The QBEAK electric car which promises to go 500 miles before the battery needs recharging
A battery/fuel cell demonstration model of the QBEAK is expected to arrive sometime in 2013
Posted on 07/14/2012 4:16:18 PM PDT by rawhide
•QBEAK concept vehicle uses bio-methanol to boost its battery life.
Green, they may be. But electric cars have struggled to overcome one of the main shortfalls that put buyers off - an inferior range to their petrol-powered rivals.
That may be about to change after a new electric car was unveiled that promises to go 500 miles (800km) before the battery needs recharging.
This would be far more than one of the current leaders in the field, the battery/ gasoline Chevrolet Volt, which can do around 375 miles (600km) on one charge-up.
The Modular Energy Carrier concept (MECc), created by three Danish companies, uses bio-methanol to bolster its battery life.
Mogens Lokke, CEO of ECOmove, designers of the innovative 'QBEAK' car said bio-methanol was far better than diesel or gasoline because it produces substantially less carbon dioxide.
'In combination with the way we built the car, which is really lightweight (425 kilograms), we can get the 500-mile range,' he told CNN.
A bio-methanol/ water is converted by the fuel cell to create electricity, while waste heat from the process powers the car's heating and cooling system.
It also benefits from a innovative chassis design which has really pushed the technology forward.
'Instead of putting in a fixed battery, we have built in (six) modules that can be fitted inside the chassis. We can use battery power in the modules or any other kind of energy source,' Lokke said.
The award-winning QBEAK also uses patented in-wheel electric motors to deliver a top speed of 75mph (120kph).
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
And sell in the $70-80 thousand dollar range. Just what an average family can afford (sarc).
The QBEAK electric car which promises to go 500 miles before the battery needs recharging
A battery/fuel cell demonstration model of the QBEAK is expected to arrive sometime in 2013
Then they’ll start taxing your electrical usage, like they do gas.
Ok, how many unicorns will have to kill to make each “power cell”?
I’ve driven many 1000 mi days both as a trucker and a private citizen...how many hours of recharge are necessary to go the 2nd 500 miles?
As something new, it will doubtless be pricey. If it proves practical to the rich, then it will almost surely eventually fall within the means of the less well off.
It’s really not a pure electric car anyhow. It’s a flameless fuel cell that oxidizes an alcohol fuel to give both electricity and heat. I don’t know if it beats the normal internal combustion engine; there’s nothing in thermodynamics that says it can’t. If this were to catch on, the alcohol fuel would need to be something widely available at fuel stations.
“Then they’ll start taxing your electrical usage, like they do gas.”
####
Any FAIR comparison of the benefits of “electric” automobiles versus petroleum, would have to include equal taxation levels.
But Green Fascism won’t have any part of fairness.
Hey, that's cheating.
Any pitch that the car’s fuel is better because it produces substantially less CO2 is immediately suspect.
If its constantly going downhill with a 75 MPH tail wind maybe.
Is the 375 mile the combination of the 40mi on battery and the rest on gas? Last I heard They can't just stop with the smoke and mirrors.
Methanol fuel cells have been around for some time.
Battery technology is what doomed these vehicles in the early 20th century (Baker Electric). The break through will be when someone builds a small cracking devise that separates the hydrogen and oxygen from water, burns the hydrogen and throws the o2 out the tailpipe.
Obama probably has a check already in the mail.
Exactly and its more like 38 Miles on Battery then at the very least a 4plus hour recharge using 240 Volts or over twice that using 120 volts.
You can compare the 2013 Volt sticker above to the 2011 model here. The important numbers from the first Volt are: 93 MPGe, 36 kWh per 100 miles, 37 mpg in gas-only mode and a 35 mile all-electric range. For 2012, the Volt improved in one category: 94 MPGe. All others remain the same.
Interesting that the article in the original post says the Chev Volt can go 375 miles on one top up, without mentioning that gasoline is a part of the “top-up”.
935 lbs?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.