Can’t we build a better battery?

Advances in electric cars and renewable energy sources are being let down by poor battery life

while electric vehicles have been getting steadily more sophisticated and renewable energy sources are becoming more viable, their Achilles heel is always battery life. Antonie Robertson / The NationalShow less

Owning an electric car in this country might seem to be an act of faith and ethics rather than an economic one. With petrol inexpensive compared to much of the rest of the world, the UAE also lacks the incentives that have encouraged the use of electric cars in other countries.

However, as The National reports today, there is a small but slowly growing group of electric car advocates in this country. They range from Dubai-based lawyer Michael Kraemer, who bought a Fisker Karma electric sports car at a knock-down price, to the owners of Cars Taxi in Dubai, who have pronounced their trial of 20 Toyota Camry hybrid taxis a resounding success.

Plans are also afoot to create a network of charging stations across the emirate during the next year, so others might also change to this less-polluting form of transport. But while electric vehicles have been getting steadily more sophisticated and renewable energy sources are becoming more viable, their Achilles heel is always battery life. That is compounded by concerns about how the batteries will cope with the Gulf’s summertime temperatures.

Mr Kraemer’s Karma demonstrates the first point. It can go 70km on a single charge, which is enough for the daily commute but far less than the range of most modern cars. And instead of refilling in a few minutes at any one of hundreds of filling stations in the UAE, he needs to find a special charging station and it takes up to seven hours to recharge.

Any smartphone owner can empathise with this. The advent of convergence – where one’s phone is also one’s digital assistant, camera, music device, GPS and a host of other things – is reflected in batteries lasting fewer than eight hours.

Of course in any problem lies opportunity. The real breakthrough will be inventing a battery that can cope with modern demands. The UAE already invests in renewables – it might be time to put more effort into battery research too.