Cambridge Crude... Massachusetts, uh, gold.. chowdah?
A group of young MIT students has developed a new type of battery that runs on a rechargeable liquid fuel. The inventors call the fuel "Cambridge Crude," and if the technology makes it to market, refueling an electric car could be as easy as pulling up to a pump.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/06/mit-liquid-flow-battery-electric-car/38563/ (http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2011/06/mit-liquid-flow-battery-electric-car/38563/)
I wonder how efficient it is to make this battery liquid, how much more (or less) weight would be added/subtracted, compared to a battery. I also wonder how safe the electrolyte is, and what will happen if I huff it. Maybe I turn in to a robot? But this is interesting and potentially promising...
I will be sitting out this round of the debate on electric cars, the overall merits or lack thereof, but y'all have fun [thumbsup]
**edit: here is the MIT article with more details and the paper they published
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/flow-batteries-0606.html (http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/flow-batteries-0606.html)
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.201100152/full (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.201100152/full)
if it works well and doesn't result in a 2 ton battery for a reasonable range, it could really be a game changer