Rewulf Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 You often hear of stories, where a revolutionary technology is suppressed, the patents bought out by the oil companies and buried, so they can continue to sell us their world heating death juice, and take away poor Gretas future. You probably dismiss them as conspiracy? Then you read this... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7592485/Father-eight-invents-electric-car-battery-drivers-1-500-miles-without-charging-it.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 11 minutes ago, Rewulf said: Then you read this... Yes, I read that with interest. I don't believe it is (nearly) as simple as that. What he seems to have 'invented' is a fuel cell. I don't believe these are 'rechargeable' as such, but have to be 're-fueled'. The implication is that the fuel is aluminium and the battery has to be 'recycled' after use - which suggests you have to change the whole battery. If every car/lorry/bus used these batteries - there is a MASSIVE logistics problem. I can't say it is 'wrong' but I think it is a bit like nuclear fusion - quite possible - but very difficult to use for practical purposes. As a slight aside - the battery he is holding looks to be a standard Li-ion battery similar to a BB2590 battery in widespread use for professional/military equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewulf Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 Yes it's non rechargeable, but if it's anything like as good, and as clean as claimed, it's a viable option for some uses. The interesting bit is when I read that Dyson has abandoned his electric car project, as un viable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 18 minutes ago, Rewulf said: The interesting bit is when I read that Dyson has abandoned his electric car project, as un viable? I think it is a bit like the nuclear fusion issue; everyone (well pretty well everyone) agrees that it would be a fantastic solution - and that it can (and has been) done ....... but cannot at present be engineered into a practical sustainable solution. I suspect that Dyson is being a sensible cautious businessman. Musk has spent vast sums at Tesla, but I don't think he has made any money out of it. In these things, it isn't always the innovators who make the money - or get the recognition. The other option is that it was a situation a bit like Clive Sinclair's much hailed electric 'car' that was going to revolutionise transport ......... and turned out to be a bit like a child's toy made in an old washing machine factory. The hype was overtaking the concept. I would happily have an electric car for my regular 'running about' where I do under 50 miles a week locally and could charge at home say once a fortnight ........ other than the price. However for my few times away (in the UK), the range/restrictions make it impractical. I may easily do over 1000 miles a week then - which isn't very easy in an electric car, needing many hours at a charging station. If electric cars were cheaper I would consider getting one and hiring a car for my (fairly occasional) longer journey needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 The thing which seems to be overlooked, is that we will never run out of energy. It is all around us, we just haven’t developed the technology to harness it yet. We learned how to harness steam energy, we learned how to harness kinetic energy, and atomic energy etc etc etc. Energy is all around us, solar, wind, gravitational. It’s an enlightening book. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old'un Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 If his invention is a game changer why have the big boys not developed this technology? The article states its 'well established' technology. Austin Electric Ltd was only incorporated on the 21/09/2019, but they claim they will begin putting thousands of them into electric vehicles next year. Think the article needs to-be read with a pinch of salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 It's a technology still in the development phase. It is a myth to say it is blocked by the oil giants / energy industry. EBIS is supporting it as a possibly viable technology. 1 hour ago, JohnfromUK said: Yes, I read that with interest. I don't believe it is (nearly) as simple as that. What he seems to have 'invented' is a fuel cell. I don't believe these are 'rechargeable' as such, but have to be 're-fueled'. The implication is that the fuel is aluminium and the battery has to be 'recycled' after use - which suggests you have to change the whole battery. If every car/lorry/bus used these batteries - there is a MASSIVE logistics problem. I can't say it is 'wrong' but I think it is a bit like nuclear fusion - quite possible - but very difficult to use for practical purposes. As a slight aside - the battery he is holding looks to be a standard Li-ion battery similar to a BB2590 battery in widespread use for professional/military equipment. I would like a £ for every tech proposition that is offered for innovation funding many of them though often well founded are not practicable or applicable for production. Having said that the UK is very poor at bringing forward innovation through to implementation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Clavata Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 The Dyson EV project was always more about vanity than reality and Dyson knew it was a risk from the start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewulf Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 38 minutes ago, Raja Clavata said: The Dyson EV project was always more about vanity than reality and Dyson knew it was a risk from the start. Dyson is a rather more astute businessman than many give credit for, he wouldnt throw millions away on vanity, he would have seen a profit, or at the very least R +D data that could be used in the future , or sold to 3rd parties. He puts most of his spare cash into buying vast tracts of farmland , up and down the country, more vanity , or sound investment ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Clavata Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rewulf said: Dyson is a rather more astute businessman than many give credit for, he wouldnt throw millions away on vanity, he would have seen a profit, or at the very least R +D data that could be used in the future , or sold to 3rd parties. He puts most of his spare cash into buying vast tracts of farmland , up and down the country, more vanity , or sound investment ? He is indeed astute which is why he pulled the plug when he did rather than persist with something that wasn't viable. The feeling of most of the industry insiders is that this was a risky vanity project. Very sad not to see it come to fruition. Even the best get it wrong sometimes. Edited October 21, 2019 by Raja Clavata Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewulf Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 17 minutes ago, Raja Clavata said: He is indeed astute which is why he pulled the plug when he did rather than persist with something that wasn't viable. The feeling of most of the industry insiders is that this was a risky vanity project. Very sad not to see it come to fruition. Even the best get it wrong sometimes. Dyson gear is usually overpriced, trendy but innovative kit. In a marketplace where EV s are already overpriced and trendy, his mission was not liable to be successful . I believe he pulled the plug (!) because it wasnt a viable financial venture once it was costed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Clavata Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 22 minutes ago, Rewulf said: Dyson gear is usually overpriced, trendy but innovative kit. In a marketplace where EV s are already overpriced and trendy, his mission was not liable to be successful . I believe he pulled the plug (!) because it wasnt a viable financial venture once it was costed. They had set quite optimistic range targets which I think they may have been struggling with. They also miscalculated the amount of effort and complexity in automotive product development which had led to delays and spiraling costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 5 hours ago, Rewulf said: Dyson is a rather more astute businessman than many give credit for, he wouldnt throw millions away on vanity, he would have seen a profit, or at the very least R +D data that could be used in the future , or sold to 3rd parties. He puts most of his spare cash into buying vast tracts of farmland , up and down the country, more vanity , or sound investment ? it is said that dyson robbed the idea of cyclone tecknology for vacumn cleaners off a couple of his drinking mates in a pub one night ................. which just goes to show ..."if you have a good idea ...keeep it to yourself"........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 Don't mention that pillock, not quite as clever as he thinks he is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted October 21, 2019 Report Share Posted October 21, 2019 52 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Don't mention that pillock, not quite as clever as he thinks he is! ^^^^^^^^ This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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