192 AAs and a Battery Speed Record
Yesterday in Japan a student from Osaka Sangyo University, Takashi Sudo, made a drive that should get him into the Guinness Book of World Records. In a car made of fiber composite and powered by 192 AA batteries, Sudo reached an average speed of 65.83 mph over a course 0.6 miles in length. That’s the fastest speed ever recorded for a vehicle powered by drycell batteries.
Of course the down side of the ride was its purpose — promoting the sale of Panasaonic disposable batteries. (Disposable batteries are decidedly un-green.) The up side of the event is that it does point to a significant advance in innovative battery technology. The batteries in the vehicle, Oxyrides, use oxy nickel hydroxide, manganese dioxide, and graphite to deliver longer life and a 1.5 times more power than conventional batteries.
Any time battery innovation and efficient automotive engineering are paired in a project, we can’t help but think it’s a good thing. Right now the alternative fuel field is still pretty wide open. We do have functioning hybrids on the roads and viable plug-in cars in development, but no one has yet to find the definitive answer — the one best way to wean Americans, and indeed the world, from our addiction to petroleum products.
And while I personally don’t have any interest in ripping open AA packages and making sure 192 batteries are pointed the right way, I do acknowledge it takes a lot of odd pieces to finish the final puzzle.