MIT students have developed a new battery technology that could make recharging an electric car as simple as refueling a traditional automobile.
The technology is based on a new liquid fuel, which the students have dubbed "Cambridge Crude", which can be removed and replaced from a battery pack within minutes.
The process involves charged particles which float in a electrolyte liquid between two chambers in the battery pack - one for energy storage and another which discharges the energy. This type of architecture will make batteries ten times more efficient than current battery technology. Another added benefit is that this kind of battery is cheaper to produce than the lithium-ion packs which currently power most hybrid and electric cars.
Sounds too good to be true, yes, and we're sure there are a load of drawbacks, but this is just the kind of advancement in battery technology that electric cars need in order to become a truly viable alternative to the internal combustion engine.
