Solid State Batteries

[Croxden]

Just read what Toyota are working on. Should be good for us when it gets here. I hope.
See www.autonews.com/article/20140127/OEM06/301279980/toyota-preps-solid-state-batteries-for-20s

 

[sixpence_none_the_richer]

Just when you thought that battery technology couldn't be improved upon. Long time to wait for us tho. At least we have left SLA behind. My comuter bike is heavy enough with lithium but we just heard yesterdaythat work will be moving 4 miles closer to home, hurrah! I have to wait till they have built the new building tho - in 2016. D'oh!

 

[Croxden]

More good news on battery's, this time lithium.
See www.siliconrepublic.com/innovation/item/35723-irish-researchers/

 

[flecc]

Evey year for many years we've had research breakthrough announcements promising doubling or greater multiplication of capacity/life/discharge rates etc.

None of them ever arrive.

The most common large capacity high discharge application in the world, vehicles, still uses the earliest technology of all, lead acid. That's the reality check, even now nothing else is as fit for purpose.

E-vehicles are sort of managing with lithium, but with many associated problems, and they have advanced at a snails pace over the last 20 years.

 

[trex]

it's all because we are not allowed to recharge our battery with an ICE while riding while cars are.
Solar panels are too bulky to get round the legislation, only fuel cells are allowed.

 

[flecc]

No, the problems extend well beyond that Trex. I have regularly left cars unused for three months while using bikes, but they've still started no problem. I couldn't rely on any lithium battery to do that, they are still far too unpredictable and need special care that today's lead-acid batteries don't need.

If lighter lithium was feasible car makers would use them for starting without hesitation.

And the lithium costs are prohibitive, think what a 50 to 100 Ah car battery would cost compared to lead-acid.

And e-cars have shown how impractical lithium is. Cars having zero value at 4 years old due to the forthcoming need for battery change costing more than the value of a four year old car. No-one has an answer to that.

As for hybrid e-bike ICE, who on earth would want that? Only a real enthusiast, Joe Public would never sign up to it when just using the simple low cost ICE bit is more than adequate.

 

[trex]

a small ICE may solve the problem of range. Instead of a £500 battery, only a small battery with high discharge rate is needed, resulting in a much lighter and cheaper bike. I am waiting for light weight flexible solar panel to become cheap enough to carry in rear panier.

 

[flecc]

Is there a problem with range now though? I don't think so. With today's e-bikes having as much as 600 and more Wh capacity, ranges at the common 12Wh per mile can be 50 miles or more, much more for fitter riders.

On legal e-bikes that's 3 to 4 hours, and not many want to ride more than that at a time. Certainly the odd enthusiast might want more, but the greater e-bike market has nothing like these range needs. Most do only a few hundred miles a year as the second hand market shows.

I agree a very few enthusiasts might like a hybrid e-bike, but that tiny component of what is already a small market is never going to be adequately served by industry.

 

[trex]

Bikes with 36V 10AH battery are very popular for commuting but often require recharging daily or every other day. If you can change that to once weekly and sell the bike for less than £500, a lot more people would adopt e-bike as cheap transport. I thought it may be doable with 100W flexible solar panel.

 

[flecc]

Despite the advances, I do have serious doubts about solar generation in Britain, given our long periods of overcast conditions.

If it was possible, I agree that under £500 e-bikes only needing weekly charging would be very attractive for commuting and could even challenge moped popularity. In fact a high proportion of e-bikes in the wider shopping/utility market only get charged occasionally due to low mileages and their users are usually happy with them long term. I doubt many of those would have enough daylight exposure for solar though.

 

[neptune]

As flecc has said previously, current technology for energy storage on e bikes is not quite fit for purpose, so if you want an e bike today, rather at some time in the distant future, you have to work within the limitations. For many, a compromise is possible. Providing you return home every night, I can`t see that daily charging is more arduous than weekly charging. Park up, plug in, switch on, done. For peace of mind use a timer to switch off the charger half an hour after charge is complete.

As with most things in life its all about compromise. Talk about solar. probably not suitable on your commute. But if you are on holiday or retired, it could be useful. Mount a solar panel on a lightweight trailer. Pick a sunny day. If your journey is basically a straight line, angle the panel to face the sun. The panel does not have to give an output equal to the motor load. Think of it as a solar powered range extender.

I am lucky in two respects. Most of my journeys are on flat fen country and my weight is only ten and a half stone. So if my battery is say 10 Ah, I could carry another 10 Ah battery as luggage and still have no more rolling weight than say a guy who weighs twelve stone.

I am considering buying a new e bike this summer, and undecided whether to go for 10 or 15 Ah battery. I like to pedal so 10 Ah would serve for most of my days out, total mileage about 35 miles. But occasionally I like to go to Lincoln for the day, total 70 miles round trip. I probably do that 3 or 4 times a year, So it would be cheaper to spend about £60 on train fares, and go one way on the train, rather than pay extra for a 15 Ah battery or two 10 Ah ones.