The performance of today's lithium-ion batteries can't be improved much further. Grand hopes for the future of e-vehicles now depend on driving down battery prices and on prototype silicon-air super-batteries.
Electric cars are meant to solve many environmental problems: Assuming they're charged with 'green' electricity from sources like wind, solar or hydropower, they'll be practically emission-free - apart from the large amounts of energy involved in the manufacturing process for vehicles of any kind, of course, whether fossil-fueled or battery-powered. E-cars reduce noise pollution, too, as they glide along streets almost silently. And they're fun to drive, with better acceleration than regular cars, and often better handling.
But driving e-cars has a drawback: Constant worry about how much charge is left in the battery. Once it's empty, if there's no recharging station in the area, the fun is over, and calls to a towing service are next on the menu.
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WNU Editor: This is a good summary on where this technology is going.
