I found this article at http://www.meathchronicle.ie/articles/1/34520.
The article explains how the Irish Government’s recently announced their target of having 10% of all registered vehicles running with electric power by 2020. The author, Michael Moroney, believes this target seems a little far-fetched. This plan would require more than 250,000 cars to convert from gasoline to a plug-in, electric engines.
To entice people to convert to more fuel efficient vehicles, the Irish government is giving tax cuts based on carbon emissions. The government is also giving additional tax cuts to drivers of electric cars but Moroney thinks that this policy may be heading in the wrong direction. He believes that equal tax cuts should be given to owners of biofuel, hybrid and hydrogen powered cars.
Moroney does point out that electric cars will need to be charged with electricity that is generated from plants run by coal, oil, and natural gas. All of these produce CO2. Ireland acquires only about 2% of its energy through renewable resources. Ireland, however, does have great potential for wind turbines.
Hydrogen production is still dependant on methane, a fossil fuel, as a source. Hydrogen fuel cells have not been perfected for use in everyday automobiles and remain expensive. So far, fuel cell cars have cost about 20 times the cost of gasoline-powered cars, but Moroney believes this will change soon.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Electric-Car Battery Makers Seek Federal Funds- Response (5)
This article suggests that the United States is about five years behind the Japanese companies in the production of lithium-ion batteries. I agree with Jim Greenberger because since the United States is losing to Asian countries, big companies and start-ups in the U.S. need to band together to build a lithium-ion battery industry. I think that the U.S. could initially help these start-ups through government money but eventually the companies will become independent.
One reason Mr. Greenberger believes that we are behind Japan in the development and production of lithium-ion batteries is that “We’re really good on theory and basic science,” he said. “It’s putting that theory into production where we’re falling down.” I think that America needs to concentrate on improving its ability to produce the next generation of high-tech batteries to compete successfully with Japan. We need to focus on building better, more productive factories.
Barrack Obama is planning to spend as much as a trillion dollars on infrastructure improvements and alternative energy technology to stimulate the economy. I think that an ideal use of this money would be to invest in American companies that build electric batteries for the electric cars to come. If we could build the best electric car batteries in the world, this would help us build the best electric cars in the world. This would help the American automobile manufacturing industry, create jobs, and improve the American economy.
One reason Mr. Greenberger believes that we are behind Japan in the development and production of lithium-ion batteries is that “We’re really good on theory and basic science,” he said. “It’s putting that theory into production where we’re falling down.” I think that America needs to concentrate on improving its ability to produce the next generation of high-tech batteries to compete successfully with Japan. We need to focus on building better, more productive factories.
Barrack Obama is planning to spend as much as a trillion dollars on infrastructure improvements and alternative energy technology to stimulate the economy. I think that an ideal use of this money would be to invest in American companies that build electric batteries for the electric cars to come. If we could build the best electric car batteries in the world, this would help us build the best electric cars in the world. This would help the American automobile manufacturing industry, create jobs, and improve the American economy.
Electric-Car Battery Makers Seek Federal Funds (5)
I found this article at http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/electric-car-battery-makers-seek-federal-funds/?hp.
In this article, Jim Greenberger, a lawyer specializing in clean technology, is interviewed. He says, "In the race to make the lithium-ion batteries that will run the electric cars of the future, the United States is losing to Asian countries, and start-ups and big companies need to band together to build a lithium-ion battery industry in the United States."
The group called the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is modeled after Sematech, which in the 1980s raised $990 million in federal grants and private investment to keep semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
The alliance plans to introduce a proposal in Congress in January to raise $1 billion to $2 billion for lithium-ion battery manufacturing in the United States.
Lithium-ion batteries, besides eliminating the need for petroleum, are three times as efficient as internal combustion engines in typical cars, Mr. Greenberger said. Furthermore, they can be charged by alternative sources of energy like wind or solar.
According to Mr. Greenberger, the initiative would require American companies to change their independant mode of opperating and could fail if certain companies went their own way and raised money from their state representatives, instead of going after a pool of government money for all lithium-ion battery makers.
"We’re really good on theory and basic science,” he said. “It’s putting that theory into production where we’re falling down.”
“We’re trying through the alliance to come up with a way and mechanism to work on an industrywide basis rather than everyone off for themselves,” he said. Otherwise, each company “will be crushed in turn by the Panasonics of the world."
In this article, Jim Greenberger, a lawyer specializing in clean technology, is interviewed. He says, "In the race to make the lithium-ion batteries that will run the electric cars of the future, the United States is losing to Asian countries, and start-ups and big companies need to band together to build a lithium-ion battery industry in the United States."
The group called the National Alliance for Advanced Transportation Battery Cell Manufacture is modeled after Sematech, which in the 1980s raised $990 million in federal grants and private investment to keep semiconductor manufacturing in the United States.
The alliance plans to introduce a proposal in Congress in January to raise $1 billion to $2 billion for lithium-ion battery manufacturing in the United States.
Lithium-ion batteries, besides eliminating the need for petroleum, are three times as efficient as internal combustion engines in typical cars, Mr. Greenberger said. Furthermore, they can be charged by alternative sources of energy like wind or solar.
According to Mr. Greenberger, the initiative would require American companies to change their independant mode of opperating and could fail if certain companies went their own way and raised money from their state representatives, instead of going after a pool of government money for all lithium-ion battery makers.
"We’re really good on theory and basic science,” he said. “It’s putting that theory into production where we’re falling down.”
“We’re trying through the alliance to come up with a way and mechanism to work on an industrywide basis rather than everyone off for themselves,” he said. Otherwise, each company “will be crushed in turn by the Panasonics of the world."
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