Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
advanced batteries. The
first all-electric EV-
came out in
the
Tesla has come out with lithium-ion batteries and a
with conventional lead-acid batteries. In
years the range of an electric
car has gone up by four times, and more advanced batter-
ies are on the way. What is needed is more funding for
long-range research to bring to reality batteries of a new
type that are still more advanced. All too often funding
agencies focus on near-term results which, though import-
ant, must not drive out the long-term efforts that are
capable of revolutionary change. Battery development is
advancing worldwide. Japan, China, India, Europe, and
the United States are investing heavily and there should
be major progress in the next
mile range. In only
five or six years.
The alternative fuels program in the United States is, to
put it politely, misguided. I have not met a single scientist
or engineer who believes that the current corn-based
ethanol program makes any energy or environmental
sense. It is mainly an agribusiness subsidy and they, of
course, think it makes lots of sense. There is potential in
more advanced biofuels programs, but none of them have
as yet proved practical. We should kill the mandate for
more corn-based ethanol.
Hydrogen as a fuel for the light-vehicle
fleet is ques-
tionable. The fuel cells themselves need to be sent back to
the laboratory to emerge if possible with decent ef
ciency
and with reasonable catalysts. Using natural gas on board
a vehicle as a source of hydrogen may make sense, but
I have yet to see an end-to-end analysis. The chain from
electricity, to hydrogen, to pipeline, to vehicle, to electri-
city makes little sense. There are people working on
biological sources of hydrogen and these may make sense.
