My family and I live in Spain at the moment. We don't have a car, since Spanish cities are compact and the bus system is great. So, instead of thinking about cars, I think about buses!
Given that if the Nanosafe battery gets 20,000 cycles or more, and can be charged in 10 minutes, this opens up a lot more possibilities for battery powered buses. In particular, I was thinking:
My bus goes about 15KM from one end of its route to the other end. At each end, it waits for about 5-10 minutes before turning around and going the other way.
So, what if the bus was electrically powered using Nanosafe batteries, and has a 10 minute charger at each end of its route? This has several advantages:
1) A LOT fewer batteries than an electric bus that only charges at night. It only needs a range of 15KM, plus a margin for safety. This lowers cost, improves reliability, and decreases weight.
2) Permanent electrical infrastructure is small - one charger at each end of the route. Compared to all the wires for an electric trolley-bus like in San Francisco it is miniscule.
3) All the usual benefits of an electric bus without the wires. If you've ridden the electric buses in SF, you know what I mean, quiet, non-smelly, and people friendly.
The Nanosafe is perfect for this application. The Nanosafe's huge number of charge cycles is overkill for automobiles, but is ideal for a bus that charges every hour or so.
Currently, battery powered buses are plagued with the two problems of low cycle life, and slow charge times. This makes them have to charge overnight, and have to store enough charge for an entire day. Plus, the batteries need to be replaced every year or two. This has made them impractical up to now.
Nanosafe buses on the other hand, using this solution of frequent quick-charges, would be extremely practical (and highly profitable). If anyone is interested in starting a new ebus company, please contact me!
Thanks for reading this, and please find the holes in my proposal in your comments!
