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6435
Joined
10/16/2014
Location
Buda, TX, USA
Edited Date/Time
7/4/2019 6:18am
"Previous designs for sodium ion batteries did not accomplish an energy density as high as lithium ion. What the Germans did was make it possible to build the battery through dry deposition of materials, which increased reliability and reduced the price enormously, and also increased energy density enormously. If you look up sodium ion batteries you will get old material from 2018 where small research groups managed to make sodium ion batteries work, at a 20 percent cost savings per watt hour over lithium ion. What has happened in Germany is that with the new manufacturing tech, sodium ion batteries will now be practical, plus have a higher energy density than lithium ion, PLUS have a cost reduction of 80 or more percent over lithium ion.
What the Germans managed to do is invent a battery tech where the batteries are basically simply dry painted into existence the way cars are painted during manufacture now, which eliminated all the work and all the hazardous chemicals that have always been a part of the battery manufacturing process. The Germans got it down to a process as simple as painting a surface or printing a newspaper at super high speed, with results better than any battery we have now. There is a chance that in the near future, the cost of a battery for a car will be less than $1, 000 USD vs practically the entire cost of the car nowadays, and to top it all off, the car will go much much farther on a charge. Cost savings are not that drastic yet, but they are still enough to revolutionize electric cars.
I predict the technology will be allowed to proceed and won't be taken away the way so many other great technologies probably were. We will probably see this, and since the late R&D is happening via a major battery maker and not an isolated laboratory, it could hit the market very quickly.
The lithium in lithium ion batteries is a fairly rare metal. It is not a precious metal, but it is not common at all and carries a heavy cost premium. Sodium on the other hand is the most common of all metals, (unless you call hydrogen a metal) sodium is more common than even iron. It is also very easy to isolate as a metal, if you hit the right sourcing sodium is dirt cheap. Hydrogen is technically a metal but in a practical sense it is not, and can't be used in a battery the way metals that don't primarily exist as a gas can be used. Combining the abundance and cheapness of sodium with a manufacturing process that is basically as simple as printing toilet paper will have a MAJOR impact on battery prices, this will, if it comes to fruition, be a death sentence for gasoline powered cars. Electric cars will be cheaper and they will perform just as well.
New battery type: Sodium Ion
The report I have linked here does not even go into the significance of being able to use sodium - the bubble headed reporter, who probably flunked chemistry, missed it like a hail mary in a hurricane. But she at least reported there is a new battery making process. The real breakthrough however is that the process allows us to move from Lithium ion to Sodium ion batteries, and they are already making them. It does work. And it is a major battery manufacturer that is doing the proofing on this, not college kids. This will drastically increase energy density and sodium is the most common metal on earth that you can observe as metal at room temperature - it is DIRT CHEAP.
Sodium is more electropositive than Lithium, which means more energy can be stored by sodium. But it has not been possible to use sodium up until now because it is too soft and too reactive. Knowing the new advantages of the new manufacturing process, they did not even bother with lithium, they cut straight to sodium. That's a serious breakthrough. None of this is specifically pointed out in the linked report, you have to read between the lines to see it."
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Battery-Breakthrough-Solves-…
With KTM announcing the KJSC SX Junior program is going Electric next year, this should make for fun discussion..https://racerxonline.com/2019/06/05/insight-kjsc-going-electric
Oh, and cool advancement on the batteries
I think that electric vehicles/ bikes need to make a better sound. Something that doesn’t sound like a RC car! It’s an easy safety upgrade! Loud pipes save lives💨💨
Interesting technological development, Johnny. Thanks for sharing. Let's hope it gains some footing.
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There's alot of snake oil in the battery/power storage game. I'm optimistic but I'll believe it when I see it. A safe battery, with super high energy density could change our daily lives in a way that hasn't been seen since the widespread use of the internet.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/techcrunch.com/2019/06/05/supercross-to-de…
That little KTM is sweet.
Once sorted, I predict the performance of electric bikes will be absolutely dominant. That alone will end the debate and all the squabbling will cease.
The problem is physics..... we've reached our limit as far as energy density can go cost effectively.... this was reached a decade and a half ago........
You will NOT see massive increases in energy density without a Massive breakthrough in energy storage tech at the atomic level....... this is very far away....... lets say at least 10 years........
Furthermore, the energy storage biz has a much larger issue..... we are running out of raw materials at a staggering rate...... Lithium, cobalt, magnesium, etc...... demand is skyrocketing, while supply dwindles and gets harder each day to secure.....
oh wait , that would only get me 1/4 way there... The LAST bike I want to be on when riding in the wilderness is an electric bike...
The "advancement" from 2 stroke to 4 stroke was pure politics, as is the push of electric bikes...
And more $$
I don't agree with "more $$".... maybe its more money up front, but in the long run i suspect it will be cheaper. I have over 60 hours on my MXR and have only needed to change 80ml of gear oil. I spend more time tinkering with my 2 strokes and 4 strokes than i do riding them. With the Alta its the complete opposite... I spend way more time riding it than i do tinkering with it.
What is it worth to you to have a bike that requires less maintenance, allows you to ride in more areas without pissing people off (allowing you to ride more overall), and doesn't destroy your hearing?
Pit Row
I started on a real bike with a 3 speed AND a clutch. Engine noise and the smell of Klotz "Techniplate" back then was basically like smelling fresh baked Krispy Cremes to a fat kid.
We always find little improvements in a lab setting and then take what we find and implement it in production. Theres improvements everyday.
Energy density has increased 200% in the last 10 years and cost have went from $1200 per kWh to $150.00 . Also, these rare earth metals aren't really that rare and companies like Tesla are using 90% less today than they were 2 years ago. Elon has stated they will not use any sooner than later.
Here in the mtn's a 40 mile loop takes close to 6 hrs with a lunch/water stop. Granted not everyone rides in the middle of nowhere.
BTW , I startle more people on the trail as they can't hear me coming with a 94 db silencer , which is a lot quieter at a lower rev.. We cut and clear all the trails so others ( like hikers) can use them also. The only ones who don't like us are the out of state environmentalists who bring lawsuits for ANY type of use of state and national forest. Gas or elec...
Electric kicks ass if you can build a track at home with neighbors.
Best option out there for our situation. I'll keep gas bikes for back ups and to build engine skills, but electric makes it easier to concentrate on body position and smooth technique, which transfers over to help go faster and safer on gas bikes too. All bikes have their place, and I like them all. Electric just happens to be my favorite. Even after a year the novelty hasn't worn off.
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