Not just an electric car, but one that runs on salt water
Battery technology has been developed by a German company that allows electric car batteries to be charged via salt water.
A sail boat and cargo ship are seen on the horizon as a man paddles onto a wave on a stand-up board in the Pacific Ocean at Sydney's Cronulla Beach, Australia, July 30, 2015.
David Gray/REUTERS
It鈥檚 not too hard to imagine a future where all cars are electric, but how about a future in which electric cars are powered by salt water?
At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, German company Quant unveiled its concept car. In March of this year, the company launched the second version, dubbed .
Sleek design makes the car competitive with sports cars and electric cars alike. But beyond aesthetics, Quant鈥檚 car also proves its worth in performance. The e-Sportlimousine clocks a top speed of 217 mph, on par with a McLaren P1, and delivers an of 310 miles, higher than that of Tesla Model S鈥檚 estimated 260-mile range.
But the battery technology, nanoFlowcell, is what really makes Quant stand out. 鈥淭he technology offers of lithium-ion batteries of the same weight,鈥� reported the Daily Mail.
To be technically correct, salt water is used as a storage medium rather than a fuel. With four electric motors and two 50-gallon water storage tanks, the car runs by electrically charging ionic liquid 鈥� salt water 鈥� to store energy. This and allows for a higher range than conventional electric car batteries, reports Discovery.
Saltwater 鈥減asses through a membrane in between the two tanks, . This electricity is then stored and distributed by super capacitors. The four electric motors in the car are fed electricity which makes it run,鈥� explains , an alternative media outlet that encourages 鈥渃onscious change.鈥�
This technology isn鈥檛 just limited to automobiles though.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got major plans...the , especially in terms of domestic energy supplies as well as in maritime, rail, and aviation technology,鈥� NanoFlowcell AG Chairman of the Board Professor Jens-Peter Ellermann told GizMag. 鈥淭he NanoFlowcell offers a wide range of applications as a sustainable, low cost, and environmentally-friendly source of energy."
Quant cars were approved for testing on public roads last September, and the company plans to begin mass production, though no specific release dates are listed.
But critics were quick to point out a few wrinkles, including refueling and sustainability.
鈥淔low cell vehicles only become attractive when there鈥檚 a infrastructure. At the moment, that鈥檚 not even being discussed,鈥� wrote .
Steven Novella, writer for , remarked, 鈥淲hile the nanoflowcell is an interesting approach, and we may see cars with this type of battery in production in the future, this technology is . The salt water electrolyte fluids are not fuel. They are not a source of energy. They are simply an energy storage medium, just like any battery. And that energy has to come from somewhere.鈥�