alexol

Looks like Toyota will have a battery providing over 900 miles for a 10 minute charge. Bit of a game changer in the EV world.

alexol

Geezer Loc: Capreol, Ontario, Canada

I sure wouldn't keep it in my garage (nor the entire neighborhood). From my High School Physics class I learned that energy cannot be created nor destroyed.
Calculate the Kilowatts required to move a mass (vehicle) over 900 miles and think of all this energy stored in a small box. Think of all the fires they've had with pretty small batteries (e-scooters and bikes, etc)

Ollieboy

Didn't Toyota announce that they weren't interested in EVs. I believe the chairman made that statement a few months ago.

alexol

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I don't believe this will happen in my lifetime.

alexol

Planning on dying in the next 3-5 years?

BebuLamar

Typically a car with a range of 300 miles would have around 70kWh battery if not more. Now with over 900 miles the battery must be over 200kWh. The batteries used in EV are some 400V and some 800V. Assuming that this battery is 1000V then to charge the battery fully in 10 minutes the charger must deliver at least 2400A at 1000V.

Geezer Loc: Capreol, Ontario, Canada

Wow!! Now I can weld when I'm stuck in traffic!!

Norwegian ferry's don't allow EV's on their ships. Our ferry runs during the Summer season, and they're thinking of banning EV's also. A vehicle fire in the middle of the lake is pretty scary...

Red6

It is an agreement to research and develop these batteries. Their availability at the end of the decade is speculation at this time. That is a lot of energy to be stuffing in a small container.

I think the more exciting news is the short charge time. If the charge time can be kept reasonable then longer ranges are not really needed. For me and for most people, even younger folks, driving 900 miles at one time is not realistic. If it had a 300-400 mile range, then a stop after 3-4 hours would allow folks to stretch their legs, grab a snack, take a restroom break, recharge the car, and be back on the road in less than 30 minutes. That would be very reasonable and useful.

bob7fred

But, can the “grid” support millions of chargers. No thanks! I’ll stick to gas.

Red6

Let's not forget that most of us have driven around for the past century or longer with a tank of highly flammable, explosive, and toxic liquid called gasoline. Gasoline vapors can be explosive and set off with any open flame or static spark. Gasoline has often been used as an explosive and incendiary weapon by militaries, arsonists, and terrorists.

We feel safe with gasoline because of our familiarity with it and being around it constantly. But there are plenty of car fires and accidents in the world due to gasoline, and we dismiss them because we are used to them and no longer see them as a real problem. I think few people would allow gasoline to be stored in their garage if they knew the true dangers posed by gasoline.

I recently read an article from a safety official that stated that if gasoline were just being introduced today as a fuel, it would most likely be soundly rejected. It fails spectacularly in most categories considered for use by the public - it is highly flammable, explosive, possibly carcinogenic, and toxic to most living things. In addition, its production and use are destructive to the environment in multiple ways.

The lack of understanding of the dangers of gasoline is much like traffic accidents. People are quick to worry about flying and airline accidents which kill very few people in the US. However, in the US alone there are 30,000+ people killed in auto accidents each year and the fact is barely mentioned or even noticed.

John Matthews Loc: Wasilla, Alaska

Great lab technology. The ability for a home charger setup to deliver that kind of fast charging time is unrealistic. Now if you a have a plethora of commercial charge stations mimicking the number of current gas stations great. Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on one’s viewpoint) the U.S. does not have the political or commercial will to support the required infrastructure.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

Well said, Red6! I suppose one could argue an EV battery has a better chance of shorting out and “self-igniting” than a gas tank has a chance of leaking and exploding but I’d say we’re still on the learning curve for batteries and they’ll soon be safer than gasoline. Certainly better for the environment.

Red6

I changed my mind about the infrastructure issue on electrics. The apartment complex I live in just installed 6 EV chargers for use by their residents. It costs about $2 per hour and takes around 3 hours to fully charge most EVs. That 3-hour charge costing $6 will take you around 175 miles which is very competitive with gas at $3.00 per gallon. I also researched the number of chargers available in and around our medium-sized city and found dozens, some of them free. All were commercially provided with little or no government involvement.

So, I would say that EVs are coming and businesses are getting ready to provide for them. Also, most car dealers, Nissan, Tesla, and others provide chargers at their location, some at no charge to customers. But home chargers are easy to set up and operate and charging can easily be programmed to complete during times of energy excess and lower rates. The chargers use the same type of outlet found in homes for dryers, stoves, or heaters.

It reminds me of the days when the internet was just getting started and users were moving from dial-up lines to cable or high-speed phone connections. There was much worry and handwringing that we were headed to a catastrophe of internet failure due to a lack of capacity to handle the demand. While I do remember some slowdowns and a little downtime, no catastrophes happened to my knowledge. I suspect the same will happen with EVs. People who do not like EVs will continue to yell that the "sky is falling" and EV users will continue to charge up and move on with their vehicles.

Gasoline vehicles will be with us for several more decades but make no mistake, the long-term future lies elsewhere - maybe EVs, maybe something else yet to be developed. EVs are the only technology ready for primetime. Hydrogen is often touted as a replacement, but there are huge issues with hydrogen including production, storage, and infrastructure. One issue that must be addressed is cost, hydrogen actually costs more in energy to produce than it yields when used.