The latest breakthroughs for E-cars
Ever since the conception of the Electric powered car, there has always been the lingering problem of battery output life, the range of travel and the extra time it needs to be recharged. But as increasingly more Government Institutions and companies move to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, it is becoming apparent that the pressure greatly sped up the development. To contend with this necessity, companies like Tesla and Toyota, Nissan, Chevrolet, Toshiba, Panasonic, and Samsung are making great strides in improving range and battery capacity, although all have yet to fully surpass significant hurdles of quicker recharging.
2017 Battery Breakthrough
Scientists at the University of Waterloo in Ontario have made some battery storage breakthroughs in 2017. They claim that the use of negative electrodes made of lithium metal could dramatically increase battery storage capacity, which could in turn drastically improve capabilities of electric-powered vehicles.The University paper details how scientists added a compound made up of phosphorus and sulfur elements to the electrolyte liquid, which carries charge within batteries. The team of scientists claims that this compound reacts with the lithium metal electrode in a battery to "spontaneously coat it with an extremely thin protective layer." This protection, supposedly, allows for the use of lithium metal electrodes within batteries, which adds greater storage capacity, without risks or degradation. This improvement could triple the range of these electric powered vehicles.
Electric Revolution
The Nissan Leaf is a compact five-door hatchback electric car introduced in Japan ,the United States, Canada and Europe in 2011. The US Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) official range for the 2016 model year Leaf with the 30 kWh battery is 172 kilometers on a full battery charge from the 135-kilometer range of the 2014 model, an increase of over 20 percent in range. Leaf battery packs can be charged from fully discharged to 80 percent capacity in about 30 minutes using DC fast charging.
Tesla's current 2017 generation of high-speed Supercharging Cars have a power output of 120 kilowatts and can run to 180 miles (288 kilometers) to a full charge and recharge at 30 minutes. But Elon Musk's claims that the Prime Mover Truck he made in 2017 will be able to accumulate 400 miles(640 kilometers) on a full charge and would allow the Semi to achieve the first true long-haul ranges in the industry. A driver might start the day with 500 miles of range, top off the battery at lunch, and be able to complete driving the US legal limit of 11 hours in a day with range to spare. But the mammoth size of the battery would require a mega charger of some sort to full charge at 30 minutes. Doing so would require a charger unlike anything seen before. So far, Musk has not presented the full details of the truck to the Public.
Samsung introduced its "multifunctional battery packs" at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, which, they say, will rival the batteries used on current Tesla Cars. Samsung claims that their batteries can power electric cars for up to 430 miles (688 kilometers).
On a small scale, these breakthroughs may increase capacity of batteries and shorten recharging time. The major boost can spur grow of the electric car and could ultimately have a definitive impact on the environment. If, or when, electric cars become the primary vehicles on the road, emissions could be drastically reduced, making our chances of continued survival on planet Earth better.
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