Recent Comment
Share
In case you forgot, the X Prize Foundation put together a pre-contest contest this past fall. That is, they challenged people to decide what kind of green invention would be worthy of the next $10 million X Prize, and present their proposals in the form of a 2 minute Youtube video. The winners would get $25,000 for their idea, plus the satisfaction of knowing that there would be a whole bunch of X-Prize hungry inventors out there trying to make it a reality.
And the winner is? Ultracapacitors. In their video, a group of students from UC Irvine, led by one Kyle Good, basically said – build a really good ultracapacitor. To reiterate their conditions:
- You may only use self-contained capacitors
- You must exceed the energy density of a lead-acid battery
- The device must recharge in less than a minute and survive half a million cycles
- You must use non-toxic, recyclable materials
- The device must cost less than 2x the cost of a lead-acid battery.
- The device must hold enough power to drive an electric vehicle for 100 miles per charge
And now… we wait. This is the fifth challenge to come out of the X-Prize foundation since 2004, and so far only one of them was met – the team that built a private spaceship in 2004. Granted, lofty goals are what this prize is all about. And if this one becomes a reality, it would be incredibly awesome.
Via Treehugger
Subscribe to this comment's feed
written by Ian, February 05, 2009
-
- +0
-
-
written by Clint LeRoy, February 05, 2009
-
- +0
-
-
written by Kyle, February 05, 2009
It's certainly the best thing to make. However, let's make it work in cars well before we can try to make it cheap, shall we? 2x would still be considered extremely lofty, however that's WAY better than 2/3rds.
-
- +0
-
-
written by Mark Derail, February 05, 2009
That has in parallel a bunch of capacitors for storing quick absorb / quick release amperage, and then C cells of NiMH or LiON or LIPO4, hell, just mix and match the C cells to reduce cost, distribute heat, and keep cost down.
Why does it have to be all of one thing.
-
- +0
-
-
written by Bob Wallace, February 05, 2009
I'm off the grid and I'd pay 2x, even 3x the cost of lead acids for a set of ultras that would last the rest of my life. Right now I replace my lead acids every 5-8 years.
-
- +0
-
-
written by EESCAM, February 06, 2009
What are you smoking? EESTOR and the words "reality" and "real world" should not be used in the same sentence. You must be drinking cool aid with the blogger with the bag over his head.
-
- +0
-
-
written by Moose, February 06, 2009
-
- +0
-
-
written by Sythem, February 12, 2009
-
- +0
-
-
written by Inventor, May 28, 2009
-
- -1
-
-
written by Inventor, May 28, 2009
I accidentally duplicated nanocyl's ultra porous nanocapacitor material in an an experiment. The day after I poured some black liquid down the drain I found out it was identical to the stuff nancyl discovered; nanotubes dissolved in nitric acid for period of 24 hours. They had an electron microscope to analyze their stuff. That's the difference between their lab and mine.
-
- -1
-
-
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
What's cheaper than Pb and H2SO4?
Wouldn't an ultracap that meets these criteria and costs 2x lead acid be an incredible achievement?
For perspective, what is the projected price ratio of Li-ion vs lead acid?
Are these even substitutable goods?
I'm going to use the word "impossible".