That’s what were talking about! A break through in battery technology will really change the world as we know it. MIT’s Technology Review reports the next generation of the Chevrolet Volt and other battery-powered cars are looking at electrode materials developed at a U.S. Department of Energy Lab for its next generation of batteries. These materials help double their energy-storage capacity, potentially leading to substantial costs savings by allowing electric vehicles to use a smaller battery pack. TR writes,
Cost is the biggest problem with the wave of battery-powered vehicles that started to arrive on the market last month. GM’s Volt, an electric vehicle that goes 35 miles per charge and has a gasoline generator for longer trips, costs more than twice as much as a similar-sized conventional car, in large part because of the battery. Increasing the amount of energy that a battery stores allows an automaker to use a smaller battery pack, thereby reducing costs…
We have a ways to go before electric vehicles fueled by solar chargers are the norm, but we believe that day is much closer than the markets and OPEC think, and higher oil prices will only move it forward. These are super disruptive technologies. Think elbow of the exponential technology curve. Just say no to the “new normal.”
Global Macro Monitor 