edsnova posted:Conceptually, I like the hybrid electric cars that use a small engine (a turbine maybe?) to self-charge when needed.
If batteries can be made light and compact enough (they're basically there) without overheating (not quite yet) and cheaply enough to work in the market (??) you could turn over the whole fleet in about 10 years and save 80-90 percent of the of the current hydrocarbon emissions burned on the road while maintaining or extending present day automotive range and potentially reducing maintenance time and costs substantially.
But, as Stan often points out, the energy has to come from somewhere. You'd still need to convert the power grid to like 95 percent wind/solar/nuke with just a few gas peakers (and maybe vast arrays of these batteries?) to manage load.
AFAIK it could be done right now—and should be, given what we know about how carbon emissions affect the climate—but it's not like I or anyone else could just snap our fingers and make it so.
The electric Sports car technology has come a long way.
Check out this link:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5C7a2hVFHS8