Lee Hart wrote:
you have to expect that the batteries will get worse over time. All batteries do.
Ben Goren wrote:
True in practice for today's EVs, but _not_ true as an absolute rule. Iron Edison-style batteries have functionally limitless lifespans, though they're much too heavy for use in an EV. But the fact that it's possible to make an immortal battery at all should give us hope that somebody will figure out a way to make an immortal battery that's light and small enough to be useful in an EV.
I'd say the problem is that "Mr. Market" won't buy a product with extremely long life. Long life adds cost, and almost no one will pay for it. Companies also don't want products that last too long; it prevents future sales. This is one of the reasons Edison didn't succeed with his battery; people weren't willing to pay more for long life.
*Any* battery chemistry can be made to last. Erik Sandell drove his EV over 100,000 miles on the same set of lead-acid batteries... which he got as *used* tubular plate industrial cells.
It also seems that Tesla's batteries are significantly outliving their already optimistic projections.
Isn't it really too soon to tell? Teslas aren't that old yet.
When companies start offering ten-year / 100,000-mile warranties on batteries to maintain>= 80% new capacity...
I think they are being *forced* to offer these warranties by EPA regulations. Whether the batteries will actually last that long or not is unknown. But the manufacturers have to *try* to get this kind of life, or they will be murdered by warranty costs.
My skeptical side thinks that if there were no warranty requirements, automakers would be using cheap, short-life batteries that needed maintenance every 3000 miles, and only lasted a few years, so they could reap big profits on servicing and replacements. Just like the lead-acid batteries they are already using.
-- Do the thing that needs to be done, even if no one else yet notices that it needs doing. -- anonymous -- Lee Hart, 814 8th Ave N, Sartell MN 56377, www.sunrise-ev.com _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Read EVAngel's EV News at http://evdl.org/evln/ Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
