Electric Vehicles: Fantasy or Reality? - by Lawrence Ulrich
Before you EV fans strap me to a 10,000-volt chair, let me be clear: I’m convinced that electricity will play a bigger near-term role than, say, hydrogen fuel cells. But I’ve long argued that 100 percent battery-powered cars face a psychological barrier, far beyond what hybrids face. What really scares consumers, beyond the unfamiliar technology, is the idea of being stranded miles from home and the nearest electrical outlet. General Motors has come up with a name for it: range anxiety. It’s the reason that GM and Toyota have no interest in following Tesla’s lead with a pure EV. The audience is just too limited. Are you really ready for a car that might travel 200 miles at best, and then need up to eight hours to fully recharge? Be honest. If you are, you better call grandma and tell her you’re going to be late. If you’re an urban apartment dweller, as many green-minded folks are, you probably have no convenient outlet to recharge. Parking garages and curbsides could be wired up someday, but that day isn’t now. All those New Yorkers and San Franciscans who might love an EV probably couldn’t take the plunge, lacking a handy way to charge it.
Note EU-Digest: The article- by Lawrence Ulrich shows once again how the US automotive industry is behind the times. In contrast the European Commission on Wednesday offered five billion euros (6.5 billion dollars) to help European auto makers make safer and greener cars, an initiative to be funded by the EU, industry and member states. EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso without explicitly citing the United States, took a swipe at US measures to boost the ailing car industry across the Atlantic. "We are not proposing an old-fashioned industrial plan for the car industry. We believe it is counterproductive to have this sort of thing. Smart investments in tomorrow's skills and technologies will accelerate Europe's drive ... to become a dynamic low-carbon economy," Barroso said.
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Several renewable new energy systems are in development throughout the world – as they reach the market, demand for fossil fuels will drop. However, few of these innovations have the potential to catalyze changes in the entire energy picture. Even fewer can substantially wind down carbon dioxide production within the 8-10 years scientists, such as Dr. James Hansen at NASA Goddard, believe is all the time the inhabitants of this planet have, if we are to avoid the most drastic, life threatening, impacts caused by Global Warming.
The earth is immersed in an extremely dense sea of energy. In 1926, inventor Hans Coler, in Germany, tapped what he termed “Space Energy”. His first generator delivered a few watts of electricity. During 1937, Coler demonstrated a second, 6,000 watt, generator that was later shown to the German navy. During WWII, a highly secret R&D project supported Coler, in attempts to achieve production in order to recharge submarine batteries without the need for a sub to surface. Late in the War, the Allies bombed the lab. After hostilities ended, Coler cooperated with British Intelligence, which published a Report in 1946, concluding his achievement was real. In 1979, 34 pages of the British Intelligence Report were declassified. Today, they can readily be found on the internet.
MPI is developing revolutionary new technology. Some of our generators may prove to be tapping the same, Space Energy resource. It is now often referred to as the Quantum Vacuum, or Zero Point Energy (ZPE). U.S. Patent, No. 7,379,286 (not directly connected with our work) is entitled: Quantum Vacuum Energy Extraction. It provides a comprehensive discussion of the Zero Point Field. The Patent is readily available on the web.
Ambient heat surrounds us at all times. It is another huge untapped energy reservoir. When it is utilized on a very large scale, it can help resolve our energy problems. On earth, ambient heat is a secondary power source powered by the sun. Sunlight is conserved in matter, such as rocks, in the form of heat. A great deal of energy remains available after sunset. Matter acts as an energy storage system for heat and allows life to survive periods of darkness. The stored energy is released after sunset or if the energy has been absorbed. Absorption takes place whenever heat is converted into electricity cooling instead of heating the planet. Those who doubt this is possible may find the two papers dealing with Maxwell at the following link of interest: http://arxiv.org/find/physics/1/au:+Fu_X/0/1/0/all/0/1
Unconventional energy conversion systems are under development in several countries. Those inventions that become practical products may prove to be tapping one of the other of these never previously commercialized, renewable, abundant sources of energy. Revolutionary new energy conversion devices can be manufactured in many of the world’s electronic factories. They are likely to prove inherently cost-competitive with all existing energy systems. Not only can they be used to power homes and businesses of every variety, but also to make practical cars, trucks, buses, ships and eventually aircraft that need no engines, batteries, or any variety of conventional fuel or recharge.
Advanced designs will soon be capable of producing torque and/or electricity on a self-sustaining basis. Devices without moving parts are comparable to an inexhaustible electric battery. One Proof-of-Concept prototype was evaluated by Lee Felsenstein, EE. He concluded it to be analogous to the early work on the transistor, which eventually led to a Nobel Prize and the creation of Silicon Valley.
2,000 watts is the maximum amount of power that can be drawn from a 110 volt wall outlet to recharge the battery of a plug-in hybrid car. Generators we are developing are expected to generate this much power and demonstrate replacement of the plug needed by a plug-in hybrid car, within a year. This will be a harbinger of automobiles that need no conventional fuel. With normal progress, prototype new energy conversion systems are anticipated to replace an automobile engine within three years. That goal might be achieved in less time if development involves four teams of engineers and technicians working on a 24/7 basis. These prototypes will open a path to mass production of entirely new varieties of automotive power plants. Vehicles powered by these technologies will never require conventional fuel of any kind.
Cars can become a source of income
Vehicle to grid (V2G) power was demonstrated by Google and PG&E during 2007. It was recently estimated that selling power to the grid from future production hybrid electric cars might earn the vehicles’ owner $4,000 each year. This assumes that power will be drawn by utilities from the car’s batteries, using a two-way, plug.
In the future, cars powered by new energy conversion systems are expected to earn much more, as these generators are anticipated to replace both batteries and car engines. Therefore, they are expected to produce far greater amounts of electricity. No plug will be required.
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