The truck is an incredible niche solution so hats off to the engineer that spotted the opportunity.
The issue of charging electric vehicles is a solution looking for a problem for most of us. Our cars spend 90% of their time sat idle. Plenty of time to keep them fully charged. They could be even charged using a charging plate buried in the floor of your driveway, garage, parking space at work, car park spaces etc. Not new technology just a different scale and no intervention needed. Technology would easily allow the costs to be charged back to the owner.
Range anxiety will only be a sticking point on long journeys.
Only working vehicles would need a hybrid solution.
The breakdown companies will have rapid chargers on their vehicles to help the stranded or supplementary charging packs that you can hire to plug into your car to get you to your destination or charge point.
Still leaves the infrastructure to be deployed but, the major blocker is the shortfall on electricity generation capacity.
We have had days where 25% of total power has been wind generated and I believe 50% from renewables. But, the capacity needed to charge vehicles is way more than we have available.
Wind and solar power generation on our homes will help. Mass power storage is on its way. Energy and efficiency of homes and appliances will increase. Energy recovery will help - how much hot water do you pour down your sink and shower plug holes. Solutions exist today. They're not viable cost wise unless you link all the benefits to a problem looking for a solution - your car!
It will take a big coordinated effort across several industries and government to fix this. Other countries will get there way before the UK does.
We can't keep thinking about all these issues independently - they all interact. It will take a new industrial revolution to bring all the elements together. Those who develop solutions that can easily fit into our current homes and businesses will be winners. Then we can all have electric cars. The car manufacturers should be linking solutions into their products. A one stop solution. Unless they do they're missing a big opportunity to pull people to their products. They currently only see the car itself as the product.
Fuel cell technology will however be the target solution. So much fuel available. I'm sure that's where the oil companies will go because that keeps them in the game. Then it's going back to the 'petrol' station every few days - again!
The issue of charging electric vehicles is a solution looking for a problem for most of us. Our cars spend 90% of their time sat idle. Plenty of time to keep them fully charged. They could be even charged using a charging plate buried in the floor of your driveway, garage, parking space at work, car park spaces etc. Not new technology just a different scale and no intervention needed. Technology would easily allow the costs to be charged back to the owner.
Range anxiety will only be a sticking point on long journeys.
Only working vehicles would need a hybrid solution.
The breakdown companies will have rapid chargers on their vehicles to help the stranded or supplementary charging packs that you can hire to plug into your car to get you to your destination or charge point.
Still leaves the infrastructure to be deployed but, the major blocker is the shortfall on electricity generation capacity.
We have had days where 25% of total power has been wind generated and I believe 50% from renewables. But, the capacity needed to charge vehicles is way more than we have available.
Wind and solar power generation on our homes will help. Mass power storage is on its way. Energy and efficiency of homes and appliances will increase. Energy recovery will help - how much hot water do you pour down your sink and shower plug holes. Solutions exist today. They're not viable cost wise unless you link all the benefits to a problem looking for a solution - your car!
It will take a big coordinated effort across several industries and government to fix this. Other countries will get there way before the UK does.
We can't keep thinking about all these issues independently - they all interact. It will take a new industrial revolution to bring all the elements together. Those who develop solutions that can easily fit into our current homes and businesses will be winners. Then we can all have electric cars. The car manufacturers should be linking solutions into their products. A one stop solution. Unless they do they're missing a big opportunity to pull people to their products. They currently only see the car itself as the product.
Fuel cell technology will however be the target solution. So much fuel available. I'm sure that's where the oil companies will go because that keeps them in the game. Then it's going back to the 'petrol' station every few days - again!
Renewables will make up a decent % of full use given time alongside Nuclear and fossils fuels (whilst they last).
The ones nearest to us, which I drive past every day are located at two Chicken rearing units.
