Hi @apkjm
I know the first cars were electric, not gasoline. At the beginning of 20th century there were much more electric cars than gasoline cars. I have made a little bit research about the first electric vehicles 6 months ago. My research actually based on the improvement of current Li-Ion battery technologies and new researches about the Metal-Air (especially Li-Air) battery technologies. Here it is. Just FYI.
Vehicles has to be electricity powered but not gasoline!
A century ago, more automobiles were powered by electricity than by gasoline.
Invention of the lead–acid battery in 1859
Electric-powered two-wheel cycle in 1867
First production electric car in 1884
Interest in motor vehicles increased greatly in the late 1890s and early 1900s.
But the need for longer travel ranges, the availability of a more affordable fuel source and a reliable power infrastructure soon turned internal combustion engines into the predominant means of motor transportation.
Now drivers are considering a move away from gasoline and back to electricity as an ideal source for automotive power, but big challenges remain. Many companies, universities and researchers are working on solving one of the biggest barriers to widespread electric vehicle adoption: limited battery range.
Most people consider switching to electric vehicles to save money on gas and contribute to a healthier environment. But “range anxiety,” the fear of being stranded with no power, was cited by 64 percent of consumers as a main detractor to buying an electric vehicle.
Electric cars today typically can travel only about 100-150 miles (depends on the vehicle brand and type) on current battery technology, called Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion). This technology stands little chance of being light enough to travel 500 miles on a single charge and cheap enough to be practical for a typical family car. This problem is creating a significant barrier to electric vehicle adoption.
The traditional lithium-ion chemistry involves a lithium cobalt oxide cathode and a graphite anode. This yields cells with an impressive 200+ Wh/kg energy density and good power density, and 80 to 90% charge/discharge efficiency.
However the downsides of traditional lithium-ion batteries include;
- Expensive (85kWh Tesla battery USD 17,000)
- Heavy (85kWh Tesla battery is 550kg)
- Short cycle lives (hundreds to a few thousand charge cycles) and
- Significant degradation with age.
- The cathode is also somewhat toxic.
- Also, traditional lithium-ion batteries can pose a fire safety risk if punctured or charged improperly.
- The 18650 type battery cells (used in laptop battery cells as well) which Tesla uses 7104 of them for the 85kWh battery, don't accept or supply charge when cold, and so heaters can be necessary in some climates to warm them.
Most other EVs are utilizing new variations on lithium-ion chemistry that sacrifice energy and power density to provide; fire resistance, environmental friendliness, very rapid charges (as low as a few minutes), and very long lifespans. These variants; lithium iron phosphate batteries to last for at least 10+ years and 7000+ charge cycles, lithium-manganese spinel batteries to last up to 40 years and Lithium vanadium oxide for doubling energy density.
Li-Ion battery technology should be improved by increasing the power density. They are too expensive and too heavy, but there is no alternative for it yet. (85kWh battery pack at weight of 550kg and costs ~ USD 17,000)
Currently, Tesla uses thousands of individual Panasonic 18650 laptop battery cells in its battery packs. 7104 pieces of those cells are used for making a 85kWh battery pack by 550kg. The value of this pack is about USD 17,000, offers a cost of $200 kWh and energy density of 155 Wh/kg.
Btw, I use the 18650 batteries in my torches and mobile phone battery packs as well. But they are scary due to the fire hazard. I never leave the charger on during the night time, I switch off the charger before I go to bed.
Once Tesla’s $5b Gigafactory production begins though, Tesla will be upgrading to new 20700 battery cells, which will be physically a little bit larger, capable of holding more energy, and thus requiring fewer individual modules.
The main goal of the Tesla Gigafactory is to bring battery costs down by some 30%, allowing the Tesla Model 3 the ability to offer a 200-mile driving range for just $35,000. Still quite expensive for many people.
METAL-AIR (Li-Air) BATTERIES with conversion chemistry are considered a promising candidate.
Obviously there’s a lot that still needs to happen for electric cars to even be on par with their conventional counterparts.
Electric Vehicle manufacturers and battery suppliers are currently investing millions of dollars into battery Research & Development aimed at obtaining greater driving range and lowering the charging times of lithium-ion batteries. However, improvements in lithium-ion technology appear to be proving incremental rather than exponential.
Despite the exciting developments in the field of Li-Ion battery technology in the past decade, resulting in the application of lithium ion batteries in areas ranging from small portable electric devices to large power systems such as hybrid electric vehicles, the maximum energy density of current Li-Ion battery chemistry is not sufficient to meet the demands of new markets in such areas as electric vehicles. This is a fact.
That is the reason new electrochemical systems with higher energy densities are being sought, and METAL-AIR BATTERIES with conversion chemistry are considered a promising candidate. More recently, promising electrochemical performance has driven much research interest in Li-Air, Al-Air and Zn-Air batteries.
IBM started the Battery 500 Lithium-Air Battery project in 2009. IBM said that current Li-Ion technology is far from being viable for replacing the gasoline internal combustion engine power.
They said in 2012 that they were targeting 2020 for commercial production. However in 2014, Winfried Wilcke, the most bullish player in lithium-air and director of IBM’s Battery 500 Project, had a “change of heart” about lithium-air and had turned his favour to a technology featuring sodium. In an electric car, a sodium-air battery, he said, stood a better chance of meeting the economics needed to compete with conventional cars. It was a dramatic move. At the time, an IBM spokesman said that the company is now working on both lithium-air and sodium.
About the same time, the project partner JCESR dropped its lithium-air project entirely. A JCESR manager, said it concluded that the challenges were too overwhelming to resolve any time soon. “The penalty of using gaseous reactions overwhelmed any advantage”.
The problem has been the chemical instabilities of lithium metal limiting the recharging cycles, making lithium-air impractical for use in cars. The anode is pure lithium metal, which provides a lot of energy but also ignites when exposed to water, carbon dioxide, or other contaminants. What is more, the lithium-oxygen itself can turn into unwanted lithium carbonate. Hence, the battery would need screening technology to keep both electrodes pristine, adding weight and cost and obviating the advantages of going to all that trouble.
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