Which battery is the best for electric vehicles?

       

Further reading

• Gentlemen, stop your engines (226)
• Battery technology in cars (187)
• Super Battery (203)
• Car of the future (235)

The answer might be - a capacitor!

In a recent IEA-workshop, a good survey of the status of battery development was delivered. The Li-ion batteries are almost ready to be used in plug-in hybrid vehicles, but there is a further development needed to get batteries to the energy-density required for "standard-size" electrical vehicle.

The idea of using capacitors instead of batteries is not a new one. In the late 90s, Nissan tested it in a hybrid truck concept. It is a tempting idea since capacitors charge faster and last longer, if not for the fact that the capacitor basically needs a huge electrode-surface to be able to hold a reasonable capacity. So, some time ago, there were claims that the surface problem could be solved by the application of nanotechnology.

Another development now seems to be underway. This time, it is said to be a combination of battery and capacitor using bariumtitanate to boost the capacity. In this case, it is more like a rumour of the sort we often see in technical magazines.

It would, however, be more surprising if there were not some substance to the matter and would be a hopeful sign indeed if only we could take a shortcut from electricity to transportation and avoid the laborious competitor part in between.