liquid batteries

[FunGas]

This may be the solution to the eternal rechargeable cell replacement juggle (eventually)
link goes here

[Sunking]

Complete BS and worthless.

[SunEagle]

Complete BS and worthless.

Could you elaborate on your feelings sir. I respect your input.

I understand the technology is still way out there but what do you think are the short comings?

[Sunking]

Could you elaborate on your feelings sir. I respect your input.

I understand the technology is still way out there but what do you think are the short comings?

Sorry Se it is the same ole PR MIT spews out daily looking for suckers to give them money. I can name 3 RE companies that came from MIT totaling around $1B taxpayer money and all are bankrupt. 2 of the 3 are Evergreen Solar and Solyndra.

[SunEagle]

Sorry Se it is the same ole PR MIT spews out daily looking for suckers to give them money. I can name 3 RE companies that came from MIT totaling around $1B taxpayer money and all are bankrupt. 2 of the 3 are Evergreen Solar and Solyndra.

Too bad. It looks like MIT hooked Bill Gates for a few million on this game.

[Sunking]

Too bad. It looks like MIT hooked Bill Gates for a few million on this game.

Well BG dumped $50 million along with GOOGLE on NANOSOLAR back in 2008. Still not 1 panel for sale.

[green]

Could you elaborate on your feelings sir. I respect your input.

I understand the technology is still way out there but what do you think are the short comings?

Now ... I'm not an engineer but... quoting the article you have linked...

"Among other tasks, they must design airtight seals on the cells and create a thermal management system that makes sure the heat given off by charging and discharging is enough to keep the components liquid."

That sounds like a huge hurdle to me. Almost sounds like a nuclear power plant type of installation. Also keeping something at 500C sounds like it would actually use energy to me. I'll believe it when I see it. I agree with the BS assesment.

Green

[inetdog]

Also keeping something at 500C sounds like it would actually use energy to me.

Look at it from the engineering perspective. The amount of energy it take to keep something at 500C depends entirely on how well insulated it is. If you insulate it well enough the energy it needs can be supplied by the normal energy losses in the charging and discharging process. And you can insulate things very well; it is just a matter of how much you are willing to spend on that insulation.
As one example, I do not think that current sodium-sulphur batteries require external heating while in use, just for startup and idling.

[PNjunction]

Yet not one word on interoperability.

Even if successful, will it end up being a case of proprietary vendor-lock-in technology, or if it fails just ends up as a patent arsenal waiting in the wings?

I see a lot of antimony in use there - wonder how the self-discharge characteristics are?

[bonaire]

Much like the eventual failure of A123 Systems which was an MIT-based endeavor that became a disaster and money loser for the US govt. I still don't see the value of bowing to institutions like MIT with their better than everyone else culture. This culture also leads to unmanageable engineers who then have to work in the real world.

[SunEagle]

Much like the eventual failure of A123 Systems which was an MIT-based endeavor that became a disaster and money loser for the US govt. I still don't see the value of bowing to institutions like MIT with their better than everyone else culture. This culture also leads to unmanageable engineers who then have to work in the real world.

Well you have to do the research somewhere so why not at a leading Engineering College. I was one of the engineers that did research on Cadmium Sulfide solar cells back in the mid 1970's. They weren't economical but at least I found that by using a high temperature to laminate the cells the process increased the sheet resistivity and clamped the cell efficiency. By using a lower heat to do the lamination it kept the resistance lower and we were able to improve the potential cell efficiency by a small margin.

Colleges may do pie in the sky research but at least they get funding to buy the latest equipment to do the testing.

Unfortunately, like you said they think the do the hard part with the design. The hard part is really making something profitable and cost effective to become a viable product that people will purchase.