[Norm51]

From the Houston Chronicle, 4/9/2017

Please see:: Fossil fuels should fear this battery visionary

National Medal of Science holder John Goodenough, emeritus professor at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas, developed the basis for the lithium-ion battery, which is used in almost every mobile phone and laptop computer.

 

[Sheldon]

Another recent article: To Be a Genius Think Like a 94 Year Old
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/opinion/sunday/to-be-a-genius-think-like-a-94-year-old.html?_r=0

I hope John Goodenough's latest battery is good enough to continue to revolutionize the plug-in industry.

 

[kns]

Some additional reporting and commentary on glass batteries.

http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise...s-new-glass-battery-accelerate-the-end-of-oil
http://www.newsweek.com/how-94-year-old-genius-save-planet-john-goodenough-566476
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/tech/super-safe-glass-battery-charges-in-minutes-not-hours/
http://techaeris.com/2017/03/11/new-glass-battery-technology-provide-safer-faster-power-storage/
https://forums.tesla.com/forum/forums/94-year-old-man-paves-way-next-gen-battery-tech

The technology has certainly garnered a lot of attention. If it can quickly and economically move from the lab to the market then it might arrive just in time to blunt expiration of EV tax credits in the US.

While it might save the US EV market, it could leave a lot of stranded investment in its wake at LG, Panasonic, Tesla and elsewhere. GM was wise to outsource battery production to someone else.

KNS

PS - In the world of science and engineering it is never smart to overlook the contributions of old guys or women.

 

[Ladogaboy]

If more of our kids looked to him as a role model instead of the likes of Kendall Jenner and Kanye West, we'd have a much better society.

Regardless, this new technology for Li batteries just makes logical sense to me. Assuming the primary differences between Pb and Li are chemical rather than structural, the transition to absorbed glass seems like the natural progression for Li. And anyone who has replaced a FLA battery with an AGM battery knows just how huge of a difference this actually is.

 

[kindofblue]

This is very cool and exciting. Good news for the planet! Thanks for posting all.

 

[Raymondjram]

GM was wise to outsource battery production to someone else.

General Motors always outsourced its batteries, including the common lead-acid types. It is a vehicle manufacturer, and it outsources all the energy source elsewhere. Imagine if GM also made the only gasoline that burns in its engines!!

 

[DonC]

There are several companies working on solid state batteries. One of them will surely work since it seems so possible. Goodenough has a fantastic track record so I'd say writing this off would be a mistake.

I do believe that electric cars are one major technological breakthrough on the battery front away from dominating the car industry. Superior ride and performance and lower operating cost and convenience, coupled with continued concern about emissions and pollution, make for a powerful force favoring wider adoption. After cost, where progress is being made, the only remaining barrier will be charge times. If you can charge a pack in minutes rather than hours CARB won't need any special rules. LOL

 

[Sheldon]

There are several companies working on solid state batteries. One of them will surely work since it seems so possible. Goodenough has a fantastic track record so I'd say writing this off would be a mistake.

I do believe that electric cars are one major technological breakthrough on the battery front away from dominating the car industry. Superior ride and performance and lower operating cost and convenience, coupled with continued concern about emissions and pollution, make for a powerful force favoring wider adoption. After cost, where progress is being made, the only remaining barrier will be charge times. If you can charge a pack in minutes rather than hours CARB won't need any special rules. LOL

Could a 50 mile Voltec EV become cost competitive with a future Goodenough based battery?

 

[Ladogaboy]

Could a 50 mile Voltec EV become cost competitive with a future Goodenough based battery?

You mean it isn't already? Last I checked, $33,000 is still less than average new car MSRP, and that is before any incentives.

 

[kns]

...Imagine if GM also made the only gasoline that burns in its engines!!

Not a very good analogy. The battery is analogous to the gas tank, not to the gas.

KNS

 

[Coppersnowboarder]

I was first attracted to electric energy by a book that I read in fifth grade: A Boy and A Battery. The book gave instructions on how to build a lead-acid battery. Probably a banned book today.

 

[alfon]

For electric battery storage to compete with fossil fuels we have to think outside the box. Electricity has no weight to begin with. If you can store 500 KWH of electricity in an enclosed concentrated space, perhaps with a magnetic field, in an area the size of a shoe box and weigh as much, and the ability to charge at a rate of anything you can put into it, from a 120 Volt plug, to a full blown 200 KWH DC system and the ability to charge and discharge without any effects you will have something.

Electricity has to be obtained from somewhere so it is not free energy to begin with, the problem is only storing it after its generated.

 

[DrMiguelitoLoveless]

This is the reason that utilities are fighting roof-top solar. Once you get batteries paired with an array, you can become independent of the grid and it's multiple points of failure model. Right now, the cost of generating electricity is falling thanks to wind/solar. The cost of transmission, however, is rising. Utilities don't want to spend the money to modernize the grid since it cuts into profits. As they put off routine maintenance and improvements, those improvements become more expensive. Rooftop solar means cutting the distance from generator to outlet from dozens of miles to tens of feet. Batteries mean power stays on in storms and when drunks run into power poles.

At some point, more progressive states will start mandating new construction begin using renewable, grid independent power. If utility companies haven't started become part of the solution at that point, they are headed the way of the blacksmith and candle maker.