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5th June 2014 17:09
Link to Post #1
Aluminum Air Battery - claims over 1000 mile range for your car
NEW ELECTRIC battery for Cars makes its debut.
Israeli Company Phinergy and Canadian company Alco (aluminum) have teamed up to make some good money while keeping the environment clean from zero emission automobiles.
Of course, the amount of energy required to "make the aluminum", the Carbon footprint to do that isn't discussed.. hmm
These are called Aluminum Air "primary batteries".
Alcoa is more than happy to sell the Aluminum metal.
Phinergy claims to have solved the electrode issue by utilizing a new type of catalyst added to the electrode material to facilitate high energy output in a very light weight package.
These batteries use AIR (and water) and ALUMINUM as the active ingredients with some proprietary chemistry added to maintain efficiency and actually start the reaction that makes the electricity.
The problem with these batteries, is the aluminum is consumed, turned into a gel that has to be removed, and gotten back to the "metals recycler". They are ONE USE ONLY. USE and RECYCLE.
Meaning one has to get the old consumed electrodes out of the battery and get a new one in.
The cost is not yet fully determined what this will cost, or how to logistically handle the continual maintenance for such batteries in a car.
The two companies are backpedaling a bit not pushing too hard about using these batteries in automobiles, even though they had run a demonstration car on these batteries to hype the debut.
They do claim the batteries will be great where there are stationary needs such as using these batteries as backup emergency batteries.
The aluminum-air is a bit of a misnomer though, in-so-much that WATER is required to be added.. What about freezing then? (Well no problem in Israel, it's warm all the time.. hmmm).
We wonder then where the weight savings really comes in, and will this ever be practical.
This other "small" problem.. can't you just see Grandma going to the battery store to get some batteries to "fuel up" her car?
These batteries are ONE way - not rechargeable.
So that means buying a replacement "electrode reload stack", removing the old battery electrode, getting it safely to the recycler, and then getting the new electrode pack and inserting it into the battery, testing to make sure everything is working properly. And off you go. 1 hour per refuel cycle.. hmm
Note: Wrench, gloves and goggles sold extra. Gift certificates at your local body building store available.
Maybe this idea although unique, is not so practical just yet..
references:
http://www.phinergy.com/default.asp
and
http://www.alcoa.com/global/en/news/...ergy_batteries
Energy requirement - to make one ton of aluminum it takes 211 billion joules of energy. 6 GJ is about the amount of potential chemical energy in a barrel of oil, when combusted. 42 gallons of crude oil exists in a barrel of oil. I wonder what this battery will cost to make, refuel both in $ and carbon burned to "make it".
Are we really saving anything, or just trading $$ from the oil industry to the aluminum industry?
Last edited by Bob; 9th October 2015 at 08:20.
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5th June 2014 17:49
Link to Post #2