I'm never sure whether to believe that electric vehicles will eventually become mainstream, or if perhaps they'll go away again. I've said many times that when they can reliably go 1000 miles on a charge at highway speeds, they'll replace internal combustion powered cars. With the magnesium-ion research, Toyota is seriously looking into the future, and that has me leaning toward the "it's going to happen" side.
A 1000 mile range means you can go on vacation in the vehicle. It means you'll only charge up once or twice a month for normal driving. It means a vehicle that is more convenient than a liquid fuel powered one, and that's what it will take to tip the balance. Actually, I think a reliable 500 mile range would shift the balance to perhaps 50/50, but a 1000 mile range would virtually eliminate liquid fueled personal vehicles.
If this is 10 years off, perhaps the electric generation capacity will be built up at the necessary rate to support the shift.
Much has been made of our increasing reliance on costly lithium-ion batteries to power our cell phones, electronics - and our cars. And while the batteries have allowed electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles significant acceleration capacity, battery life - and thus range - of EVs still lags behind what much of the public considers a desirable level.
But researchers at Toyota have been developing a battery that uses magnesium rather than lithium and which has the potential to become a cheaper and more energy-rich source of power.
According to a paper published in the journal Chemical Communications earlier this month, researchers at the Toyota Research Institute of North America conducted promising experiments that used [a magnesium-ion battery with a new kind of anode, made of tin, and the same type of electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries.]
Magnesium is much more common in nature than lithium, which would mean significantly cheaper batteries. And because of the magnesium ion’s two positive charges, as opposed to the lithium ion’s one, it is thought that magnesium batteries could have a higher energy storage capacity than their lithium counterparts.
But don’t hold your breath for cheaper cars and longer ranges just yet - industry researchers also note that even if all the research proves successful, magnesium batteries may not be commercially available for another 10 years.
Photo: Toyota
via [MIT Technology Review]
