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Honda goes electric
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Despite being one of the strongest advocates for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, Honda is now considering launching electric cars in Europe, Japan and the United States.
According to reports, slow progress in setting up hydrogen fueling stations could limit the sale of the company’s fuel-cell vehicles. This is something we’ve been saying for years. While fuel-cell vehicles do offer the promise of zero or very low emissions, the infrastructure issue continues to make it unrealistic on an economic and logistical basis. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, already have the necessary infrastructure in place. And according to a report issued by the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, off-peak electricity production and transmission capacity could fuel 84 percent of the country’s 220 million vehicles if they were plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
Of course, as we continue to move forward with the electrification of our personal transportation, battery advancements will also be necessary. But we’re seeing that already. In fact, just a few weeks ago, researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology developed the first Nickel-Lithium battery that can hold more than 3.5 times the energy of a normal Lithium-Ion battery.
When you’re talking about an all-electric range of anywhere between 40 and 200 miles – that’s a pretty big deal. Especially at the upper end, where this kind of technology can actually bring the all-electric range to a typical range for a gas-powered vehicle today.
Point is – and as we’ve been saying for years – electric vehicles really do represent the next logical evolution in vehicle development. And as you probably know by now, the major automakers are proving it – as nearly every one of them now has an electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in development.
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