this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2024
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UK Rail and Trains
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I'm not sure. 100x is a lot. I read about it generating it's own oxygen. Apparently it's about cooling rather than just starving it, because as you say, it has it's own oxygen. We'll get better at it and the risks is continue go down.
I think the tech will change. Li-ion the runaway effect is built into the chemistry.
Lifepo4 Dose not have this issue. And while it still needs electronics to manage charge and discharge like lion. It is about not damaging the cells. They do not ignite independent of another source like lion. So generally much safer.
For all the recent use of these lithium technologies, they are not actually a new invention. The concepts were invented in the 1800s. We just did not have the tech to make them efficient. It is materials tech over the last 20 years that has really enhanced this. And while we know there are limits to how much we can store. Lifepo4 theoretically can improve a little. Also,
lithium salt tech is well understood theoretically. Those theories mean it is able to be Much more dense (4x lion from what I remember) would not have the runaway effect. We just lack the materials tech to make it efficiently. But are able to make it in a lab.
So there is other options down the line. It's just that Lab to cost-effective factory manufacture is a big step. Takes people wanting to invest.
I think EVs should be built to have batteries replaced. Not because the batteries will wear out, but because they well be obsolete before the EV is.
fair point