Quote:
Originally Posted by RedDevil
Capacity is but one aspect.
Usability and availability are just as important.
There is one breakthrough development in battery technology that can make a big difference in public acceptance: fast recharging.
If you can recharge the batteries in a few minutes the absolute range becomes less important.
You'd still want a range fit for your commute, so you can manage by just charging at home, but the occasional long trip would not take (much) more time or planning than it would in a gas powered car.
Also the electric charging network is growing fast.
Over here it is hard to find a parking spot that is further than half a mile away from the nearest public charging point. I pass several of them on my way to work just driving through my home town - there are many more charging points than gas stations.
Fast charging and the ability to charge wherever you park changes everything.
It is a matter of time before EVs become attractive enough to go mainstream.
We are losing some gas stations because they are too close to houses etc.
The nearest gas station is limited in its opening times and under constant threat of being closed permanently. LPG is banned from many stations as being too dangerous.
LPG powered cars are banned from some parking garages etc.
LPG is on a steady decline.
I would expect hydrogen would run into some of the same problems as LPG, and a new one: as it is lighter than air a hydrogen leak would spread under the ceiling of tunnels and garages, where the lighting units are.
Electricity is here and growing fast.
Hydrogen is almost nowhere yet and taking baby steps.
You could not drive the Rasa anywhere today nor in the nearby future; probably never.
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As I remarked to Niel Blanchard in another post, it is about applying solutions. The Rasa may not become a market success. BEV's have an advantage in the people mover market and that advantage is the charging infrastructure. However, it embodies technologies that could be applied in other markets.