The following article has been submitted by ECW reader Peter Wolstenolme.
E-Cat Range Extension for Electric Vehicles
Peter Wolstenholme
October 2020.
There seems to be quite some confusion about this issue, so here are some calculations. The idea is to install a couple of E-Cat SKL units in a motor vehicle, and I have taken the Tesla Model 3, with the smaller 50 kWh battery, as an example. If I were to define the control software I should use up one E-cat rather more than the other, after first installation, so that only one runs out of power (or fails for some reason) at any time, and the car can be driven for a while until a replacement unit is installed. Let us assume that each E-Cat can provide 5 kW of electrical power.
The motor power of a Tesla 3 is over 200 kW, but we must realise that this can not be the average. That load would drain the battery in 15 minutes, or less. As the range is quoted at 220 miles (350 km) then we might assume that, if driving rather fast at an average 75 mph( 120 kph) the battery would run out after, say, 2h. 30 min. Thus a practical range might be 300 km ( 190 miles). This implies that the average power consumption is 20 kW.
Now consider a trip with the E-cats installed. One might drive for a couple of hours between a few pauses for coffee, meals or other reasons, and a long trip might involve 2 hours of such breaks and 7 hours of actual driving. If the battery is fully charged at the start, with 50 kWh, the E-cats will add 20 kWh to this during the pauses, and will drop the net consumption down to 10 kW while moving. So 7 x 10 = 70 kWh will be used, but 50 + 20 = 70 kWh will be available.
The range would be 120 x 7 = 840 km (525 miles). With care, and at a lower cruising speed, one might make Calais to Aix-en-Provence in one such day. Although a similar performance can be achieved without the E-cat if Tesla chargers are ideally located along one’s route, and always available, the E-Cats would greatly simplify planning for long journeys and of course the larger 75 kWh battery option would not make sense. Similar calculations can be performed for other models and for other E-Cat power assumptions. Furthermore, a planning error which manages to fully drain the battery can be fixed by a 15 minute pause, and a drive at low speed to a convenient resting place. No need for the breakdown truck!
