http://themindunleashed.org/2014/09/move-tesla-new-car-powered-salt-water-900-horsepower.html
Looks interesting, salt water is much easier to store and pour than Hydrogen for fuel cells.
Car Powered by Salt Water
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http://themindunleashed.org/2014/09/move-tesla-new-car-powered-salt-water-900-horsepower.html
Looks interesting, salt water is much easier to store and pour than Hydrogen for fuel cells.
Well the car was only revealed this year and it costs $1.7m so that's probably why.....
The range appears less good when you consider the size of the tank. According to the website, it has 2x 200l tanks. Which probably accounts for a large proportion of the 2.3 ton kerbweight.
So that's what, just over 4MPG of salt water? I know it's pretty abundant at the moment, but that sounds like quite a high consumption. Feel free to check my maths...
Soldato
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That's what it works out at but I'm going to don my tin foil has and say bp and/or shell will stop it seeing the light of day.
That sort of mileage doesn't seem out of place for the performance on offer though, add that to it being a first generation product too, it doesn't seem that off.
The trouble with most of these sorts of cells that sound fantastic. They usually have a catalyst or other part that is a rare earth metals and non returnable (not sure the proper name. ie. you can't charge it to reverse the damage to the catalyst) so they really run on something cheap and easy plus a really expensive and rare metal that needs replacing often.
Not sure if that's what happens here, but I'm sceptical to say the least, as there isn't much stored energy in salt water that is easily available.
And we won't find out, as they aren't saying how it works. Which is kind of understandable, it's more secure than patents.
It is more believable than things like cold fusion. MIT and others are also working on flow batteries.
Not sure if that's what happens here, but I'm sceptical to say the least, as there isn't much stored energy in salt water that is easily available.
And we won't find out, as they aren't saying how it works. Which is kind of understandable, it's more secure than patents.
It is more believable than things like cold fusion. MIT and others are also working on flow batteries.
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A lot of the tech surrounding "fuel cells" and the like as used for motoring has been red taped for decades, feasible or not, by patent and other legal issues, many of which are about due to expire so we may (or may not) see some big leaps in the near future.
Soldato
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I have a feeling the term salt water is being used a little too literal in this.
Depends what sort of energy / processes are required to make the metal soup as to whether it's better than other techs.
Depends what sort of energy / processes are required to make the metal soup as to whether it's better than other techs.
The Veyron, which has similar performance gets ~10mpg.
With my (I'll admit relatively basic) understanding of chemistry, I find it very hard to believe that salt water contains almost half the stored energy that petrol does? (Or at least not in a way which can be relatively easily retrieved).
And yes, I realise that it's most likely not literally just water with NaCl, so I'm wondering whether this "salt water" is cheaper or more expensive per litre than petrol (and what sort of environmental impact its production has...)
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Soldato
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As I understand it, the "inventor" has been around for years talking of his 'salt water' and other complete rubbish alternatives to combustible fuel and electricity...ie this car and 'tech' is a load of balls.
You're correct, there's a lot more to it than just water and salt to produce power.
If they're using the sort of system it sounds like they are, it's just a standard flow battery but using various undescribed (as far as I've been able to tell, from my brief check of their website) salts in water to store the electricity, rather than the vanadium or organic molecules more commonly seen.
For most purposes it functions as a normal battery; you plug it in and charge it, and then use that stored power to power whichever device it ends up connected to, a motor in this case.
Interesting bits of tech, but until they actually publish some proper testing of their system it's all a bit... unproven, to say the least.
Man of Honour
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2x 200L tanks?! Wow. 400kg of water will make a huge difference to the car's behaviour I'd have thought as it starts to empty.
If it's the system I was talking about above, it won't empty.
The water stores charged ions, the movement of those charges from one tank to the other is what generates the electricity. You then plug it in and reverse the process.
Same idea as a lithium ion battery (to a very very vague extent), but with liquids rather than solid electrodes.
Man of Honour
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Ah right - that makes more sense, my comment seems rather daft now! I suddenly had visions of adding salt like you do in a dishwasher! 
Still 400kg of "fluid" is some heck of a ballast to carry around, no wonder the effective MPG is pretty poor.
Might as well just plug lots of lemons in series at this rate
Still 400kg of "fluid" is some heck of a ballast to carry around, no wonder the effective MPG is pretty poor.
Might as well just plug lots of lemons in series at this rate