Go-carts with lithium-ion batteries, page-24

Hi Mark,

The big oil cartels are certainly responsible for major death and destruction around the world but that's a long story for another day. There wasn't really a viable alternative to fossil fuels until recently and you would have to admit those dam Germans (and others) did a commendable job of making a silk purse from a sows ear with ICEs.

With the aid of fancy engineering and modern electronics they were powerful, economical and almost complied with tough emission laws although they never really jumped the efficiency hurdle. You can see why no major manufacturer wanted to give up 100+ years of development without a fight but Tesla and "dieselgate" put them on the canvas and the ref is counting.

It will be essential to design in recyclability to the next generation of lithium cells (the horse has already bolted with the current crop, they are quite difficult to do anything with), the cost of recycling will put a floor in the lithium (and other battery materials) market. Fuel cells also require periodic refurbishment which brings their own recycling problems.

The balance between hydrogen fuel cell EVs and battery EVs will depend on cost and convenience, the suburban commute will be covered by the home and/or work charged BEV (many consumers love the idea of never ever visiting a service station), the self driving interstate truck will tend towards HFCs and everything in between will be chosen mostly by the hip pocket.

There is a chance that long distance drivers will want both, the new hybrids may have battery for the 'burbs and hydrogen on the highway although that will of course add weight and complexity resulting in extra costs. (a bit like the current crop of ICE hybrids)

Q