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Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

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Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#81

Post by zelon88 »

ianai wrote: post #57
NickM wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was abandoned because fast charging stations keep improving, and are much simpler and cheaper to operate than battery swap stations. It's already at the point where you can take a 400-500 mile road trip in a Model 3 with maybe a single twenty minute charging stop, which is just not that much extra time, and most people like to take a short break every few hours anyway. I suspect Tesla knew this would probably happ…

I’d still like to be able to tow a battery behind me for extended trips. I don’t know how running the AC impacts range, I would like to know. Places with extreme weather and major population centers can make an otherwise short drive really taxing on resources through ac use or just being stuck in place for extended periods of time. Like how peak LV traffic can turn a 15 min drive into a 50 minute drive in 120f+ heat.…

It does sound like a very intriguing idea, and one that I believe requires some research.

However, in practice I think this would be equivilent to towing a small tanker trailer full of chemicals or gasoline. It would require plaques indicating the contents, special insurance, and all kinds of BS at the RMV. Imaging if one decoupled on the highway and drove into oncoming traffic at 60mph? It would essentially be a rolling bomb. This happens quite often with camper trailers.

I think engineers would need to emphasize redundancy, failsafe measures, and automated attachment/detachment capability that does not require human interaction to safely accomplish. Then you will convince CA that it doesn't need a ream of paperwork to register and then the rest of the country will adopt it.

Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#82

Post by ianai »

zelon88 wrote: post #81
ianai wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d still like to be able to tow a battery behind me for extended trips. I don’t know how running the AC impacts range, I would like to know. Places with extreme weather and major population centers can make an otherwise short drive really taxing on resources through ac use or just being stuck in place for extended periods of time. Like how peak LV traffic can turn a 15 min drive into a 50 minute drive in 120f+ heat.…

It does sound like a very intriguing idea, and one that I believe requires some research. However, in practice I think this would be equivilent to towing a small tanker trailer full of chemicals or gasoline. It would require plaques indicating the contents, special insurance, and all kinds of BS at the RMV. Imaging if one decoupled on the highway and drove into oncoming traffic at 60mph? It would essentially be a rol…

So here’s a company doing it for fleet vehicles in China. Granted, it’s not a guarantee it can get through the US regulatory system, but there are definitely more dangerous factors on the road.

Personally I see this as completely new tech from the ICE. That means it really ought to open up new usage and user experiences than the outgoing tech. And those changes should be perceived as better in some way to really take off.

Edit-forgot the link: https://electrek.co/2020/05/06/mobile-ev-chargers-and-vans-g...

Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#84

Post by ashtonkem »

frosted-flakes wrote: post #70
njarboe wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100 trucks running right up next to each other is a train. I could imagine train operators converting their right of ways to a system where each train car can be autonomous and can leave the train and track without disruption. As the train comes by an exit location (station), the cars that need to get off just come out of the train and leave while the train tightens up again for aerodynamic efficiency and continues o…

I don't see that happening. Train cars are incredibly simple things that have barely changed in many decades, probably because it's hard to introduce changes when all the cars need to be compatible with one another. Train cars don't even have electrical hook-ups, just air brake lines.

True for freight, but not true across for all rail. High speed rail in particular is usually a different gauge and has electric hookups for all cars, because every wheel needs to be driven to hit those speeds.

Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#85

Post by Arnt »

ravenstine wrote: post #38
matz1 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably the same reason why smartphone battery is not swappable. For various reason we don't have swappable smartphone battery even though it is technically much easier problem to solve.

What reason would that be? I always assumed that was because of the pursuit of slimmer phones and to discourage repair.

Discouraging isn't something that affects next quarter's earnings. Reducing the cost of water-related repairs, warranty replacements etc., though.

Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#86

Post by [deleted] »

ashtonkem wrote: post #22
willis936 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about an autonomous semitruck that could run 24 hours a day except for unloading/reloading cargo, refueling, and maintenance?

Trains. The fact that long haul semi trucks are a thing is a failure of infrastructure. Edit: as some have pointed out, it’s more a failure of policy.

[deleted]

Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#88

Post by jayd16 »

ashtonkem wrote: post #31
willis936 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trains are large and inflexible. Short of having a city-block resolution freight train network at every population center, you'll need something flexible for the last mile of delivery.

You’re misunderstanding. The only reason why you’d need on-road recharging for hypothetical autonomous semi trucks is if they’re regularly traveling outside the range of their batteries, which is probably in the 400-500mi range. In a well designed infrastructure system, that shouldn’t happen often. Instead the hops of hundreds of miles should be handled by trains, leaving semi trucks for the last dozens of miles from…

You might still want want "in flight" charging even for shorter trips just to keep trucks moving but I guess the world where load/unload times aren't enough is pretty unrealistic.

Re: Can electric cars on the highway emulate plane-to-plane refueling?

#89

Post by jayd16 »

ianai wrote: post #57
NickM wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was abandoned because fast charging stations keep improving, and are much simpler and cheaper to operate than battery swap stations. It's already at the point where you can take a 400-500 mile road trip in a Model 3 with maybe a single twenty minute charging stop, which is just not that much extra time, and most people like to take a short break every few hours anyway. I suspect Tesla knew this would probably happ…

I’d still like to be able to tow a battery behind me for extended trips. I don’t know how running the AC impacts range, I would like to know. Places with extreme weather and major population centers can make an otherwise short drive really taxing on resources through ac use or just being stuck in place for extended periods of time. Like how peak LV traffic can turn a 15 min drive into a 50 minute drive in 120f+ heat.…

Towing would annoying but dropping a block into the Cybertruck bed or the Y back cargo area would be pretty neat.
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