a representative of JCS -- the joint venture of Johnson Controls and Saft -- commented that while hybrids vehicles are definitely on the verge of a breakthrough, pure battery electric vehicles are still, from JCS' perspective, a "distant dream."

And the comment did not say that BEV's are not on the verge of a breakthrough or that they would not be common, it said they (as in all) are a distant dream. Certainly the Tesla is happening, the Javlon and Think are likely, as are the Zap and Zen BEV's. They will definitely be a niche market for many years to come, but all automobile genre's are ultimately a niche market, to some degree. Most people don't drive SUV's. Most people don't drive pickup trucks or station wagons.

And a breakthrough is not needed in BEV technology. All of the necessary technology and volume production is occurring through the development of series HEV's and series PHEV's and also the military is embracing the series hybrid bigtime. As fuel costs rise, distance transportation becomes less affordable, emissions regulations more stringent and battery costs decline, the BEV's will increasingly capture market share. No breakthrough's needed.

Note the fully mature lead-acid battery technology runs at $50 per kwh, in large format. There is nothing magical about the Pb/PbSO4 chemistry. As a matter of fact it is actually an inferior chemical reaction for battery purposes. With modern automated assembly processes, computer simulations and nano-technology, it is virtually inevitable that other chemistry’s will at least equal the lead acid in cost per kwh. Once a technology is established, the gradual process of improving the economics by material substitution, improved chemistry, improved construction, more efficient assembly methods and simple scale economies inevitably result in major cost reductions over time.

UC Davis has determined that the current automotive scale cost of large format NiMH should be $225 per kwh. And even Cobasys states that NiMH battery technology is far from mature. And the range extended BEV, with a 30 kwh (~$7000) battery, and a small high efficiency 10 kw diesel generator, would be a very popular variant of the BEV, which would be extremely suitable as a home emergency generator, for V2G, extreme range, a remote power source as well as long battery life due to low Depth of Discharge cycling. This would be a way of gradually increasing the market share of BEV’s, only problem, Oil Companies have managed to buy enough political influence to block widespread use of high efficiency diesels in automotive applications. The 6 fold tighter NOx regulations in North America for vehicles <8000 lbs, than in Europe is utterly absurd, and a blatantly obvious effort to force us to burn lot’s of gasoline, much more profitable for Oil Interests.

Posted by: Warren Heath

'...Here in Northern Italy there are a few small companies constructing BEV´s from existing Fiat cars , the battery used in these cars are the Zebra cell Type , or molten salt as they are also called , the 20kwh pack used in the electric version of the Fiat Panda gives a range of 130 km at a speed electronically limited to 110 kmh , recharge time to full capacity is about 8 hours on a conventional household supply , but a 50% charge is realized in as little as 45 minutes giving another 60 km or so , the car has four doors, five places , airbags , electric window lifts etc, this car retails for about 25000 dollars in Switzerland , which is the main market at the moment .

The Zebra cell is relatively compact 20kwh unit weighs 165 kilos and is about the size of a medium size suitcase , the cell is to temperature sensitive with its core being held at a steady 280 degrees centigrade , the whole thing is enclosed in a fully insulated box , and uses a small proportion of its energy to maintain this temperature.

These cars have been on the roads now for close to two years now , and owners are reporting no decline in the batteries performance despite some cars having covered more than 30000 kms in that time , also the maintenance costs are close to zero and the fuel costs are about 2 euro per 100 km , as opposed to the cost at near 10 euros per 100km of a similar gasoline powered car .

This car is available now , it is not being advertised , probably part of the deal with Fiat themselves to assure a supply of engineless shells , Fiat have decided not to go down the BEV route preferring to go down the "Fool Cell " route and natural gas , but then one of their biggest shareholders is AGIP the Italian oil giant !

This is a great little car a nd is available to buy now , information can be obtained from Mes Dea in, Stabilo, Switzerland ...'

'... several companies here in Northern Italy and Switzerland have been making effective BEV´s for around two years now.

The battery used is the Zebra Type which seems to have extremely good performance for size weight etc , the 20KWh pack weighs about 165 kg ,and is about the size of a medium suitcase , it does not suffer from cold like the lithium cell and can achieve a half charged state within a mere 45 mins with a full charge taking about 8 hrs.

The donor car used is a Fiat Panda 4 door hatchback , and has a range of 75 to 85 miles on a charge , top speed is limited to about 70 mph car has all the safety features airbags etc , and is available to buy now for around 25000 dollars.

companies using this cell:

Smiths industrial vehicles

Think

Reva

Mes Dea

there is a second generation of Zebra cell in development at the moment , and Mes Dea are building a new factory in Switzerland to manufacture this cell in large quantities , which should bring the price down.

So unless I am mistaken , and I have seen these cars on the road and talked to owners of the vehicles , some of which have covered close to 18000 miles in two years with no apparent degradation of the battery ! the technology is here to enable anyone who has the money to buy a 100% electric car, great for commuting , taking the kids to school , shopping etc , and also help the planet. I believe there was no government money used to develop this battery...'

Posted by: Warren Heath