Volvo reveals advanced energy storage technology

I think the long fibers has more to do with structural strength. Hemp would probably be too bulky for an equal amount of strength. Plus, it likely contains too many impurities to work with a battery or capacitor.

When Bucky balls are in fiber shape they are called carbon nanotubes. Volvo might actually be using them here.

 

One must also be concerned with the effects on first responders to a fire in a hemp-car

 

Seems like this was tried before! Might be a good time to give it another shot.......

Henry Ford’s Hemp Plastic Car is 10X Stronger | Collective-Evolution
From the article: But did you know that Henry Ford spent more than a decade researching and building his Model-T car which was not only constructed from hemp but was also designed to run off hemp bio-fuel?

 

So do you think if your standing in water and touch the car you may be killed. I don't think so. without knowing more about this technology and how it can be used we just don't have enough information to know much. I do think it is intresting that body panels can be replaced because that is much of the car weight and if the battery can just be body panels then it could reduce weight in the car and that increases performance

 

Rope, not dope. One of these things is not like the other.

 

First - legalize hemp, and that other stuff!

Second, that ford was an idea to help the farmers, which is not a bad idea, but we have better materials today from an environmental point of view. Ford didn't build his natural fiber and epoxy plastic car in 1941 because of changed priorities forced by wwII. GM did create the fiberglass bodied corvette in 1953. State of the art, and low ghg contributing body linked to lower costs is the bmw i3, with much of the energy coming from hydro in the US and wind in Germany. If this material was used in the i3, the body would be heavier, but they could use less batteries in the chassis, lightening the total car but raising the center of gravity. In a car like the i3, accelration might be better as super caps may be able to release more power without damage. That would be a great application for this technology, but please make it a 3 cylinder instead of 2, with a bigger gas tank.

 

IIRC, George Washington Carver was working on soy based plastics during the same time period.
Everything old is new again.

Don't know why, but I found this cooler than the body panels.
"An intake plenum cover has also been formed from the material, and is reputed to be powerful enough to 'supply energy to the car's 12-volt system'. Its strength permitted the integration of a strut brace, and its energy capacity allowed for the removal of the dedicated stop/start battery, saving 50 per cent in weight compared to the standard items."

Maybe because; straight ICE vehicles will be around for a awhile still, it would be much cheaper per vehicle than replacing body panels, and we reduce issues with lead recycling.

Guess the next questions are, what is its lifespan, and recyclability?

 

First super caps leak, its one of their problems, at least for now. You still need a 12V battery like you do in the prius, but it can be smaller than those in many cars, as it may get trickle charged from the leaking super cap. The super cap would replace the traction battery in the prius. It would have 2 major advantages, first it would be able to take higher power from regen braking, second it would reduce weight and not take any space (its replacing a panel already there). The reason that the new mazda's are the only cars with super caps outside racing though is that they are expensive. volvo, or part of the group researching this may be bringing down the expense. I can't see this being justified in the prius as it is designed with the battery, but might be good in something like the camry hybrid, or other sedans that have hybrid and pure ice versions.

 

Ditto! Big boost to our economy from both. Colorado and Washington state are way ahead.
But.....hey, when you have Republicans as conservative as these two endorsing hemp, you know times are 'a changing.
Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul Push For Hemp Legalization In Senate Fight

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What I would like to see is a dust-to-dust emissions analyses for cars, including the manufacture of its body materials. Hemp is, of course sustainable, but does its cost, bulk, and lack of capacitive ability make it worse for the environment then a carbon fiber capacitive skin that has a higher environmental impact during manufacture but allows a PHEV to substantially reduce its tailpipe emissions?​

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I hate to say it, but I agree with the steel industry (though for different reasons ):​

Steelmakers want emissions standards to look at production too

 

Since we are talking about legalizing stuff. Can I throw a vote out there for legalizing/regulating online poker?

 

I wonder if this technology might be suitable for buildings. Of course, they don't need regenerative braking (except maybe for the elevators) but energy capture and storage could be very useful. Flat, standardised panels would be easier to make, ship, and install than the specialised shapes needed for car body panels. Maybe the panels could be retrofitted to existing structures, as well as incorporated into new designs.

 

CFRP is about being lightweight and small volume, not something you would pay extra for in a building. The dual technology use for buildings is chp + solar + maybe in some cases batteries (15 minute researves). If the building is large enough, a grid tied gas turbine can be run when heat or hot water is needed, producing waste electricity when natural gas in needed for heat. In a smart grid application the turbine could also be used to provide peaking power, and the building paid, instead of the utility needing to build extra equipment. During power outages the turbine can provide power for the building and cut off from the grid, until the grid is working again.

 

Yeah, probably too expensive.
Unless you are talking about hemp-based materials......bulkiness is definitely less of an issue in building vs. cars.
Love the idea of elevator regeneration. Don't know why this hasn't been done before....probably cheap electricity and expensive batteries.
That should be changing now.