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Altairnano batteries cost $135,000 each
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/altair-nanotechnologies-receives-540000-order/story.aspx?guid={DF6AD538-9E92-415E-BBF5-8483BD8C4BF7}&dist=hppr
OK so this is an exaggeration. But they are selling 4 batteries packs to a bus company for $135,000 each along with some control hardware.
I am sure the price will go down with volume. But it is still tough to see a 44KWH battery pack costing $135,000.
quote comment
I know I have beat this drum before, but I really think a car company could make a killing in the EV market using advanced lead-acid batteries like one from Firefly or CSIRO, until a better, cheaper battery is developed.
You can see the Airpod air car by going to their web page and clicking on the ZPM News link on the left: http://zeropollutionmotors.us/
The Efoy fuel cell kits- I guess the only advantage is that it is a kit, and can be used to retrofit other EV's. But as a range extender, it is inferior to the Volt's- methanol does not have the potential energy that gas has- like maybe half, and therefore will not power a car, or recharge a battery, as much as gasoline. But methanol is a bio-fuel, and can be produced from 'home-grown' sources.
The home page for Efoy products is: http://www.efoy.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=56
Hey Rick! Where in NJ did you stay? We also spent about 2 1/2 years there, until we moved back to Austin about 18 months ago. It was an interesting place, and I enjoyed our time there- but we were happy to return to Texas:-)
The current Efoy Direct Methonal Fuel Cells (DMFC) seem to be more of a battery backup system for small electronic system, e.g. remote weather monitoring station. They look like a good addition to solar panels to supply power during cloudy weather.
A few of points
1) These systems are low power (at most 65 Watts) which is 0.09 HP (horsepower). So not exactly car sized.
2) They are only 25% efficient. Gasoline engines or power plants are probably more like 30-40% efficient. However, it is probably difficult to get high efficiency in small packages.
3) Methanol has 56,800 BTU/gallon but gasoline has 125,000 BTU/gallon. So Methonol is about half the energy density.
4) As a backup generator, this is probably a lot quieter and cleaner than an ICE engine.
5) There is not a lot of energy coming out of these units. They only put out 1.56 KWH/day. So to 50% charge the Volt's 16KWH battery would require 5 days. After 5 days, you could drive another 40 miles. Reminds me of car-top solar panels.
So if they take two of these 1.56KWH/day fuel cells, you could get 3.12KWH/day. So in the Volt, you could get your 40 mile range after running the fuel cell for 24hours/day for 2.5 days.
Does this making any sense to anyone?????
