The Stone Age didn't end because they ran out of stone, it ended because a better technology emerged. May I suggest that, similarly the age of dependence on oil and gas (and nuclear) for energy will end, not because supplies of those fuels ends, but because new technologies emerge?
Any discussion of "energy" which focuses solely on those areas and ignores emerging technology ignores technological development at its peril so ...
Can anyone see a use for batteries with this sort of effective life? I wonder how long it will be before the application to energy storage from wind and solar mentioned at the end of this article will be developed?
TR
German Scientists Create Lithium Ion Battery that Can Charge an Electric Car for 27 Years by Taz Loomans, 06/27/13
Scientists at the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wurttemburg (ZSW) have developed one of the most efficient lithium-ion batteries yet. The super li-on batteries herald a bright future for energy storage systems, and in an electric vehicle they’re expected to retain 85% of their capacity after being charged every day for “about 27.4 years.”
After 10,000 complete charging and discharging cycles, with a complete charge and discharge cycle per hour, these lithium-ion batteries still retain more than 85% of the initial capacity. This means that an electric car with those batteries could be fully charged every day for about 27.4 years and still be going strong. The power density of these batteries, which measures the available power per unit of weight, is also very high at 1,100 watts per kilogram. For an electric vehicle, this means short charging times and a superior acceleration capability.
The small cells are produced in a plant in the ZSW Laboratory for Battery Technology and are funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. Next, the scientists want to develop electrodes for large prismatic lithium batteries that could be used to store power from wind and solar systems.
