Do We really Need Battery Breakthroughs For Electric Cars?

We are a society obsessed with the new, the better, the more of this and that, but in the end, our quality of life doesn’t get changed as positively as we would have imagined. Still, the need for sensation, the new, the better should lead us to take scope of what we have now and see what works. And I have news for you. What we have now in terms of lithium-ion battery technology is more than enough to satisfy the needs of over 80% of the USA’s daily commute.

New, Or Better? In the end, whether we get new batteries or yesterday modified version, the real question is assessing our true driving needs, financial and other parameters. Whether we introduce a new battery or an old, one constant is that technology continually develops and gets better. Today we are facing a split, that of real needs and actual technologies, and that of tomorrow’s. The real news this year is more about how making our current technology better and more efficient than breakthroughs.

Current Lithium-Ion Work Well Enough. Contrary to certain begrudging carmakers, the electric car and its lithium-ion batteries work well. Case in point, Tesla Motors, a small startup in California manages to modify an existing Lotus and gives it a 240 range with regular, every laptop batteries. Its gets even better when you look at the number, performance, handling and in-home design of their next electric car, the Model S which gives you up to 260+ mile range, depending on how you drive.

Breakthroughs Help Media. Come on, let’s be honest. Breakthroughs happen, they will continue to do so and that is evolution. But breakthroughs are years down the road and something the news needs to keep the buzz alive. Interestingly enough, this year is shaping up to be more about make do with what you have, make it better than fantastic technology breakthroughs.

If a local startup can design and build an electric car that rivals its price competition with nothing more than laptop batteries for about 260 mile, what more do you need but better energy efficiency management?