Environment & Energy

Fumesucker

(45,851 posts)

3. You aren't going to be recharging 400 km range batteries in two minutes any time soon

Fri May 10, 2013, 11:36 AM

May 2013

Even if the batteries are available the voltages and currents required to recharge them that quickly are nearly astronomical.

100 wH/km would be a pretty decent figure for an electric car, times 400 km makes 40,000 wH battery capacity.

To recharge 40,000 wH in two minutes would take 40,000 * 30 (2 minute periods in an hour) or 1,200,000 watts which at 240 volts means 5,000 amperes of charging current.

A 4/0 copper cable is just under a half inch in diameter (finger sized roughly) and will carry 260 amps, that means you would need 20 4/0 cables for each polarity so 40 copper cables altogether.

If you were to double the voltage to 480 volts you would still require 20 4/0 copper cables to recharge the car in two minutes.

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"Research doubles electric car range" claim #4,381 - but who's counting? [View all] wtmusic May 2013 OP

Price per kilo of Germanium is around $1800 and climbing OnlinePoker May 2013 #1

They published in the ACS journal Nano Letters in February wtmusic May 2013 #4

Have they been road tested yet? itsrobert May 2013 #2

You aren't going to be recharging 400 km range batteries in two minutes any time soon Fumesucker May 2013 #3

Or a person could just drive by the clock tower at precisely 10:04 p.m. itsrobert May 2013 #5

I'd settle for commute there and back again range + overnight charging. Warren Stupidity May 2013 #6

+1 wtmusic May 2013 #7