New “refillable” battery tech could allow electric cars over 5000km range

A new type of electric car technology that uses a combination of battery and hydrogen power has an energy density so high it could allow a passenger car to travel over 5000km, only stopping to quickly refill the battery fluid.cheap Lithium battery pack

While there remains a lot of contention between the pros and cons of using hydrogen to power zero emission vehicles versus lithium-ion battery electric powered vehicles, breakthroughs like this continue to bring the topic to the fore.

Using a patented “flow” system that creates electricity via a single fluid to power a vehicle, as well as producing hydrogen as needed, the technology is currently being tested at Purdue University, Indianapolis using golf carts.

The system is similar to the Scottish “flow battery” technology that hit the news last year; although that system uses a membrane to pass ions through two separate “containers” of fluids, whereas the new system has no membrane and uses just one “container” of fluid.

The single fluid system allows a much greater energy density to be achieved, John Cushman, Purdue University distinguished professor of earth, atmospheric and planetary sciences and a professor of mathematics said in a statement to the press.Historically, flow batteries have not been competitive because of the low energy density,” Cushman said. “For example, conventional flow batteries have an energy density of about 20 watt hours per kilogram. A lithium-ion battery runs on 250 watt hours per kilogram. Our flow battery has the potential to run between three and five times that amount.”

Also, the new tech allows the hydrogen produced to be stored at much less pressure, said Michael Dziekan, senior engineer for the commercialisation company IFBattery, explained in a statement.