Owning a skip bin business in Auckland has fuelled my interest in how we use energy and the technologies that will disrupt and advance our civilisation. It is clear that the continuous use of fossil fuels is dangerously warming the planet and affecting all living creatures if left to go unchecked.
I find it slightly weird that when the planet needs rapid change several transformative technologies are emerging to effect that change and usher in a brighter greener future.
For Aucklanders the future starts with cars like the Nissan leaf, first put into production in 2010 as a mass-produced electric car with a limited range of 130 km. Expensive to buy new but like all Japanese cars relatively cheap to buy second hand. Its these imports with the odd tesla I see as I make my bin deliveries across Auckland and secretly wish for an electric truck.
It was the beginning. Nissan was drawing a line in the sand. A bold statement that the road ahead had new signposts that all must follow. Now as we approach 2020 there is a whole range of electric cars with twice the range but still expensive and slow to charge.
Range anxiety and expense need to be overcome. But there’s a whisper in the wind, a murmur that solid-state electric batteries are close, very close. A real game-changer cheaper to make because they do not require the safety features of the liquid electrolyte lithium-ion battery. They will provide at least twice the range of most current electric cars and charge twice as fast. It’s the kick start that the electric car industry needed to outperform the petrol engine. Solid-state lithium-ion batteries are the future.
Another interesting article I read just recently was about the Sion electric car. It will have solar cells embedded in its bonnet and roof resulting in about 34 km a day of driving range. Wow! When can I get some solar panels fitted to my bin truck?
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