When we want to estimate
the impact of industrial production,
we must appreciate the entire production chain ...
Where it appears that the production of an electric car is very
polluting, as much if not more than diesel.
Electric cars are as much or more polluting than
Germanium, boron, lithium,
scandium, graphite, cobalt, indium, promethium, tungsten and other
lanthanides are among the rare earths in the periodic table of
Mendeleyev elements. Under these terms of austere chemical names
lies the future of many advanced technologies and our
Big problem: China appropriates a quasi-monopoly of the extraction
and the refining of the rare earths, and uses it to influence its
vehicles are big consumers of rare earths (about 10 kg in a
car) but also some wind turbines that require super-magnets to be
productive. The energy and digital revolution, the information and
communication technologies are also fond of them.
THE CHILDREN HAVE A STRANGE MINE IN THE DRC.
Children still work in cobalt mines in the
Democratic Republic of Congo. This persistent situation is more or
less accepted by a large part of the world's rechargeable battery
sector using this metal.
Phones and laptops, electric cars: they are
dependent on this
"rare earth", like lithium.
A NOT SO VIRTUOUS ECOSYSTEM....
"Who today is
worrying about dealing with the issue of mobility as a whole? What
solutions for the manufacture of batteries, battery recycling,
operation but also the supply of rare earths, the nature of
electricity production ... etc. ", asks
"Tribune" 13/09/2017 (The Tribune is a French business weekly
RARE EARTHS -
97% produced in China and 3% in Congo with prices that will rise
exponentially as demand exceeds supply
• A growing automotive market worldwide.
• A gradual and constant rejection of thermal engines.
• State incentives to buy hybrid and electric vehicles.
• Rare raw material prices increasing exponentially.
• Rare earth refining capacities that are scarce, stammering,
uncertain and expensive.
• An expanding world population (over 3 billion before 2050) that
will also demand to take advantage of technological
developments and therefore means of transport.
DEFLATION TO ENERGY PRICES
People are realising that renewable energies are
"deflationary to energy prices". They drive energy costs down, not up.
It's no longer necessary to adopt renewable energies to save the world.
It's economic, he said.
"We know the climate is changing. We don't know if it will be really bad
or nearly apocalyptic. Both are within the realm of possibility."
Ramez Naam, Singularity U NZ Summit in Christchurch NZ.
WHY THE COMPRESSED AIR STORAGE REVOLUTION?
Two reasons -
The expansion stage in the storage loop.
A holistic approach to applications.
This is why the traditionalists wrestle with the
concept. They fail to realise that compressed air energy storage has 5
Conquering the expansion stage has
revolutionised the affordability, efficiency and scale in the use of
compressed air storage and its huge range of applications. It’s taken 20
years to get to this point.
Mennega, AVL CEO
CHEAP & ABUNDANT
energy has the hallmarks of a revolution that will rival the
industrial revolution, and may very well be the next industrial
revolution. Its global impact could exceed all other revolutions.
Cheap and abundant energy!”
With the energy transition beyond fossil fuels accelerating and the
global move towards off grid energy and decentralised energy, the MDI
technology can be playing a significant role in the
of energy (electricity) providers.
Mennega, AVL CEO speaking at WIN Seminar in Sydney
MDI AFFORDABLE ENERGY STORAGE & TRANSPORT
There is such an intense industry need for affordable energy storage and
transport, both at the centralised renewable energy generation as well
as at distributed energy users, that profitability has a huge tailwind.
It's a revolution to clean energy and transport for the masses.
MDI are also developing a separate use of their engine technology, by
developing a range of power generation equipment. This is in turn
divided into two areas, small scale units using compressed air tanks and
large utility scale utilising underground air storage.
Again for the small scale motor GenSets, a complete turn key factory is
Source Paul Gurr, Chief
Operating Officer, AVL
ELECTRIC VEHICLES ON AIR - CHANGE IN MINDSET
People will have to alter their mindsets in terms of
Transport Systems and Utility Vehicles and consider the Clean
Vehicles as the normal every-day means of transport of the future.
As the Automotive Industry is amongst the most competitive one, it is
not simple for the Clean Vehicles to penetrate the world market.
These Clean Vehicles are often described as “The Constrained Vehicles”;
and therefore, they will have to overcome this image by offering a real
alternative to conventional cars through other pragmatic, salient and
The impact of the economic crisis on the Automotive
Market, the polluting factors affecting the Global Warming
and rapidly depleting oil reserves have led MDI to take into
account parameters other than the “Ordinary energy efficiency from Tank
to Wheel” in order to draw attention to the MDI Technologies compared to
the other ones.
(A paradigm shift invites us to view the world with a dramatic new
Are we beginning to see a paradigm shift in the car
industry, history has shown that the automotive industry, mainly run
by old men in grey suits, is more likely to gang up and resist change
rather than to embrace it. We may see the first signs of this change
with the introduction of the Nano, it may not be in direct
competition with them for now, but it does put them in an uneasy
position and challenges many of their established business conventions.
It’s modular design allows the factory to produce kits that can be
assembled by local entrepreneurs who will then sell and service the car
with nothing more than basic tools provided by the factory, creating
further employment for rural communities. This requires a shift in
mindset to change the way we build cars. The Tata Nano, is the small car
which is going to change once in for all, the way we Indians are going
And this is
only the beginning Tata is also involved with the French Compressed
Air Engine from MDI......
Amazing New Air Car - It's NOT About the Air!
And it's not even about the car!
It's a whole new way of thinking about energy!
Every now and then an idea comes along that will change the
world - and gets mostly ignored..............
MDI has a good chance of creating an amazingly efficient little car, and that's
cool. But what's REALLY exciting are all the other potential industrial
AIR CAR A
GOD SEND TO HUMANITY
Automobiles that run on
compressed air are a God send to humanity, global warming and a
major contributor to world peace and international economies!
I can see solar powered air compressors fueling these compressed air
vehicles making the air cars truly zero emission qualified.
Ironically, there are already solar powered air compressors in use
along oil pipelines that are used to power air tools.
A compressed air refueling infrastructure will be able to be
implemented almost over night due to the user friendly nature of
compressed air. A large percentage of residential shops already have
an air compressor. So, people are already familiar with compressed
air. I can envision compressed air availability at K-Mart, Wal-Mart,
7/11 etc., besides service stations.
Compressed air cars make hybrids, hydrogen, electric and bio-fuel
cars obsolete. Air cars are the future, here and now. Compressed air
is the most cheapest and abundant commodity on the planet so why not
ADVANTAGES OF AIR CAR OVER THE
I may be one of the few to say this in public
but I honestly don’t know why hybrids are getting all the buzz.
Admittedly, they pollute the air less than standard cars, but they
still do pollute AND they create a different pollution problem that
is horrible. That itty-bitty detail seems to be getting
overlooked. People should know that they have mongo sized
batteries and no one can tell me exactly how long they last and
where they will end up like other dead batteries. But we know where
they’ll end up, don’t we? Yup, in a landfill. Batteries are one of
the most hazardous elements to leach into soil from landfills, so
while the beloved hybrid won’t pollute the air as much, they will
cause harmful pollution in other ways. I personally find that
bio-diesels and Air Cars (with their zero pollution) are the true
wave of the future but I can’t fight multinational lobbyists -
so I think hybrids may be here to stay for a while.
In any case, I’m rooting for the Air Car even if isn’t the most
attractive car (either is the hybrid!), and even if it will suffer a
slow, torturous, unfair death. Or will it? One very big company in
India, actually THE biggest automobile company in India (Tata
Motors) has agreed to help further develop the air engine
technology. Plus, the Air Car has been in news more and more lately
so at least I know it is still alive and kicking.
Go Air Car go!
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