OK, I’m skeptical, given that we can’t maintain the plain old roads we’ve got, but always willing to hear about new research. Swiss system being tested at Purdue. And of. course, always interested when it’s reported by the indispensable Diana Olick of CNBC.
Technically doable. Politically? Probably not. Maybe in some parts of Europe, or where the big cheeses drive in China. The US can’t even fix the bridges in dire need of repair.
We are looking at a future with hundreds of millions of electric vehicles in the US alone whose most expensive and heaviest component is their large battery. Large batteries are usually only needed for occasional interstate travel, and this new technology could save trillions of dollars of battery costs over a decade of use.
If the cost of those batteries actually falls dramatically over time, this new option will be a tough sell.
Interesting that they are making the concrete itself the coil.
OK, the indoors-with-forklifts application sounds plausible. Maybe in those giant government cheese caves, too.
Roadways? Not so much.
Technically doable. Politically? Probably not. Maybe in some parts of Europe, or where the big cheeses drive in China. The US can’t even fix the bridges in dire need of repair.
It will come down to cost.
We are looking at a future with hundreds of millions of electric vehicles in the US alone whose most expensive and heaviest component is their large battery. Large batteries are usually only needed for occasional interstate travel, and this new technology could save trillions of dollars of battery costs over a decade of use.
If the cost of those batteries actually falls dramatically over time, this new option will be a tough sell.
Interesting that they are making the concrete itself the coil.