BITS AND PIECES The Secret Life Of Horseradish

(Page 3 of 3)

June/July 1995
By the Mother Earth News editors 
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The zinc-air battery produces no emissions, says Ehrlich, and is built with completely non-toxic materials. It is also easily recycled. One moderately benign by-product of the system is the small amount of carbon dioxide released during the charging process, however.

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The cassettes are recharged and reinserted into the vehicle after a brief trip to an automated regeneration facility. Machines at the electric fueling headquarters, to be built in Bremen, Germany, will be operated by the city's utility company.

The battery is relatively lightweight, allowing for a greater conservation of electricity by the vehicle when it is in use. Weighing in at only 1,666 pounds, the battery is less than 22 percent of the German Postal Service vehicles's gross weight. With the system installed, the vehicles can carry over 1.1 tons, and travel at speeds of over 75 mph.

In the past, widespread use of electric batteries in place of traditional fuels was impractical for many drivers. The earlier batteries could only power lightweight vehicles, and would hold a charge for a short amount of time. Electric cars could travel for only short distances, and were not considered a practical alternative for everyday transportation. The refueling process even took eight hours.

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In a test at Electric Fuel's facilities in Ontario last December, a vehicle powered by the zinc-air battery ran at a constant speed of 40 mph for over 10 hours on a single charge, claims CEO Ehrlich—over 400 miles on one fuel-up. The battery is designed to contain the same amount of energy held in a traditional fuel tank, making it possible for the vehicle to drive as far as it would have on a full tank of gas. That ability has long eluded battery manufacturers.

The postal service should be outfitted in electric-battery—powered vans and lightweight pick-up trucks by this summer, the date scheduled for the completion of the regeneration facilities. The vehicles will be on the road and delivering mail to Germany until the end of 1996, when the battery system will be analyzed.

And if all goes well, 40,000 new vehicles throughout the Postdienst and the Bundepost Telekoms will be electrified.

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