Much has been made of China’s efforts in “green” technology. What most interests me is not windmills or solar panels (nuclear is the way to go if you want to get rid of coal), but vehicle technology. Maybe it’s my automotive background, but redefining the car as a clean device is what the world needs.
Battery powered electric vehicles – something China is investing heavily in – have two main problems. One, they are basically coal-powered vehicles, especially in China. That’s where the electricity is coming from today. Two, currently they take too long to charge, making them poor substitutes for the freedom provided by the internal combustion engine. Five minutes to pump a tank of gas versus five hours to recharge doesn’t cut it.
There is a new development on this front that may make batteries a worthwhile technology. If they can really get the charge time down to two minutes, then only the source of the electricity remains the problem.
I still think the tech that has more validity is the hydrogen fuel cell. The current fuel infrastructure could more easily be adapted to methanol than setting up charging stations, and the pumping time remains the same. The biggest issue has been the platinum catalysts. Now there is another new development that dramatically reduces the cost and boosts the performance of the fuel cell.
How long before these new technologies hit the streets? As long as the market is allowed to decide, rather than governments choosing winners and losers (Volt, anyone?), I’ll bet it will be within the next decade.
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