Jon_G said:
But these same car manufacturers somehow all managed to agree that their cars would run off the same specification of liquid fuel (OK two types, petrol or diesel but you get my point).
We're already at the mercy of a potential monopoly for the supply of fuel... there aren't that many different large companies pumping crude out of the ground and refining it.
How would a controlled stock of stored battery packs present a higher risk than the present huge tanks of petrol at every fuel station?
The switch to electric is going to happen, stop inventing barriers!
"But these same car manufacturers somehow all managed to agree that their cars would run off the same specification of liquid fuel (OK two types, petrol or diesel but you get my point)."
Petrol/Fuel & Batteries is a totally different thing. Fuel is manufactured by oil companies, battery tech is proprietary to each manufacturer. I've worked in tech all my life. Unless all the manufacturers come together and standardise battery tech the vision you have of charge stations and swap outs is not possible.
"We're already at the mercy of a potential monopoly for the supply of fuel... there aren't that many different large companies pumping crude out of the ground and refining it."
Its the governments that benefit heavily from tax revenue of this business, if that disappears there will be a very large hole in finances and their salaries! same as banning tobacco, they know it kills people and is a huge burden on heath services but they won't ban it, just keep taxing and making money off the addicted.
"How would a controlled stock of stored battery packs present a higher risk than the present huge tanks of petrol at every fuel station?"
For that you need to read up on the risks of storing large amounts of very large charged battery cells.
"The switch to electric is going to happen, stop inventing barriers!"
I'm not, I'm asking the questions that need to be asked, bringing up the points that need to be discussed, bringing awareness to the fact that people on low income in deprived areas won't be able to afford this rose tinted electric world you have a vision of. I'm not just putting on your rose tinted electric glasses and thinking oh what a wonderful electric world we will have.
If governments were that serious about our world and going electric they could step in and change it tomorrow, offer everyone a free electric vehicle why not lets save the planet. No they can't as they will have a massive chunk of tax revenue disappear overnight.
Full electric is still decades off, I don't doubt things will change over time but we have to look at the whole picture not just go electric and put all our eggs in one basket. There is nothing wrong with a hybrid system until electric is developed and affordable to the masses.
I don't believe we even have the infrastructure for electric generation to support mass electric vehicles in this country yet, even that is years off. Even if they were to have inductive charging loops in the ground there is a lot of infrastructure that needs to go in including building more nuclear power stations? oh wait a minute nuclear is wonderful for the planet is it not? wind and solar generation will not cut it alone to support this electric world........