CALDEIRÃO DE BOLSA

Bom, o Fisker Karma é um Híbrido...

500 electric Minis coming to California

BMW will release a test fleet of electrically-powered Mini's around New York and Los Angeles early next year.





Starting next year drivers in the Los Angeles and New York areas will be able to lease a fleet of 500 all-electric Coopers from BMW's Mini division.

The Mini E, as it's called, will be able to travel 150 miles on a single charge with a top speed of 95 miles per hour.

For this test fleet of vehicles, BMW will reimburse customers for the cost of charging. But at a monthly cost of $850, driving the Mini E will not be cheap.

Besides the car and electricity, however, the monthly payment will cover all required technical service and maintenance. The cars will be leased on yearly contracts with an option for additional time. At the end of the lease, the cars will be returned to BMW.

MarcoAntonio Escreveu:Mas Dwear, actualmente as baterias custam mais do que o resto do automóvel todo (mesmo considerando a mecanica actual). Os valores não são sequer comparáveis...

Entretanto isso poderá mudar, mas serão precisos anos.

Ao contrário do que por vezes as pessoas julgam, a (suposta) massificação não faria baixar os preços porque isto é tecnologia já bem massificada, andamos todos com o mesmíssimo tipo de bateria nos nossos telemóveis e nos nossos portáteis. São o mesmo tipo de bateria e já são produzidos em massa...

Portanto, a curva continuará a ser lenta.


Quanto aos veículos ultra-leves, isso não é verdade. As baterias são "extremamente" pesadas, o veículo mesmo sendo mais simples acaba por ser mais pesado que um equivalente a gasolina.


Estou a falar de automóveis a sério (aqueles que precisamos para o nosso dia a dia) e não de brinquedos como o roadster Tesla.


Pessoalmente, continuo a defender as soluções híbridas que vejo como uma solução de transição e uma solução de compromisso (incluindo do ponto de vista económico).

Japan kicks off electric car format war

Japanese motor globocorps jockeying for position in the electric car market of tomorrow will unite to present a worldwide standard for automotive Li-ion batteries and related technologies, according to reports. The alliance will include Toyota, Nissan and Matsushita, but Honda - which appears to favour hydrogen fuel cells over all-battery vehicles - has not been named in connexion with the project.

First reported in Japanese business daily Nikkei and picked up by Reuters, the plans will reportedly cover such matters as safety, testing and vehicle charging. The Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the Japanese government are also said to be involved.

At present, most electric vehicles run on older battery technologies such as lead-acid. However, there are a few vehicles now available - such as the Tesla Roadster - which make use of the greater performance obtainable from Li-ion units like those which power laptops, mobile phones and other portable machines. Many in the motor trade believe that Li-ion cars could be the next big thing, and as with most new technologies those who are first to establish a dominant world standard can be expected to reap big benefits.

Reportedly the Japanese consortium intends to seek certification for their new standards package from the International Organization for Standardization, which could see US car manufacturers beaten to the punch on Li-ion. However, Reuters also reports that American motor behemoth GM - now working hard on a planned plug-in car, the "Volt" - is expected to unwrap a new partnership deal with US utility companies next week.

Meanwhile, others are betting against Li-ion altogether. Honda is now beta-testing its FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell cars in California. Admittedly, the fuel cell stacks in these vehicles are hybridised with a Li-ion battery to provide burst acceleration and hill-climbing, but the company has often seemed to prefer ultracapacitors in this role.

Alternatively, other companies believe in all-battery operation but consider that Li-ion has already had its day. One major drawback for Li-ion is that such vehicles take hours to charge up, ruling them out of heavy use and longhaul applications - and probably even for ordinary drivers who have no garage and so must park in the street.

An alternative is the new lithium-titanate technology, expected to be used in the all-electric Lightning supercar now being built in the UK. This will be powered by Nanosafe batteries from Altairnano of Nevada, and should be able to charge up from an industrial three-phase outlet in a matter of minutes - not too much slower than a petrol car at a pump. If this technology can perform as its makers say it can, today's Japanese Li-ion moves may come to seem no more than an irrelevance.

fbarrancos Escreveu:Não se esqueçam que as baterias nao sao propriamente as melhores amigas do ambiente!!![/b]

Crómio Escreveu:É uma delícia este documentário, o eng japonês sabe o que faz e principalmente sabe para onde tem de ir.

superbem Escreveu:Para quem estiver interessado contactar o Tozé:
http://novaenergia.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=62&p=68101