Running an internal combustion engine to generate electricity, to charge a chemical storage battery array, which is then used to drive electric motors, is a 3-stage net loss of efficiency.
You're getting about 16% thermodynamic efficiency going from combustion to mechanical, about 73% from mechanical to electric, about 84% storing it as a chemical battery, then 73% turning it from electrical back into mechanical.
Let's quantify that by using an arbitrary number of 255,000btu of heat energy... that's 100hp of thermal input... which yields 18hp of mechanical output, that translates to 13.4 kw/hr, but you're losing 27% for battery charging which yields 9.8kwhr... Storing it chemically generates heat, knocks it down to 8.232kw/hr convert it back and you'll get 7.15 mechanical, but only 73% makes it to the wheels for 6.009kw, or 8.05 hp/hr.
That's staggering losses, when one could just accept the first 18% by going from internal combustion to mechanical.
And internal combustion of liquid fuels is a much higher energy-storage medium per weight and volume, and it's recharge is dramatically faster, substantially safer, and exhibits NO transfer loss (gravity will do it!).
Those who think it makes sense, understand neither physics, nor math.
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DaveKamp wrote:
