Europe approves The Salt Water car!

[Adeptus]

Move over Tesla, there's a new 'green' kid in town: Introducing "The Quant": 920 Horsepower, 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds, top speed of 217.5mph and travel 373 miles with one tank full... and (drum roll please)... the German engineered car runs on salt water!

Disclaimer: I'm not a car buff, neither a scientist; however, I've taken 5 minutes to google counter claims, and it seems the salt water is not the source of energy for the car, "merely" a part of the energy storage system of the car (see my second post in this thread for the rebuttal to the salt water claim). Now with that in mind, prepare to be awed....

Source: http://themindunleashed.org/2014/09/...orsepower.html

Salt Water Powered Car Gets European Approval – Yes, It’s Real

NICK BERNABE
on 6 September, 2014 at 05:51

In a breakthrough that is bound to catch the attention of the oil industry and even electric car makers, a company has just gained approval for its ‘salt water’ powered car in Europe.
A car called the Quant e-Sportlimousine that was presented at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show is the first electric car powered by salt water and is now certified for use on European public roads.
The e-Sportlimousine, built by the German company Quant, runs on an electrolyte flow cell power system made by NanoFlowcell that generates a staggering 920 horsepower, goes 0-62 mph in 2.8 seconds, and propels the car to a top speed of 217.5 mph!
What is an electrolyte flow cell you ask? According to Green Car Congress, “Flow cells or flow batteries combine aspects of an electrochemical battery cell with those of a fuel cell. The electrolytic fluids in flow cells—usually metallic salts in aqueous solution(salt water)—are pumped from tanks through the cell. This forms a kind of battery cell with a cross-flow of electrolyte liquid.”
“For the first time an automobile featuring flow-cell electric drive will appear on Germany’s roads,” said Nunzio La Vecchia, chief technical officer at NanoFlowcell, a company which designed the car. “We are extremely proud that as a small company we have developed such visionary technology and are now able to put it into practice. But this is only the beginning of our journey of discovery.”
A few months after making a debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Quant e-Sportlimousine underwent an in-depth inspection and received official approval to be tested on public roads in Germany and Europe from certification provider TÜV Süd based in Munich, Germany.
The car is powered by the electrolyte flow cell power system, which is a part of the NanoFlowcell technology. The system works in a similar way to a hydrogen fuel cell, except for the fact that salt water is used for storing power. In particular, two liquids with metallic salts, which act as the electrolyte, are combined in such a way that the electrochemical reaction takes place. After that, electric motors use this reaction to generate electricity, which is then stored and distributed by super capacitors. The efficiency of this system reaches 80%, since the car has almost no moving parts in it, and the produced waste heat is insignificant in comparison with cars powered by lithium-ion batteries.
The company claims that the Quant e-Sportlimousine can reach the speed of 350 km/h (217.5 mph), accelerate from 0-100 in 2.8 seconds and has maximum power of 920 horsepower (680 kW). Moreover, the car is claimed to be able to travel up to 600 km (373 mi) with a full tank, which is five times greater than with a conventional battery system. At the same time, the car is safe to drive and environmentally friendly.
However, the market price of the Quant e-Sportlimousine is estimated to exceed $1.7. It is not yet clear if the company plans to use the NanoFlowcell technology on more affordable cars, but it can be said for sure that this technology has a great potential and could be used in a wide range of applications which go beyond the automobile industry.
Using this platform, the e-Sportlimousine is able to produce a massive amount of power while emitting zero emissions. While the e-Sportlimousine is bound to be very expensive, there is hope for the electrolyte flow cell power platform to be used more practically in the future.
This technology has potential uses for other industries as well, says NanoFlowcell spokesman Prof. Jens-Peter Ellermann, “The potential of the NanoFlowcell is much greater, especially in terms of domestic energy supplies as well as in maritime, rail and aviation technology. The NanoFlowcell offers a wide range of applications as a sustainable, low cost and environmentally-friendly source of energy.”
“Low cost”, that sounds good to me.

[Adeptus]

Re: Europe approves The Salt Water car!

Source: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/salt...ar-not-so-fast

Salt Water Car? - Not So Fast




Steven Novella September 21, 2014 13 Comments


The Discovery Channel is still under heavy criticism for their fake documentaries involving sharks that never existed, and mermaids. Their D News YouTube channel is having some credibility issues as well. On a recently posted video, hipster host Julian Huguet gushes over a new car that “runs on salt water.”
After some reasonable background information on the limitations of fossil fuel and current battery technology, Huguet introduces the QUANT e-Sportlimousine concept car, which he claims can run on salt water, producing only water as a byproduct – no carbon emissions. Huguet further explains that while electric cars run on clean electricity, that electricity has to come from somewhere, and in the US it is likely to be a coal burning plant.
This is all correct – but he completely misses a critically important point: the exact same issue exists with the QUANT e-Sportlimousine.
There have been previous claims for engines that can run on salt water or fresh water. These claims are usually based on the electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen, then using that hydrogen as fuel, burning it back with oxygen to make energy and water. The problem with using electrolysis of water as fuel is thermodynamics – it has to take more energy to split the water in the first place then you can possibly get back by burning the hydrogen back with the oxygen.
The QUANT e, however, does not use this method. Rather, it uses nanoflowcell technology. This is essentially a battery that uses salt water solutions to store electrolytes that can undergo reactions to produce electricity.

“Liquid electrolytes circulate through two separate cells in which a “cold burning” takes place, during which oxidation and reduction processes happen in parallel and thereby produce electrical power for the drive train.”

When the nanoflowcell battery is running low, you could just replace the electrolyte fluid to “recharge” the battery in about the same amount of time as filling a tank with gas (although you would have to refill two tanks with 200 liters each). This is an interesting approach, but is not a concept new to the nanoflowcell. The company claims a projected range of 400-600km (250-375 miles). With a respectable range and reasonably fast recharge, this kind of technology could make all electric cars feasible for the general market.
But – Huguet implied that the car would be “running on salt water” and would have an advantage over conventional batteries that have to be powered by coal burning power plants. The electrolyte fluids in the nanoflowcell would also have to be recharged, and this energy would have to come from somewhere (such as a power plant) like any other battery.
While the nanoflowcell is an interesting approach, and we may see cars with this type of battery in production in the future, this technology is not a solution to our energy needs. 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.
It seems that Discovery needs to invest in better science writers.

[EJ]

Re: Europe approves The Salt Water car!

Source: http://www.theskepticsguide.org/salt...ar-not-so-fast

Salt Water Car? - Not So Fast



While the nanoflowcell is an interesting approach, and we may see cars with this type of battery in production in the future, this technology is not a solution to our energy needs. 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.
It seems that Discovery needs to invest in better science writers.

"...the market price of the Quant e-Sportlimousine is estimated to exceed $1.7."

Make's the $100,000 Tesla S look like an everyman's car by comparison.

Hope springs eternal when it comes to replacing petroleum as a transportation fuel. It will not happen in the lifetime of anyone reading this site today. Instead the conservation trend will accelerate by increases in efficiency of the conversion of the energy stored in gasoline and diesel into mechanical energy to propel vehicles. Within 10 years cars that accelerate reasonably well, get 100 MPG, travel 1,000 miles on one tank of diesel fuel will be cheap and common.

[jmdpet]

Re: Europe approves The Salt Water car!

Claim for this type of battery is 600Wh/kg energy density vs 120Wh/kg for a Li-ion battery. 5x improvement but still 1/20th the energy density of gasoline: 12,000 Wh/kg. The idea that you can fill up your car with electrolyte fluid is appealing. I wonder: What's in the fluids? How much does it cost to mine the ingredients? Can it be easily transported?

[GRG55]

Re: Europe approves The Salt Water car!

That thing looks like a Fiberfab kit car from the 1960s...

[Mega]

Re: Europe approves The Salt Water car!

There is STILL MEGA amounts of miles left in Gas engines, the next thing to watch for is for an engine that can change its compression ratio to suit demand. This will make a hugh differance to engine efficency.

Mike

[shiny!]

Re: Europe approves The Salt Water car!

There is STILL MEGA amounts of miles left in Gas engines, the next thing to watch for is for an engine that can change its compression ratio to suit demand. This will make a hugh differance to engine efficency.

Mike

Intriguing idea. Can you tell us more about that?