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La voiture de demain, énergies alternatives


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  • 2 weeks later...

Je suis tombé sur ça (désolé, ça vient du sitetorchon Rue89) : http://www.rue89.com/2008/09/11/auto-elect…lleure-batterie

il se passe -peut-être- quelque chose d’énorme à Cedar Park, au Texas. Là-bas, une intrigante entreprise nommée EEStor explique au monde qu’elle serait en mesure de commercialiser bientôt un « Electrical Energy Storage Unit » (EESU), offrant une densité d’énergie trois fois supérieure à celle des meilleures batteries au lithium sur le marché. Trois fois… Inutile de préciser que bon nombre d’observateurs sont sceptiques.
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Tout ce qu'on peut dire aujourd'hui c'est que c'est une affaire qui n'a pas avancé façon vérifiable par quiconque depuis deux ans, cf cet article du 21 septembre 2006:

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Electric Car Breakthrough?

There are certain alternative energy technologies that I believe will have an enormous impact on our future. Heading that list is solar energy, followed by wind power, biomass gasification, and possibly cellulosic ethanol. Most alternative energy sources that I think have a real chance to make an impact involve electricity generation. Therefore, in order to really impact the transportation sector, we need to move toward electrifying more of our transportation options.

I was recently asked what kind of cars we would be driving 100 years from now. Without hesitating for a second, I replied “Electric cars.” A key reason we aren’t driving them now is that the range and convenience is not what we are accustomed to with internal combustion cars. Therefore, not only are the alternative energy sources themselves important, but the key to making them viable for personal transportation is developing energy storage devices that improve the range. Wind power is great, but we have to develop better ways of storing the power for when the wind doesn’t blow.

So, I was very pleased this morning to read the following story at CNN.com:

Gentlemen, stop your engines

It describes an innovative approach to energy storage, and one that potentially “could blow away the combustion engine.” Some excerpts from the article:

Forget hybrids and hydrogen-powered vehicles. EEStor, a stealth company in Cedar Park, Texas, is working on an "energy storage" device that could finally give the internal combustion engine a run for its money -- and begin saving us from our oil addiction. "To call it a battery discredits it," says Ian Clifford, the CEO of Toronto-based electric car company Feel Good Cars, which plans to incorporate EEStor's technology in vehicles by 2008.

EEStor's device is not technically a battery because no chemicals are involved. In fact, it contains no hazardous materials whatsoever. Yet it acts like a battery in that it stores electricity. If it works as it's supposed to, it will charge up in five minutes and provide enough energy to drive 500 miles on about $9 worth of electricity. At today's gas prices, covering that distance can cost $60 or more; the EEStor device would power a car for the equivalent of about 45 cents a gallon.

Of course the key there is “if it works as it's supposed to.” A patent has been issued, so it’s got some credibility. During my recent conversations with Vinod Khosla, one thing we agreed upon was that energy storage devices have great potential for revolutionizing the world. He indicated that he is invested in this area. In fact, the article says that his firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, is backing the technology. Here's hoping they are right about this one. If anyone knows more about this, let me know.

http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/search?q=eestor

Qu'ils n'aient fait aucune démo à personne tout ce temps là pourrait éveiller des soupçons.

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De fait, pour avoir vécu une aventure similaire de l'intérieur (notre prototype de supercalculateur qui devait détrôner Cray prend toujours autant de place dans la cave d'un immeuble lyonnais), je demande à voir. Ce pourraît être une astuce pour embellir la mariée.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Résumé des forces en présence / les choses se précisent.

Battery developers race to fuel electric cars

By Bernard Simon

Published: October 2 2008 17:22 | Last updated: October 2 2008 17:22

The race to build the first mass-market electric car has unleashed an equally, and perhaps even more, intense contest to produce the battery pack that will power it.

McKinsey, the consultancy, estimates that venture-capital investment in battery-related companies soared from $153m in 2003 to $1.15bn last year.

“The market is very crowded in terms of new chemistries and cell developers,” says Karina Morley, director of control and electronics at Ricardo, a consultancy that is setting up a battery system development centre in Michigan.

On the other hand, Charles Gassenheimer, chief executive of Ener1, a New York-based battery developer, takes the view that “the pie is going to be fairly big and there is room for a lot of players”.

The most closely watched race for now is between two groups led by South Korea’s LG Chem and A123Systems of Boston to supply the lithium-ion pack for General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt plug-in car.

GM has said it will announce its preferred supplier by the end of the year. Word in the marketplace is that the Koreans are the frontrunners.

Meanwhile, numerous other alliances are taking shape. Bosch, the big German parts supplier, and South Korea’s Samsung recently announced a joint venture to produce batteries by 2011.

Volkswagen has teamed up with Sanyo, the biggest maker of lithium-ion batteries used in laptop computers and mobile phones.

Sanyo, which already supplies the batteries used in Ford and Honda hybrid models, aims to produce 10m cells a month by 2015, enough to power about 1.7m vehicles.

Mr Gassenheimer says Ener1 is talking to more than two dozen potential customers. Ener1 has a contract with Norway’s Think Global, which has promised to have its Think City electric car on the road by the end of this year.

Ricardo says it has signed up five US customers and others in Europe for its battery development services.

Batteries have always been the main question mark in the viability of electric cars. Concerns include weight, capacity, speed of recharging and safety, especially heat.

Most hybrids currently on the road, notably Toyota’s Prius, use nickel-hydride batteries. But the focus is now on lithium-ion packs, which are more compact and have the potential for a much greater range.

Even Toyota has formed a joint venture with Matsushita Electric to produce lithium-ion batteries for future models. “I don’t think there’s any question that Toyota will be major player in lithium-ion”, Mr Gassenheimer says. Nissan has a partnership with NEC.

Uncertainties still abound. Noting carmakers’ typical pledge that their electric-vehicle batteries will last for at least a decade, Ms Morley asks: “How do you know it’s going to last 10 years if you don’t have 10 years to test it?”

More encouragingly, a consensus appears to have emerged that electricity is the most promising alternative to the internal-combustion engine and that battery technology will eventually be up to the task.

Referring to GM’s Volt, Rick Wagoner, the carmaker’s chief executive, said recently that “for close to a year now, we’ve run prototype battery packs through test after test and our confidence in their ability to deliver the required power, range, safety, reliability and quality has grown with every lap around our proving ground”.

Ms Morley is confident that in five years “we’ll be comfortable with the technology in general”.

Instead of worrying about whether batteries can deliver the goods, she predicts, the industry will be focused on improvements – higher energy storage, quicker charging, longer life, lower cost and lighter weight.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ce77ab20-9097-11…00779fd18c.html

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  • 3 weeks later...

Un pas de plus dans la direction de l' "Autolib". A mon avis, c'est la killer ap pour l'automobile électrique puisque ça permet de dépasser (pour l'utilisateur) le fort surcoût à l'achat, et puisqu'on peut prévoir de bornes de rechargement là ou on rend les voitures. (NB : ici, il ne s'agit pas de véhicules électriques). :

Daimler trials new ‘car2go’ vehicle sharing program

Posted Today, 5:14 AM by Alex Kaufmann

50 Smart Fortwos will be used in the intial trial and customers will be charged 19c for every minute they are behind the wheel

Daimler will commence trials of a new mobility concept called the ‘car2go project’ in Ulm, Germany, on the 24th of this month in an attempt to provide a solution for increasing traffic volume in urban areas. The new project is essentially a car sharing program that charges users for the minutes they use the vehicle regardless of distance traveled or fuel consumed.

A fleet of 50 Smart Fortwo minicars will be made available within the trial city, functioning for all citizens as a vehicle pool that can be accessed at any time. Following a one-off registration process, the Smarts can be hired spontaneously in passing, or pre-booked and used for as long as desired. Available vehicles can be located via the internet or a telephone service hotline, and can be booked up to 24 hours in advance.

The aim is to ensure that an available vehicle is just a few minutes’ walk away at any time. The user simply gets in and can drive off straight away. Once the trip is completed, the user can park the rental Smart somewhere within the city limits. The cost of the service is 19c per minute, which is charged to a pre-registered credit card or monthly bill. To encourage users, there are also cheaper hourly or daily rates for longer rental periods.

A service team cleans the vehicles on a regular basis and handles all technical maintenance work, including filling the tank. However, customers can do this themselves in return for free minutes credited against their next trip.

The first trial will only involve Daimler staff but there are plans for a more extensive test in the first half of next year that will involve people from the general public. The hope is that the service will be ready for commercial use by the end of the decade, and Daimler is already looking to other private sector firms to help expand the project.

Car sharing is becoming increasingly popular in congested cities where car ownership has become prohibitively expensive however Daimler's new concept could be the basis for future commercial rollouts.

http://www.motorauthority.com/daimler-tria…ng-program.html

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Le problème de ce genre de système de partage de voitures c'est que chaque utilisateur est identifié et que ses déplacements sont suivis à la trace. Sans oublier qu'en dépendant d'entreprises pour se déplacer, on dépend de l'état (par exemple, interdiction aux sociétés en question de permettre l'allumage des véhicules le jour de la journée sans voitures, les jours où la pollution dépasse tel niveau, etc. Je vois d'ici les innombrables chouettes opportunités de contrôle que cela représente. La seule solution viable si l'on tient absolument à participer à ce genre de système, c'est de conserver dans un garage une moto Enduro de 250 cc et un bidon d'essence plus ou moins hermétique, ce qui permet de se tirer au cas où).

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Le problème de ce genre de système de partage de voitures c'est que chaque utilisateur est identifié et que ses déplacements sont suivis à la trace. Sans oublier qu'en dépendant d'entreprises pour se déplacer, on dépend de l'état (par exemple, interdiction aux sociétés en question de permettre l'allumage des véhicules le jour de la journée sans voitures, les jours où la pollution dépasse tel niveau, etc. Je vois d'ici les innombrables chouettes opportunités de contrôle que cela représente. La seule solution viable si l'on tient absolument à participer à ce genre de système, c'est de conserver dans un garage une moto Enduro de 250 cc et un bidon d'essence plus ou moins hermétique, ce qui permet de se tirer au cas où).

Personnellement, je ne pourrais le voir que comme remplacement d'une deuxième voiture.

Two wheels bad. A la rigueur un scooter à trois roues.

(pour tes autres objections, si tu as un GSM, ils savent où tu es*. Tu as le droit d'utiliser ta voiture le jour de la journée sans, donc je ne vois pas comment il pourrait interdire catégoriquement juste celles-ci. Quant à l'anti pollution, une telle flotte peut plus facilement être maintenue en état idéal que les voitures des particuliers, donc encore une fois, difficile à interdire spécifiquement.)

*: et bienôt : si tu as un visage ils sauront où tu es, du moins en ville.

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On se rendra compte un jour qu'il a raison. Mais je ne pense pas que ce type de location empire la situation.

Remarque supplémentaire: les caméras de surveillance auront bientôt aussi des logiciels de lecture des plaques d'immatriculation (déjà le cas à Londres).

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Enfin les roues qu'il faut pour le libéral écolo:

Rolls-Royce CEO: electric Phantom 'would be ideal'

Posted Thu Oct 23 2008 1:50 PM by Kenneth Hall

Rolls-Royce CEO: electric Phantom 'would be ideal'

The Phantom Coupe brought sport to the Rolls Royce range, and now the company could go green as well

Old-world charm, resolute styling and blue-blooded buyers may not be the first things one mentally associates with electric-powered cars, but Rolls-Royce CEO Tom Purves thinks the combination makes perfect sense. Instantaneous torque, quiet operation and urban propriety all work in favor of an electric Rolls.

Having just driven the new electric Mini, Purves was 'bowled over', raving about its power delivery and quietude. He now thinks such a powerplant would be perfect for his own brand as well, reports CAR. "We stand for unmatched refinement and you can’t get a quieter and less intrusive engine than a well engineered electric motor. Truly, the loudest noise you would hear would be the tick of the clock," said Purves, harking back to an old Rolls Royce ad campaign. "We also stand for strong and instant torque – and an electric motor delivers maximum torque instantly. The 'waftability' would be fantastic."

Purves also envisions a future where traditional combustion-powered cars might be banned outright from city centers - not an unrealistic idea, given London's current congestion charge and the vehement opposition to larger vehicles in the UK and Europe.

In such a future, Rolls Royce would need an electric vehicle to even continue sales in some of the largest markets in the world, making a strong business case, if not now, then in that future. Even so, Purves thinks the technology to turn out an all-electric Rolls-Royce exists now, and would require only a few years engineering to develop a suitable solution.

Plus que quelques années à attendre.

http://www.motorauthority.com/rolls-royce-…d-be-ideal.html

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Uh oh. Buffett met 230 millions dans le projet chinois BYD de "plug in hybrid".

China's BYD to sell plug-in hybrid in U.S. by 2010

Posted Yesterday, 10:00 PM by Ralph Hanson

The BYD F3 is the most likely platform to get the new plug-in hybrid technology

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning to have plug-in hybrid vehicles on sale in the U.S. by 2010, with similar ambitions for the European market. If the name BYD sounds familiar then it may be because of its notorious reputation as a copyright infringer, however its latest strategy doesn't require originality to scare the likes of Toyota and GM.

The plan to sell Chinese-made plug-in hybrids in the U.S. market by 2010 is backed by a $230 million investment from the world's richest man, Warren Buffett, and should help it overcome any development hitches presented by tough U.S. safety laws. The investment came from a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, of which Buffett is the majority shareholder.

According to BYD's exports general manager, the company is " talking to some third-party consulting and engineering companies to get a thorough understanding of the safety standards" in the U.S., which will be integral in the vehicle's success into breaking into the U.S. market.

While its ambitions for the U.S. and European markets may be bold, BYD is still in the early stages of development - currently the company does not sell a hybrid in its home market of China. BYD has confirmed it is planning to market a hybrid sedan in China by the end of the year and will eventually step into the European market within the next two to three years.

The information comes from BYD chairman Wang Chuanfu, who told reporters from Automotive News China that the new hybrid sedan would be able to travel 110km on electric power alone. Chuanfu also predicts that sales of the car will top 500 units per month in China and will eventually reach 2,000 sales per month by next year.

While BYD has not yet confirmed which models will be getting the hybrid powertrain, the BYD F3 is the sedan most likely to be fitted with the carmaker's new hybrid drivetrain.

http://www.motorauthority.com/chinas-byd-t…2010-in-us.html

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  • 3 weeks later...

Pendant ce temps, on va bientôt pouvoir acheter des réacteurs atomiques sur eBay:mrgreen: : http://www.futura-sciences.com/fr/news/t/p…te-libre_17323/

Aux Etats-Unis, on peut déjà commander une centrale nucléaire privée. Estampillée « clean and safe » (propre et sûre), elle produirait une électricité garantie zéro effet de serre. C'est ce qu'explique sur son site la société Hyperion Power Generation. L'entreprise, basée à Sante Fe (Nouveau-Mexique, Etats-Unis), a effectivement mis à son catalogue un système complet et compact, le HPM (Hyperion Power Module), de forme à peu près cylindrique, d'un diamètre d'un peu plus de 1,50 mètre. D'après les dessins montrés, très sommaires, la hauteur serait d'environ trois mètres.
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  • 2 weeks later...

D'après le World Energy Outlook de l'International Energy Agency, le photovoltaïque ne sera jamais concurrentiel (promettant des subventions et de la redistibution forcée pour toujours), et le solaire thermique (-> vapeur -> turbine) peut-être mais dans très très très longtenps (subvention et redistribution forcée d'ici là)..

post-779-1227866287_thumb.png

http://i-r-squared.blogspot.com/

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Un dispositif d'utilisation des courants marins innovant est proposé. En résumé, on fait passer l'eau dans des tubes placés horizontalement et on récupère l'énergie des mouvements des tubes induits par les vertex. Un proto est en cours d'installation. Cela serait efficace à partir d'un courant d'un nœud contre plus de 5 pour les turbines et moulins à eau.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/re…scientists.html

http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/10…n-vortex-i.html (plus de détails techniques)

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L'idéal serait de combiner le rendement et ma sécurité du rail (ou autoroutes à guidage automatique) pour la longue distance et la liberté du transport individuel pour les derniers km.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/o…n070108car.html

Futuristic 'MonoMobile' inventors ride into Dayton

L'inconvénient de la monobile est que l'on est contraint sur la hauteur du véhicule, il y a d'autres possibilités d'arriver au résultat que vous souhaitez. Extrait d'une de mes interventions dans une discussion sur l'innovation dans les transports http://www.lineoz.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7877 :

Une partie du "catalogue" est à http://www.smartskyways.com/Technology/Compare/compare.html . On peut y voir plusieurs projets consistant soit à automatiser des automobiles pouvant aussi être utilisées comme une voiture ordinaire, soit à transporter des voitures avec leurs passagers dedans, dont un SEGway qui n'a rien à voir avec l'engin dont on parle dans plusieurs discussions ici http://faculty.washington.edu/jbs/itrans/segway.htm

Les systémes transportant des voitures ordinaires sur des sortes de wagonnets pourraient être intéressant dans quelques cas. A l'aéroport de Roissy, il y a un important trafic à courte distance entre les espaces attribués aux loueurs de voitures devant les aérogares et leurs bases arrière, c'est peut être aussi le cas dans d'autres aéroports français.

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