Silicon-based Anodes Promise Enhanced Battery Performance

Unfortunately as EV tech, plus most everything else that requires higher battery capacity, if they come out with a battery that has 4 - 5X the power density they will just make them 4 -5x smaller in size but charge 2x as much for them as has been seen before thusly gaining nothing for the end use customer.

Less weight = faster car

light weight = less stable too.

Been there, drove it don't want it ever.

What's needed is economy, not speed, a range of 1000 miles per charge would be ideal.

Once patents have lapsed in 20 years, competition will come into play and prices will drop.

Was this the paper about organic ring compounds threaded over a linear polymer (network) implanted over the surface (grains) of silicon to keep them from falling apart, during thermal expansion and contraction?

Nanopulleys with nanorigging. What is next? Nanocutlasses?

EV ranges are going to surpass gasoline fuelled engines soon....Imagine a 1000 mile range...

Yes sir, that is a really big deal. 1000 mile range on gas, diesel, methane, alcohol, etc., coal dust. and other is also possible, but Detroit, Tokyo, and other places did not apparently want to hear about it.

There will be batteries eventually that will completely surpass Li+ ion battery.

Better cheaper materials, better cycling, no fire hazard, more power draw....higher in, and higher up we go.

I don't have any problem with range. After driving a couple hundred miles, I have to learn to walk all over again. And my gas tank already has a longer range than my bladder....

I'm sure you're not alone...haha

Been hearing that for 30 years.

Back then 'If only we had a battery that held 10x the energy as a LA battry we would have EV tech superior to IC powered vehicles' was the dream.

Then the lithium based battery tech came out meeting that spec and then some but instead of having Ev's that could compete with IC power in both performance and range they just put batteries in EV's that were 10X smaller than the older generation used and went back to whining about how they need a battery that has 10x the energy of lithium.

So given that track record I'm really not expecting the next level of battery tech to do much of anything different.

Well the Tesla model 3 I think fulfills all the goals....it just gets better from here...Range, price, performance, it hits the mark....

..."Some 400,000 pre-paid reservations and a literal global frenzy over the upcoming car is proof enough that Tesla has succeeded with the Model 3’s simple, sexy, “normal” facade."...

http://insideevs.com/tesla-model-3-simple-design-selling-point/

That's more pre-paid reservations than the number 1 selling car in America, Toyota Camry, which sold 355, 204 units in 2016...If this pans out, Tesla will be the number 1 selling car in America....How much more proof than that would you need? If you can double the range and lower the weight , I think they just sell more....then you make it so it can drive itself.....autonomously...I'd say that's as good as it gets....in my lifetime anyway...

It is not a bad appearing ride. I guess surface looks can be deceptive.

Nobody has mentioned recharge time. It's still hard to beat a gas pump in moving energy.

The base model 3 has 215 miles range and recharges on 240v at 20-30 miles range per hour....much faster on a supercharger though, which charges 170 miles of range per 30min...although you would think 200 miles in a day is more than enough for any average commuter, and the average person sleeps at least 8 hrs, so it's a workable model for most...and you can get an extended range battery pack if you feel it's necessary, but more money....I guess charging can be a problem if you live in an apartment and they don't have the facilities yet....

https://www.teslacentral.com/tesla-model-3

That works for commuting. For a cross-country vacation, I'm thinking, not so much. Even if charging facilities are available, you would spend a lot of time waiting for more juice.

I'm wondering what fast charging does to your battery life. If it were harmless, it wouldn't be fast charge, but the normal charge.

An extended battery would get you farther but increase the recharge time, which may or may not fit in with your plans.

Maybe you'd just have to rent a petrol burner to go on vacation.

Recharge time ? Say your car had a 1000 mile range, most commutes to and from work are say less than 120 miles, you get home and you press a button on the dash that says " charge " , your car then drives over an inductive charging pad, you head back to work, say 14 hours later, cars charged up.

You go on a trip, driving 70 mph, 10 hours later you stop at motel 6, park on a charging pad and when you leave in the morning, you got another 1000 mile range.

Most drivers stop in the middle of a commute to fuel up, then head on their way, if charging could be done when the vehicle is in it's down time, then you could cut out the middle man ( gasoline station ) .

Delivery trucks could have a Universal battery pack, when the charge gets low, they stop at an exchange station and get a new pack and they are on their way again ( of course this would require a new type of infrastructure that would create a new industry ) .

For me until they come out with a 3/4 ton or larger pickup that can pull 12 - 15K #'s at interstate speeds for 250 - 300 miles between charges and be recharged in less than 20 minutes plus costs less than one year's average American income and will run for 200+K miles without any major drivetrain breakdowns I have little want or use for a EV.

They have already driven an electric bus (BEV) non stop from Melbourne to Sydney - 880 km.

..."So-called “solid state” batteries have both solid electrodes and solid electrolytes. Solid-state batteries can be made smaller and lighter than the lithium-ion batteries that currently power electric vehicles, but engineering such a battery at an attractive price point for mass production has been a challenge. The Chunichi Shimbun reported that Toyota’s battery will be able to charge in a few minutes and have a long range, but the article did not list specifics."...

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2017/07/toyota-wants-to-commercialize-solid-state-ev-batteries-by-2022-reports-say/

That is certainly interesting, but like you said, it is short of the nature of the solid electrolyte. I would love to know what they are using. I had heard elsewhere of recent developments with organic electrolytes that circumvent some of the liquid electrolyte issues, but I have not one good link to provide on that right now. I think Rice University is actively involved in this research, among others.