Aliminum Air Cells

[Thor]

So we were talking about saving the planet on a thread the other day. I said that we may already have technology which can help us power things cheaply which we’ve not been told about. Aliminium air cells could be that technological breakthrough we’ve been waiting for and it’s been invented by an Englishman in Cornwall who has faced many vested interests in trying to stop him from bringing the product to market.

If the current Tesla car was fitted with the air cells it’s milage would go through the roof between charges or what would be cell replacement. A Tesla can do 340 miles on a charge, if the same amount of air cells were implanted on a weight for weight basis it would cover 2,700 miles, a massive difference.

The batteries used in cars are like I’ve said before not environmentally friendly, the air cells are. They do not damage the environment, use a metal which is available in abundance, is cheap to make and not harmful as apparently the inventor has drunk the stuff to prove it to investors.

Here is the link to the article and this really could be s game changer.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ng-it.html

[ContrifibulatoryFred]

You had me until the Daily Fail link

[one o in huntingdon]

What is Aliminium?

Some sort of exotic material from the East perhaps

[Howling Mad Murdock]

Air we go again.

[slacker]

It’s an interesting concept I’d not heard of before. If it truly is no more expensive than fossil fuels and it’s not a pfaff to obtain and change the cells it really might be better than the lithium-ion option & could be a game-changer.

[LittleMate]

It does not mention anything about its energy depletion in that article. Irrespective of whether the battery is used for mileage or not, somewhere around 80% of its power is lost after a month. Finding the solution to that issue will be key to harnessing this technology. If he's done it then great, but I'd suggest he'd be shouting it from the rooftops in this article if he had.

[BoniO]

It does not mention anything about its energy depletion in that article. Irrespective of whether the battery is used for mileage or not, somewhere around 80% of its power is lost after a month. Finding the solution to that issue will be key to harnessing this technology. If he's done it then great, but I'd suggest he'd be shouting it from the rooftops in this article if he had.

Pardon my ignorance here, but is energy depletion worse for the aluminium/air type compared to lithium ion? If so, I can see how that would be a major drawback as calculating true "cost per mile" - as he's claiming - would be impossible.

[LittleMate]

It does not mention anything about its energy depletion in that article. Irrespective of whether the battery is used for mileage or not, somewhere around 80% of its power is lost after a month. Finding the solution to that issue will be key to harnessing this technology. If he's done it then great, but I'd suggest he'd be shouting it from the rooftops in this article if he had.

Pardon my ignorance here, but is energy depletion worse for the aluminium/air type compared to lithium ion? If so, I can see how that would be a major drawback as calculating true "cost per mile" - as he's claiming - would be impossible.

Yes that's how I saw it too. I suppose it would be good on heavy mileage users?

[Thor]

But isn't he saying he has developed some secret formula which stabilizes it?

[Max B Gold]

Correct me if I'm wrong but is it not the case that Aluminium extraction from the ore uses shedloads of energy.

[Howling Mad Murdock]

I'm pretty sure you can make quite an effective battery from a can of Irn Bru.

[BoniO]

But isn't he saying he has developed some secret formula which stabilizes it?

It says he developed an electrolyte which is non-toxic and non-caustic but doesn't mention effect on battery life as far as I read. If his new battery has a decent "shelf-life" then it could be a winner but that remains to be seen. If it loses charge at a rapid rate then it's not going to fly, as you can't recharge it, and you'd be swapping it out regularly whether you're using the car or not. Hence the price per mile calculation is just fantasy (or a crafty bit of marketing/misdirection). As LittleMate originally pointed out, energy depletion would appear to be the key factor here (assuming all the other claims made about it's benefits are accurate).

[LittleMate]

The technology seems to be something worth exploring. Its probably why the fella got a grant in the first place. A quick scour of the internet shows that Fuji were looking at this 4 years ago and so you can safely assume most of the bigger players have too. The storage, release and transference of energy will be big business in the next generation or two. Aluminium, Graphene and the like all are being touted as the next big thing.

Reading the article there is no mention of patents but instead a great piece of journalism comes up with a multi-million pound deal from a firm in Essex incorporated on 21/09/2019 just for the purpose. The spin off company comes from another company that's not traded for at least a year and has liabilities of £10,006 and assets of £195. In a game where Elon Musk is struggling to win, I can't see how this fella is going to.

[Max B Gold]

But isn't he saying he has developed some secret formula which stabilizes it?

It says he developed an electrolyte which is non-toxic and non-caustic but doesn't mention effect on battery life as far as I read. If his new battery has a decent "shelf-life" then it could be a winner but that remains to be seen. If it loses charge at a rapid rate then it's not going to fly, as you can't recharge it, and you'd be swapping it out regularly whether you're using the car or not. Hence the price per mile calculation is just fantasy (or a crafty bit of marketing/misdirection). As LittleMate originally pointed out, energy depletion would appear to be the key factor here (assuming all the other claims made about it's benefits are accurate).

Re the short life of the batteries. Wouldn't you want to swap them out on a long journey rather than sit around plugged into the recharger?

[Thor]

But it sounds like it could be a game changer and our dependence on fossil fuels.

[LittleMate]

Max, you then have to find somewhere / somehow to swap them. You wont want to run out so you would probably carry a spare - if they did not deplete so rapidly.....

[LittleMate]

But it sounds like it could be a game changer and our dependence on fossil fuels.

It's one of many possibilities - but a father of 8 from Devon allied to a non trading company who's sister company has a licence to use a name that stopped producing c.40 years ago is not going to cut it against large multi-national opposition. You can bet that before the inventor got into bed with Austin, he went to anyone that would listen to him. Nobody bought it.

[Max B Gold]

Max, you then have to find somewhere / somehow to swap them. You wont want to run out so you would probably carry a spare - if they did not deplete so rapidly.....

I'm envisaging a swap out depot at service stations. Where the swap over can be done by anyone after 5 mins of online training.The best batteries currently have a range of about 300-350 miles (right?). So one swap out gets you to most places in the UK.

Even at peak car use times 90% of cars are parked up. I would like to see a pool of electric cars in every town and city that can be used by anyone subject to putting in a code. When technology allows it you could fetch it remotely to come to your house or wherever you are and then drive.

Of course all this should be supplemented by free public transport using hydrogen powered buses.

[LittleMate]

Max, batteries plural. Right now they tend to store across the underside of the seating pans. Lots of logistical issues but hopefully solutions are on the way.

Car pooling will come. You can now buy car insurance by the hour so you can assume someone will get a good model for car pooling going in the next decade or two.

[Sid Bishop]

Be good if this new technology lives up to its claims, but over the years, so many new inventions, drugs etc have been talked of, especially in Newspapers like the Express and Mail, but often they come to nothing. Let us hope this one is different and actually comes good.

[Still's Carenae]

I read today that a company Highpoint have developed technology for storing energy, using liquid air, for wind turbines and solar.

The technology was developed in the 70's, but commercially recently. They have 5 contracts in the Uk. The cost of 1 unit is £110/mwh, however every additional unit adds only 10% of costs. So for 500mwh is only £39. This compares with with the new nuclear power plant which will be £92/mwh. Just makes no sense.

There biggest project is in Texas where they are building a 2gw capacity.

British ingenuity at its best.

Sadly as with most good ideas now, it is private money that has made this possible. This is why the stockmarkets are shrinking in relevance.

[Omygawd]

I'm pretty sure you can make quite an effective battery from a can of Irn Bru.

No wonder Scotchland has the energy it has.