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Battery breakthrough achieves energy density necessary for electric planes
Researchers have achieved a world-leading energy density with a next-generation battery design, paving the way for long-distance electric planes. The lithium-air battery, developed at the Japanese National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), had an energy density of over 500Wh/kg. By comparison, lithium-ion batteries found in Tesla vehicles have an energy density of 260Wh/kg. (uk.finance.yahoo.com) More...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
How do emission free electric engines propel a cargo carrying airframe at 0.7 mach at 35,000 feet ?
Logistical systems today are partially dependent on vehicles that can carry roughly 200,000 lbs a distance of 3,000 miles at 450 miles per hour, or better, through the air. It has taken us about 100 years to develop this ability.
How long will take to replicate current aviation technology with emission free electric powered freighters ? Or do we have to alter our distribution requirements and methods ?
Logistical systems today are partially dependent on vehicles that can carry roughly 200,000 lbs a distance of 3,000 miles at 450 miles per hour, or better, through the air. It has taken us about 100 years to develop this ability.
How long will take to replicate current aviation technology with emission free electric powered freighters ? Or do we have to alter our distribution requirements and methods ?
Sounds like these, applied to autos, could provide a longer range as well. Gas tank usually runs you 300 miles plus; with this adopted we're into electric cars for certain. Fresh air will be good for us all!
I'm still trying to figure out how the power is going to be generated for total electric cars and trucks.
That will be a challenge especially with the resistance of cheap sources of power like coal.
This is pie in the sky hogwash! You might as well say you are going to power transport aircraft with unicorn farts! Let's get real people - 500 WH/kg is 1.8 MJ/kg. (1 watt is 1 Joule per second, ergo 3600 J is 1 Watt-Hour - therefore 500 x 3600 = 1.8 million Joules per Watt-Hour)
Jet A has 45 MJ/kg. And a gas turbine is 60% efficient, so bring that down to 27 MJ/kg useful output energy so you can compare with battery power. (electric motors from batteries are 95% efficient) So Jet fuel and turbofan engines are at least 13x more energy density in useful terms than would be these lithium-air batteries.
So a 777-300 with a max range of 6000 Nm, would only have a range of 460 Nm with these batteries, and would need 135000 kg of batteries to fly under 400 miles with reserve!
That is one humongous problem with this wishful thinking. But the bigger problem is lithium mining and production, and second biggest problem is how you gonna generate the electrical power in the first place to charge every ground and air vehicle in use now? Solar panels and windmills? Do the numbers - not only are they unreliable and costly and in fact damaging to the environment - but to electrify the US (everything from housing, industry and transportation) without fossil fuels you would need to build a new 10 GW nuclear plant every 2 weeks for the next 30 years.
Jet A has 45 MJ/kg. And a gas turbine is 60% efficient, so bring that down to 27 MJ/kg useful output energy so you can compare with battery power. (electric motors from batteries are 95% efficient) So Jet fuel and turbofan engines are at least 13x more energy density in useful terms than would be these lithium-air batteries.
So a 777-300 with a max range of 6000 Nm, would only have a range of 460 Nm with these batteries, and would need 135000 kg of batteries to fly under 400 miles with reserve!
That is one humongous problem with this wishful thinking. But the bigger problem is lithium mining and production, and second biggest problem is how you gonna generate the electrical power in the first place to charge every ground and air vehicle in use now? Solar panels and windmills? Do the numbers - not only are they unreliable and costly and in fact damaging to the environment - but to electrify the US (everything from housing, industry and transportation) without fossil fuels you would need to build a new 10 GW nuclear plant every 2 weeks for the next 30 years.
> The team is now planning to implement other materials into the
> battery with the aim of significantly increasing the battery’s cycle life.
In other words, it might be light enough to fly, but it would need replaced too often to be commercially viable.
It probably will happen, but not tomorrow...
Alan