the car is not fully charged, flip into full-capacity charging mode, which is powered by the in-home system, and have the car ready within a few minutes. The in-home system still has enough remaining capacity to charge the car twice over, and is still being trickle-charged in the background.
I think this would be a fantastic way to utilize this new technology and really put a dent into the U.S. (and world) requirement for petroleum-based energy, which is beginning to outstrip the budgets of even middle-class individuals.