By JULIE ALVIN on 5/03/2011
Electric vehicles may work for the everyday commuter looking to cut fuel costs, but what about those EV owners looking for a road trip? How do you travel cross-country when you're tethered to your charging station?
Txchnologist, which is GE's new digital science and technology magazine, details a possible solution in this week's "The Road in 2030" issue. The Energy Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University is working on an "electrified roads" concept, whereby taking your EV to the streets would charge the vehicle, rather than running out its battery.
EVs could gather electricity by driving over charging pads that would be buried under the road and connected to the electrical grid. This power supply could allow EVs to cut their battery size by as much as 80 percent.
Manufacturers are already showing wireless charging pads for EVs, but technology will need to be streamlined before this power transfer can take place between a moving vehicle and the road underneath it. The Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology is conducting a trial of electric roads, though with slow speeds and long charging pads.
Researchers at Utah State would hope eventually to enable charging at interstate speeds, the university's Hunter Wu said. It may eventually be possible to transfer up to 30 kilowatts of power at 80-percent efficiency while on the highway.
The magazine also tackles the issue of charging these cars at home; as the popularity of EVs grows, so will their demand on the electrical grid. Power companies must either provide more power or find a way to manage demands, Txchnologist says, or they could face blackouts and higher costs.
GE is developing "demand response" technology that will create communication between customers and electricity suppliers, said Jason Black, a systems engineer at GE Global Research. A customer can plug in and tell the utility service by what time his or her car needs to be charged. The utility would then charge the vehicle when demand is low, while still making sure the driver's need is met. Customers that use this system would get a discount, along with their boost in eco-friendly cred.
Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/2011050 ... z1LPvWKmjl
Mas será que as formas aerodinamicas dos carros não prejudicam no aumento do atrito? que todos são feitos a pensar em empurrar o carro para baixo quando este se desloca a maior velocidade... deviam ter uns flaps para nas curvas realmente carregar mais contra o piso (ou até flaps verticais para ajudar a curvar contra o vento), mas nas rectas não devia estar a empurrar o ar todo para cima...
