Smilesapart wrote:

Bows wrote:

Personally i can’t understand the obsession with electric vehicles, surely a switch to hydrogen fuel would be far easier, its easy to make hydrogen and as quick to refill as petrol or diesel. The amount of work needed to produce the amount of extra electric needed to charge these vehicles all over the country would be unthinkable. Not to mention the enviromental impaxt it would have, and after all, isn’t that the issue we’re trying to solve??

Well said!! Couldn’t agree more!

Looks like BMW are making strides in this direction:

Click image to enlarge

Autoblog (@therealautoblog) Tweeted:
BMW X5 hydrogen fuel cell version coming by 2022: https://t.co/7hPkme3HrM https://t.co/OOxXyYrax7 https://twitter.com/therealautoblog/status...70534?s=20

Bluest wrote:

National grid are confident their network can cope, and that’s what gets trotted out by The government ifanyone questions the electrical supply. What they never talk about is the local distribution network which is apparently far from being up to the job.

Bian Considine wrote:

Bluest wrote:

National grid are confident their network can cope, and that’s what gets trotted out by The government ifanyone questions the electrical supply. What they never talk about is the local distribution network which is apparently far from being up to the job.

If you want the truth about how the electricity distribution will cope ask a National Grid employee next time you see them working.

Mossberg wrote:

I can see only one way electric cars will a viable alternative, and that is to have replaceable batteries. All batteries would have to be a universal standard where you would have to go to a battery changing station rather than a petrol station. You would need an attendant to change them (unless this could be automated). This would allow for an instant"fill up" which would remove the range issue. This would allow for focused charge areas (battery stations), so the infrastructure change would be significantly reduced.

You would still be able to charge at home or at a charge point.

Another thing that this would do is protect the resale value of the vehicle. As batteries would be changed then the deterioration would not be an issue. The rolling cost of battery replacement would be included in the "fill up" cost or as an annual tax. The lower vehicle depreciation would make buying one more viable.

If this was the basis of moving this forward then I feel EVs would be viable. Perhaps the UK could be a leader in this?

Supacat wrote:

Another option on extending range for BEVs:

“As of May 26, 2020, NIO Power has completed over 500,000 battery swaps, becoming one of NIO’s most well-received power services.

Nio’s battery swapping system can perform a fully-automatic battery swap in 3 minutes."


Click image to enlarge

https://electrek.co/2020/06/02/nio-battery...000-swaps/

Bluest wrote:

It was an NG employee that told me that, but I guess you are inferring that is not the truth.

Zed wrote:

Potentially good news. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/j...igafactory

Excellent news for South Wales

Bian Considine wrote:

Bluest wrote:

It was an NG employee that told me that, but I guess you are inferring that is not the truth.

He may have been referring to the 132kV lines - the guys I've spoken to (mostly 415v & lower) certainly don't think it's up to it. My Southern Gas Networks neighbour knows a lot of National Grid guys & they are all of the same (unofficial) opinion.

I suppose it depends on the "official" line or the personal & more accurate line.

Certainly, the National Grid cable entering my house cannot provide any additional capacity.

Bian Considine wrote:

Certainly, the National Grid cable entering my house cannot provide any additional capacity.

Bian Considine wrote:

My house was built in 1928 when electrical demand was low. The cable conductors look to be 7/044" which is roughly equivalent to 6.0mm2
The incoming voltage goes up & down like a yo, yo, with frequent "brown outs" requiring the installation of a number of UPS units installed throughout the property for sensitive equipment.