Electric cars aren’t going away. If oil continues to lose steam and the cost of electric cars drop, the numbers of people investing in the cars could increase.
Alternatives to using crude oil is welcomed with opened arms by some adults. The fact that gasoline prices have continued to rise since the 1970s has played a role in the acceptance of the alternatives. Included among the alternatives are battery and electric cars. In addition, electric and battery operated cars are expected to safer for the environment than crude oil.
Extending the life of batteries used by electric cars
However, electric cars have limits. For example, they have been shown to travel less distances than cars that run on petroleum. To combat this limit, scientists have been searching to find a way to improve upon batteries that electric operate on. Recently, these scientists have been meeting success.
Science Daily reports that, “a novel design for a critical part of the battery has been shown to significantly extend the technology’s lifespan, bringing it closer to commercial use.” Laboratory technician, Jun Liu shares that, “Lithium-sulfur batteries could one day help us take electric cars on longer drives and store renewable wind energy more cheaply.” He adds that, “But some technical challenges have to be overcome first.”
Recently, another alternative to using crude oil has revealed itself. That additional resource turns out to be algae. Daily Mail reports that, “Drivers could soon be filling their cars with petrol created using algae thanks to a new process that converts the organisms into crude oil in less than an hour.”
The United States is said to be leading the way in these new resource developments. In fact, it’s reported that “Engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have created a chemical process that produces useful crude oil minutes after they pour in harvested algae – a verdant green paste with the consistency of pea soup.”
Yet, the new resource brings challenges. Although it may be safer on the environment and although it might put more control for the oil that American citizens uses in the country’s leaders own hands, the fuel is expected to be expensive, a change that millions of Americans might be against.
