Cars Could Power USA
The word on the street is that electric cars might finally have come of age. Not only are they starting to rival their petrol cousins in terms of performance, but the possibility that they could actually earn you money might see the tide turn in their favour. Chris Lochery has taken a closer look.
Say the words ‘electric car’ to anyone with even the most basic knowledge of automobiles and the chances are that they will grin from ear to ear like a Cheshire Cat. Images of battered old milk floats struggling to climb the shallowest of inclines will be floating through their minds, along with thoughts of tiny little bubble cars starting to choke as soon as they are driven any further than the end of the cul-de-sac.
Well, a faculty team from the University of Delaware could soon wipe the smiles right off their idiot faces when they demonstrate the new V2G Engine. Boasting an impressive spec for a car fuelled solely by sparks, the prototype that was unveiled earlier this month can accelerate from 0 to 60 in just seven seconds, and reach a top speed of 95 mph.
So, provided that you abide by the speed limits and don’t make a habit of travelling much further than 150 miles in any one sitting, the only difference you’re likely to notice between the V2G and any petrol-fuelled car is the total absence of any exhaust.
All very well and good, of course, but there’s something else that really sets the V2G apart from any other electric motors currently available. Not only does it allow electricity to flow from the mains and into the engine, it also has the ability to let the electricity flow freely out of the engine and back into the mains. While this may, on first hearing, sound like a rather stupid design fault it is, in fact, a stroke of genius - though it may take a few seconds to explain quite why.At any one time, 95 percent of all cars are parked. In this stationary state, with their tanks full of petrol, the average car’s potential for offering up any useful, usable power is somewhat limited. However, if you remove the petrol tank and replace it with a large electrical battery, the amount of useful power that it can provide becomes much, much larger.
Plugged into the mains and switched to V2G (Vehicle To Grid) mode, a network of these parked cars could work as integral part of the National Grid - each engine acting either as a storage unit when the grid has surplus power to offload, or as an emergency supply in the case of a surge.
A utility like this would prove to be very valuable to commercial power suppliers and talk of the set-up has already piqued the interest of certain grid operators in America. The speculation is that some companies would be prepared to pay willing V2G drivers for use of the service.
This means that, rather than having to fork out on the massively inflated prices currently being demanded for petrol, you actually stand to be paid for powering your car simply by allowing the National Grid to annex your car’s engine whenever it is parked.
It’s an incredibly well thought-out piece of technology and the V2G could pioneer a new wave of thinking in zero-emission transport. Green in an environmental sense and green in a financial sense, all it needs now is a matching lick of paint and the ultimate green machine may have finally arrived.More ways to combat global warming:
Unlikely - Become vegan
Spoof - Solar panels to power the USA
Crazy - Breathe and exercise less
Divine - Help from him upstairs
Finality - Get rid of humans
Share this
