3 ms·
Fuel cells might be able to compete in that small slice of the market that needs deep-cold compatible vehicles. There are millions of people who live in places
by scythe 7y ago
Fuel cells might be able to compete in that small slice of the market that needs deep-cold compatible vehicles. There are millions of people who live in places like Edmonton or Novosibirsk where temps can drop below -40. I don’t know if current HFCs can handle that but since gas solubility is higher at low temperatures it seems like a possibility. Lowering battery operating temperatures seems to be a hard problem.
- GeertB 7y agoBattery management systems deal with this by using some energy to heat the pack. So dealing with cold temperatures is just a measure of insulation and some vampire drain. While driving, or parked in a garage, there are no issues of course. Note that Norway is the European country where Tesla cars are most popular, so the problem seems to be nonconsequential in practice.
- kwhitefoot 7y agoNorway is rather warmer than Novosibirsk. Annual average temperature in Drammen is 6 C, Novosibirsk 1 C. January average in Drammen is -3.6 C, Novosibirsk -17.3 C. See https://en.climate-data.org/asia/russian-federation/novosibirsk-oblast/novosibirsk-459/ https://en.climate-data.org/asia/russian-federation/novosibi... and https://en.climate-data.org/europe/norway/buskerud/drammen-9882/ https://en.climate-data.org/europe/norway/buskerud/drammen-9... But generally speaking you are correct. My Tesla S 70D has active battery temperature management and can be set to precondition the battery and heat the cabin at set times every day so that it is ready to go when you commute to work.
- woodandsteel 7y agoA problem with that idea is that the total numbers would be so small that there would never be any real economies of scale, and so the cars would be too expensive for most people to afford.