their apex would be an EV tied to a diesel generator running at optimal RPM providing the electricity
I disagree with this being "their apex," but I do agree this would be a substantial improvement over the current Li ion battery system that is currently pushed. It would also be trivially easy to implement.
Getting a diesel engine, which can run on anything, even fuel you can make from plants you grow in your garden (if you have a big enough garden), running at the optimal thermal cycle, would provide all sorts of transportation advances. The energy density (cost/volume and weight per usable watt-hour) of such a set up, as well as the pollution level is superior to all other systems we currently use in the mainstream, even if it's not necessarily the "best possible" with current tech.
I meant Apex as more "best of all possible trade offs". If we go with all tech available to us, we can get better, but you lose out in other areas - at least in our current world. 20 years of development in any direction could wildly change things.
It gives us a mature power plant tech ology, coupled with a fairly safe and stable fuel, which is quickly replaced when low/out, using already in place infrastructure, that runs an EV, which has some good pluses over mechanical ICE driven systems.
A lot of energy storage options we have lack a lot of usefulness for car and transport in areas like transportability, stability, or size requirements.
I disagree with this being "their apex," but I do agree this would be a substantial improvement over the current Li ion battery system that is currently pushed. It would also be trivially easy to implement.
Getting a diesel engine, which can run on anything, even fuel you can make from plants you grow in your garden (if you have a big enough garden), running at the optimal thermal cycle, would provide all sorts of transportation advances. The energy density (cost/volume and weight per usable watt-hour) of such a set up, as well as the pollution level is superior to all other systems we currently use in the mainstream, even if it's not necessarily the "best possible" with current tech.
I meant Apex as more "best of all possible trade offs". If we go with all tech available to us, we can get better, but you lose out in other areas - at least in our current world. 20 years of development in any direction could wildly change things.
It gives us a mature power plant tech ology, coupled with a fairly safe and stable fuel, which is quickly replaced when low/out, using already in place infrastructure, that runs an EV, which has some good pluses over mechanical ICE driven systems.
A lot of energy storage options we have lack a lot of usefulness for car and transport in areas like transportability, stability, or size requirements.