Reply to: The future for oil?

[scooterscot]

And the electricity used to charge your car comes from the fairies' bottoms, of course.

No wonder the UK tech sector is falling behind...

[scooterscot]

Makes sense, supply and demand. However more likely suppliers will thin out thereby maintaining prices. We'll probably just discover this after we've irreversibly destroyed the ocean floor that lies under the north pole.

If you want to buy the equivalent in oil shares for electric cares then buy shares in lithium mining. Particularly from those companies operating in South America. Fill your boots.

[BlasterBates]

Don't forget, cars may have rapidly replaceable standard format battery modules, charged en-mass in high-current automated underground silos and replaced in a jiffy by simply pausing the car over a dispensing point. One rapid click-clunk-clunk-click and the old module will be whipped out and disappear and a fully charged module whipped in to replace it.

Cars might even be able to do it on the move, like a high-tech version of those water troughs from which steam trains could replenish their water without even stopping.

In principle yes but batteries cost a fortune we're talking thousands of pounds, that's not something you would "click click" into someone's car for a tenner and then find you have some duff ones in the store. That would be comparable to "click click" we've replaced your car. That would only work with a company that owns the car as well or the batteries.

[OwlHoot]

There would need to be hundreds of those supercharge points at all motorway service stations, and at peak times like Christmas there would still be queues. ...

I agree, 30 minutes charging is way too long, can you imagine Bank holidays !! and lets face it, in reality it it will probably take more like an hour to recharge, ...

Don't forget, cars may have rapidly replaceable standard format battery modules, charged en-mass in high-current automated underground silos and replaced in a jiffy by simply pausing the car over a dispensing point. One rapid click-clunk-clunk-click and the old module will be whipped out and disappear and a fully charged module whipped in to replace it.

Cars might even be able to do it on the move, like a high-tech version of those water troughs from which steam trains could replenish their water without even stopping.

[AtW]

And the electricity used to charge your car comes from the fairies' bottoms, of course.

From this -

"A blustery start to summer has helped the renewable energy industry to its highest ever output as wind turbines and solar panels help to meet more than half of the UK’s electricity demand.

National Grid’s data at lunchtime on Wednesday showed that solar panels produced around 7.6GW of electricity while wind farms generated 9.5GW of power.

In addition, the UK burnt 2GW of renewable biomass, made from waste wood, and produced a modest amount of hydro electricity to help squeeze traditional power plants off the system."

UK sets new renewable energy record as wind and solar surge

Accumulating energy in batteries that will be in every car might also help in the event of issues with energy - just hook up your car to your house electric system and iPhone stays on, maybe I should patent this...

[squarepeg]

[...]

With petrol you: Fill Up, drive, drive, drive , drive, oh I'm nearly empty, Fill Up ....

With electric you: Charge overnight, Drive, Charge overnight, Drive, Charge overnight, drive ....
[...]

And the electricity used to charge your car comes from the fairies' bottoms, of course.

[TestMangler]

I hadn't considered that, but it's a very good point.

Good old fashioned British workers will take back control.

"I'll be there a week on Tuesday guv, maybe Wednesday, no later that three weeks on Thursday, no not Thursday, the labourer signs on on a Thursday"

[Mordac]

Do you think there would be any economies of scale if they didn't dig up the road 100k times for each individual charging point, or have you taken that into account with your 10k per point estimate?

Knowing how local councils usually work, probably not.

[Mordac]

You won't own the car. The current calculations are that it will be cheaper to use a car on demand than it will be to fill a car with fuel...

I know, but I was asking who's responsible for the insurance? You as the "passenger" or the hire-co? Makes a big difference if someone is killed.

[eek]

Now that will need a whole different mindset. Insurance, for example, will be a minefield. If your self driving car crashes, how do you prove it wasn't your fault for insurance purposes? I don't think any of this has even been considered.

You won't own the car. The current calculations are that it will be cheaper to use a car on demand than it will be to fill a car with fuel...

[Mordac]

And there will be no Polish builders or sparkies to put them in.

I hadn't considered that, but it's a very good point.

[Mordac]

You're not expected to have a car.
The future doesn't lie with people having their own cars but you calling one and it self driving to your house then to wherever you want to go.
TaaS like the report says...like CityCar or ZipCar or whatever they're called but times a gazillion.
There'll be a lot of resistance but tbh I think it makes a lot of sense across the board.

Now that will need a whole different mindset. Insurance, for example, will be a minefield. If your self driving car crashes, how do you prove it wasn't your fault for insurance purposes? I don't think any of this has even been considered.

[Hobosapien]

Forget charging points on motorway services, they can provide electricity overhead on motorways like how a dodgem car works.

Though they'll go with the under tarmac induction method just so they can spend another decade with roadworks all over the place when they've finished the 'smart' motorways.

[northernladyuk]

That's what they say about Fusion power.

I doubt whether the problems are surmountable, you're fighting "basic physics".

You're just saying that because you want to destroy the world with global warming.

[TestMangler]

If everyone who currently uses internal combustion switched to electric in my area, we'd need a charging point every ten feet or so on virtually every road in the borough. Nice idea, but not practical I'm afraid.

And there will be no Polish builders or sparkies to put them in.