LI/Ion is showing a lot of promise. The only problem is the price. LI/Ion has the range suitable for real world driving, 300 miles per charge.
I think it's just a matter of time before we go to electric for our vehicle propulsion. Why? Because electric is far cheaper per mile than petroleum propulsion, significantly so like 80%, and most decisions in life are dictated by cost. So, once the batteries themselves come down in cost, and as oil products rise in cost as oil runs short, EVs are going to take over. It will start with plug-in hybrids, and as the battery technology improves the petroleum part of the engine will just be dropped.
If gasoline is costing someone $5.00/gal and the same distance can be covered by electric for $1.00, then the payback time will be rather fast. My 20,000 miles per year of driving would pay back about $2,900 per year for doing so on electric.
One nice thing about electric is that it can be produced is some many different ways, even in a renewable manner, and is domestic energy. |
