So let’s recap:
- Zinc is the most efficient energy producing metal used in mainstream battery technology. Check.
- Zinc is the fourth most abundant metal on Earth and, unlike lithium, there is no foreseeable shortage. Check.
- Electrolysis is a simple and safe way of producing electricity with no harmful emissions or waste. Check.
- Electrolysis batteries need no external electricity source to “recharge”: the days of the plug-in umbilical cord are over. Check.
- ZOE batteries can be taken apart and the waste zinc oxide reconverted into zinc and reused. Check.
- APET will build solar furnaces to generate the heat needed to recover the zinc. Not a single power station has to be built to keep these batteries going. Check.
Like the Salamander these babies will live in water and be recharged by fire, which is why APET’s ZOE powered concept car is called… “The Salamander”.
ZOE technology is almost a closed loop process. It’s a bit like propane: you buy your canister and then pay to have it refilled.
However they’re not available in the shops… yet. But I hope they will be soon, because this isn’t just cool “pushing the envelope” WOW green technical innovation stuff.
If APET can prove their technology and bring it to market, it will be A Revolution—one which will change the face of EVs as we know it.
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About Chris Milton
“APET will build solar furnaces to generate the heat needed to recover the zinc. Not a single power station has to be built to keep these batteries going.”
Just one hitch: the chemical potential energy represented by the unoxidized zinc, used to drive the motor… For example if a car needs ~30 KW to travel ~100 miles, then for every 100 miles of travel it will need at least ~30 KW of solar energy collected. Now add conversion/transport/repackaging inefficiencies (as no process is 100% efficient), and we’re probably talking the equivalent of ~100 KW of energy per 100 miles.
In nice locales at optimal time of day (which only lasts for a couple of hours — and that assuming there are no clouds…) the Sun dumps ~1 KWh per square meter in total solar energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Even under such ideal conditions, to recharge a zinc “tank” with range of 400 miles, we’d need near-100% efficient collection of solar energy over an area of 400 square meters for the duration of an hour. In real life, let’s be charitable and say ~600 square meters for an hour per “tank”.
Let’s say we need to fuel up 10,000,000 cars per day on an ongoing basis. This would require optimally-situated cloudless solar collecting area on the order of 1,000,000,000 square meters (assuming we get near-optimal collection for the equivalent of 6 hours per day.) But in real life we aren’t going to have perfect operating conditions consistently, so you’ll need to spread this out geographically (losing spatial packing efficiency) and provide 300% redundancy on top of that, so take this up to ~4,000 square kilometers worth of solar collecting area. That’s not counting all the related infrastructure and the material/energy costs required to maintain these solar collection/zinc refinery operations.
Which is to say, it’s not altogether impossible. But, such a “Revolution” would be one of the most extensive, and one of the most expensive, in human history…
“APET will build solar furnaces to generate the heat needed to recover the zinc. Not a single power station has to be built to keep these batteries going.”
Just one hitch: the chemical potential energy represented by the unoxidized zinc, used to drive the motor… For example if a car needs ~30 KW to travel ~100 miles, then for every 100 miles of travel it will need at least ~30 KW of solar energy collected. Now add conversion/transport/repackaging inefficiencies (as no process is 100% efficient), and we’re probably talking the equivalent of ~100 KW of energy per 100 miles.
In nice locales at optimal time of day (which only lasts for a couple of hours — and that assuming there are no clouds…) the Sun dumps ~1 KWh per square meter in total solar energy across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Even under such ideal conditions, to recharge a zinc “tank” with range of 400 miles, we’d need near-100% efficient collection of solar energy over an area of 400 square meters for the duration of an hour. In real life, let’s be charitable and say ~600 square meters for an hour per “tank”.
Let’s say we need to fuel up 10,000,000 cars per day on an ongoing basis. This would require optimally-situated cloudless solar collecting area on the order of 1,000,000,000 square meters (assuming we get near-optimal collection for the equivalent of 6 hours per day.) But in real life we aren’t going to have perfect operating conditions consistently, so you’ll need to spread this out geographically (losing spatial packing efficiency) and provide 300% redundancy on top of that, so take this up to ~4,000 square kilometers worth of solar collecting area. That’s not counting all the related infrastructure and the material/energy costs required to maintain these solar collection/zinc refinery operations.
Which is to say, it’s not altogether impossible. But, such a “Revolution” would be one of the most extensive, and one of the most expensive, in human history…
Sounds like a free lunch. We all know about them, don’t we ?
Sounds like a free lunch. We all know about them, don’t we ?
It’s amazing to me how critics are the first to point out how a fledgling idea doesn’t scale to the masses. What they fail to recognize in their calculations is that nothing happens instantly. During the time it takes to develop and refine an idea and bring it to the masses, the other kinks tend to get worked out along the way. In the mean time, we can be doing our part to pave the way for innovations, rather than standing in the way, saying “it can’t be done.”
I think it’s great that someone is taking the initiative to try the simple approach to a technological problem. If there is anything to it, the problems will be worked out eventually and reality will settle in. If not, then it will settle into the background and fade away. I’ve personally looked at the Zinc-Air idea for EVs but couldn’t figure out how to make scale to the automobile. If these guys really did, kudos to them!
In the mean time, let’s work on getting the infrastructure ready to support the wave of the future!
It’s amazing to me how critics are the first to point out how a fledgling idea doesn’t scale to the masses. What they fail to recognize in their calculations is that nothing happens instantly. During the time it takes to develop and refine an idea and bring it to the masses, the other kinks tend to get worked out along the way. In the mean time, we can be doing our part to pave the way for innovations, rather than standing in the way, saying “it can’t be done.”
I think it’s great that someone is taking the initiative to try the simple approach to a technological problem. If there is anything to it, the problems will be worked out eventually and reality will settle in. If not, then it will settle into the background and fade away. I’ve personally looked at the Zinc-Air idea for EVs but couldn’t figure out how to make scale to the automobile. If these guys really did, kudos to them!
In the mean time, let’s work on getting the infrastructure ready to support the wave of the future!
zinc fuel cells what is sound to me. Go to a station to refuel. just change out the exhausted cartage for new one. solar furnace may be more efficient than try to convert solar energy by a heat engine to turn over a generator at least in terms of transportation.
zinc fuel cells what is sound to me. Go to a station to refuel. just change out the exhausted cartage for new one. solar furnace may be more efficient than try to convert solar energy by a heat engine to turn over a generator at least in terms of transportation.
Hi Boris — I understand your reasoning. There has been alot of research in the area of Zinc recovery through carbothermic reaction. I suggest you check out any of the studies available online. This one, for example, concluded a 30MW solar furnace could produce 10 tons zinc/hour from zinc oxide: http://solar.web.psi.ch/data/research/elprod
It’s probably also worth noting that APET are looking at a whole variety of applications for ZOE technology, including backup batteries and electricity for off-grid habitation.
Hi Boris — I understand your reasoning. There has been alot of research in the area of Zinc recovery through carbothermic reaction. I suggest you check out any of the studies available online. This one, for example, concluded a 30MW solar furnace could produce 10 tons zinc/hour from zinc oxide: http://solar.web.psi.ch/data/research/elprod
It’s probably also worth noting that APET are looking at a whole variety of applications for ZOE technology, including backup batteries and electricity for off-grid habitation.
Boris, good point. Even without the huge solar infrastructure requirements it would sound just too fantastic to be true. Here however, is a solar copncept that can scale to meet these needs, using previously planned resource expenditures ( The maintenance and replacement needs of existing roadways). http://www.solarroadways.com/
This sounds, if true, like an investment in extending the capabilities of existing technlogy. We all know how this can push out production possibilities boundaries into new frontiers, don’t we.
Hopefully innovations like thes will pan out and we will be here to say, ladies and gentlemen, let the revolution begin.
Boris, good point. Even without the huge solar infrastructure requirements it would sound just too fantastic to be true. Here however, is a solar copncept that can scale to meet these needs, using previously planned resource expenditures ( The maintenance and replacement needs of existing roadways). http://www.solarroadways.com/
This sounds, if true, like an investment in extending the capabilities of existing technlogy. We all know how this can push out production possibilities boundaries into new frontiers, don’t we.
Hopefully innovations like thes will pan out and we will be here to say, ladies and gentlemen, let the revolution begin.
hi Boris – the carbothermic is the exact approach APET adopt. At the same time, the circle of APET’s solution is well thoughted. With their solutions, if it realize that means its much closer to ship processed Zinc from solar rich desert of Nevada than Mideast. Further more, thru their cycle; its high purity of zincoxide been processed, instead of high impurity zinc that dig from the earth. Since Zinc will not be destroyed, It will be a sustained energy circle.
Well done guys, stick with it… hope we can breath as we drive…
hi Boris – the carbothermic is the exact approach APET adopt. At the same time, the circle of APET’s solution is well thoughted. With their solutions, if it realize that means its much closer to ship processed Zinc from solar rich desert of Nevada than Mideast. Further more, thru their cycle; its high purity of zincoxide been processed, instead of high impurity zinc that dig from the earth. Since Zinc will not be destroyed, It will be a sustained energy circle.
Well done guys, stick with it… hope we can breath as we drive…
Nice post I think these kind of innovation and steps definitely help us to fight against the global warming. I thing water fuel powered car is also a great example in this category.
Nice post I think these kind of innovation and steps definitely help us to fight against the global warming. I thing water fuel powered car is also a great example in this category.
Hi, great article – very interested in contacting APET as we have been looking at ZAFC’s – we don’t have enough sunshine in UK for solar furnaces (would we did!) however, may have to go down original route of Dr. Cooper and LLNL and look at electrolysis to recover Zn. Haven’t been able to find an address for APET so far, would appreciate any help you could give me.
Regards,
Mike Woolley
Hi, great article – very interested in contacting APET as we have been looking at ZAFC’s – we don’t have enough sunshine in UK for solar furnaces (would we did!) however, may have to go down original route of Dr. Cooper and LLNL and look at electrolysis to recover Zn. Haven’t been able to find an address for APET so far, would appreciate any help you could give me.
Regards,
Mike Woolley
Wouldn’t it be possible to replenish zinc oxide to zinc, carbothermically, by using charcoal only? Our country has a lot of wood, little sun.
Wouldn’t it be possible to replenish zinc oxide to zinc, carbothermically, by using charcoal only? Our country has a lot of wood, little sun.
Thank you for all the comments everyone. Anyone wanting more info should start at the Salamander home page: http://www.salamanderian.com
Marti: I know the unfortunate limitations of solar furnaces (like Mike I live in the UK) however I’m not sure burning wood or charcoal on the scale needed would be environmentally friendly.
There is some great research going on on highly efficient solar furnaces so … touch wood
Thank you for all the comments everyone. Anyone wanting more info should start at the Salamander home page: http://www.salamanderian.com
Marti: I know the unfortunate limitations of solar furnaces (like Mike I live in the UK) however I’m not sure burning wood or charcoal on the scale needed would be environmentally friendly.
There is some great research going on on highly efficient solar furnaces so … touch wood