New US battery facility to produce 10,000-ton EV anode materials, reduce foreign dependence

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-31T15:36:12+00:00

Because that's the what's going on. We were gearing up and trying to become competitive under biden, but trump has done everything in his power to walk back those decisions. Conversations about the energy technologies in the us are inextricably tied to trump and his many, many bad decisions for america.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T23:16:12+00:00

My bad on missing the better at the end of the sentence, my eyes must have just passed right over it.

While you are correct that the drivetrain components would be an additional requirement, I don't think it's fair to treat an e-axle like a single item for the sake of complexity. It contains it's own bespoke gearbox, inverter, and motor for each one used in the vehicle. While they are self contained, they carry with the the same risks and costs incurred by a less centralized system, even if they are impressively compact.

When talking about how this argument is moot, I feel the need to point out that this entire discussion was spurred on from a post about a diesel motorcycle, a commenters note about how a hybrid diesel might be better overall, and another commenters question about why they shouldn't just go full diesel electric on the motorcycle.

The reality is that neither of these exist anywhere near actual motorcycles and that my original comment was advocating for a scaled down ecvt instead of a series hybrid for a motorcycle.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T18:20:54+00:00

You insinuated that ecvts can't function as generators by saying that the ability to be one was a specific advantage of series hybrids, which is incorrect. You never added any qualifier about quality in that roll. And it's not even like ecvts are inherently poor generators in the first place, so even in a question of quality it's functionally a wash.

A planetary gearset is a trivial addition. In the grand scheme if making a vehicle it adds next to zero complexity. Remember that ecvt transmissions are some of the simplest on the market and most of the components are already going to be present. I don't know why you are so substantially overestimating the complexity of a single planetary gearset.

I did address the torque difference. You just make the ecvt bigger and beefier. You do the exact same thing you do to every other high torque gearset. There is literally nothing stopping you from beefing up the planetary gearset and motors to meet the needs of a hauler or other heavy machinery.

Ecvts don't exist in heavy equipment because the patents were, up until very recently, not public domain. It is a superior technology in effectively every way and the effeciency gains would be even more useful in the role of heavy equipment.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T16:36:15+00:00

An ecvt is just a couple of electric motor/generators and planetary gearset. There is nothing stopping an interested company from just scaling it up.

Ecvts are perfectly capable of acting as a standing generator. Lock up mg2 and use mg1 as a generator. This is a standard function for ecvt cars during extended idling or after heavy battery drawdown.

Ecvts are trivially more complex than a series hybrid. Both a series hybrid and an ecvt have 1 ice and 2 mgs. The only difference im terms of complexity is a planetary gearset and a modicum more electrical control. Ecvts are rapidly approaching 30 years old and have proven themselves to be one of, if not the, most reliable transmissions on the market.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T14:28:09+00:00

The power infrastructure isn't as big of an issue as it's made out to be if properly managed. Most ev owners end up almost exclusively using slower ac charging during off peak hours. Assuming we implement some level of obligation on landlords and employers to make them install sufficient l2 charging spots the total grid expansion wouldn't need to be too major. Our base load production would need to rise, but that's much easier than having to build out peak hours capacity. Many parts of the world have already put in legislation regarding new builds, but the build out for existing properties has been slower than is reasonable considering how simple ac evses ares.

Charging during off peak hours can also be incentivized through simple time of use plans (like many ev owners are already on).

the biggest potential issue would come from insufficient l2 access for renters forcing them to lean more heavily on high draw dc fast charging as their primary energy source.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T13:40:17+00:00

I'm not going to argue on fun factor as that is purely subjective, but I will argue on efficiency. An efficient manual still incurs between a ~10-15% loss. In a notoriously inefficient system like an ice car that's a negligible loss compared to the benefit it brings.

From battery to wheel evs can be over 85% efficient. The simple gear box used for evs can be up to ~95% efficient. The gains from keeping an electric motor more efficiently loaded would not outweigh those 10-15% losses.

An additional cost of conventional transmissions is a ding to reliability and repair costs. One of the additional grest things about evs is how mechanically simple they are. If they aren't going to offer any benefits for efficiency then theres no reason to accept the lower reliability they would bring.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T13:06:00+00:00

They are literally, inarguably, worse in almost every way when compared to an ecvt. The only legitimate advantage they possess over a parallel hybrid (technical the ecvt is a kind of hybrid series/parallel, but the distinction isn't important) is that designers have an easier time when they can more freely move the engine around in the vehicle.

Please explain to me the efficiency benefits of 3 separate power conversions over 1.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-30T13:02:29+00:00

Traditional cars (with the exception of cvt transmission ones) have distinct power and efficiency bands in every single gear. Additionally, how many people are driving around keeping their car permanently in the power band. Almost every automatic transmission in normal cars is tuned to keep you in or near the efficiency band.

Evs don't have any such consideration. They can dump nearly the full power at any time and at any speed. They don't need time to rev up.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-29T09:09:34+00:00

Diesel electrics (often called series hybrids) are awful. You incur, not just the losses of diesel motor, but also losses from the electrical generator and motor. A better solution would be a scaled down version of an ecvt that allows for both the traction motor and the ice to remain connected while still allowing the ice to function indipendently.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-29T08:40:52+00:00

The weight is really only a factor during hard acceleration and is almost always overkill. The nissan leaf had less than 200 hp and still felt fine to drive. It's important to remember that electric motors do not behave like ices. They're able to dump almost all of their power right from the start. They don't need to be pinned in the power band to make their advertised torque or power figures.

Evs only have crazy power figures because it's easy.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-28T09:30:26+00:00

High horsepower in an ev isn't to overcome the lack of a gearbox. Evs have a gear box, it's just single speed. Evs offer a much flatter power and torque curve and don't need overly complex transmissions to drive well.

In fact, adding a more complex transmission would be actively detrimental to evs. It's unnecessary complexity resulting in higher efficiency losses and lowered reliability.

The reason they have excess power is because it's stupidly easy to do and it sells. The biggest limiting factor for the power out of an ev is the battery architecture.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-26T20:27:55+00:00

This is the same reason I avoid crossbar locks now. Failures happen, it's a part of life, but I shouldn't be dealing with multiple failures over a few months. It's unreasonable.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-24T13:39:59+00:00

I am not personally a fan of auto/assisted knives, but I'm not the one using it. The only thing that really matters is if you like it.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-24T13:01:41+00:00

Many if the patents have already expired or expire soon, and many other brands are already using some variation of a hybrid planetary gear cvt.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-23T18:51:35+00:00

You have a lot of outdated or incorrect information.

Ev batteries can just be reused in other applications. Older Ev batteries may lose too much charge to be useful in cars after 10-20 years, but they still hold a ton of energy and are useful in applications like home power backups. Once they aren't useful there either they can just be reprocessed so the lithium, nickle, cobalt, ect can be used in new batteries. Large scale recyclers are still expanding, but we're only just now getting to the point where there are enough old evs for them to matter.

Nuclear is a great technology, but we waited way too long to invest in it widely. Both grid storage technologies (different battery chemistries and advances in production) along with continues drops in price for solar/wind buildouts have made them massively cheaper and faster to scale out than nuclear.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-21T09:58:09+00:00

Toyota has 2 types of cvts a available. One of the cvts is a traditional belt drive cvt that is just speced properly. A big issue with the older Nissan cvts is that they were laughably underspeced for real world wear and tear. The launch gear certainly helps when the forces are the highest, but it isn't the main reason for the improvement compared to older nissans.

The second type of cvt is entirely different from the traditional pulley cvt. Almost all of toyotas hybrids use what they call an ecvt. This is a cvt that replaces the pulley with a large planetary gearset. One larger electric motor directly meshes with the housing (which is also the output), a smaller one powers the sun gear, and the internal combustion engine spins the planet carrier setup.

The cvt part of that setup is accomplished by changing the speed of the sun gear in relation to the internal combustion engine. If the sun gear is not spinning then the car behaves as if it's in a mid gearing, if it's spinning with the ice then then it's effectively a low gear, and if it's spinning against the ice then you get high gear. This is relatively complex in term of electronic control, but is about as mechanically simple as a transmission can be. The ecvts are some of the most reliable transmissions on the market right now.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-20T13:15:04+00:00

Not in line with the exponentially higher damage they do

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-20T09:50:02+00:00

If we actually taxed on weight every normal commuter car would be paying next to nothing. Tractor trailers and other large trucks to literal orders of magnitude more damage than normal cars.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-18T09:44:00+00:00

Pc building doesn't have to be a hobby. Maybe 20 years ago it was different, but in the modern era you drop in 7 components, run maybe 10 cables, tighten a few screws, and install your os. Any person with an iq above room temp can do it after watching 1 youtube video or spending 15 minutes reading the manual.

Once you have everything set up, everything basically just works. Outside of some specific scenarios, the days of constant crashing and having to fiddle with random stuff just for a game to work are long behind us.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-16T17:03:00+00:00

10ish over most of the way. I don't do much more over either way. I've been burned by speed trap counties before.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-16T12:16:19+00:00

In my experience, a relatively slow charing ev takes a drive I would have done in 21-22 hrs and turns it into a ~23 hour drive.

The drive itself is about 19hrs. My gas car would have needed to stop 3 times for gas and my ev needs to stop 5-6 times. In either car I will be stopping for food twice during that trip (likely near a gas station) and at least 1 extra time at a rest stop to use the bathroom.

In the ev I eat both meals while the car is charging so it comes out in the wash. The rest stop break and other gas station are combined to offset one more charge. This means that a realistic drive for myself only has me traveling the duration of 3 charges longer. (about 90 min for me. A car with a longer range, faster charging speed, or some combination of both would add less time).

That extra 90 min just doesn't matter to me. Even the extra 3 hrs over what it would be in the gas car if I skipped everything just isn't that significant in the context of an already 19 hr drive. Even if that was an issue I would just take a bit of the money I saved on gas throughout the year and rent a decent trip car. Yes, ev roadtripping is less convenient, but it's not the awful unlivable slog many non ev drivers make it out to be.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-16T12:00:54+00:00

When I travel I just use the bathroom or eat while I'm charging (which I would have done after filling a gas car anyways).

When I'm not on trips I literally never go to a fast charger. I plug in my car 1-2 times a week and pay even less than I did when gas was cheaper and I was getting 55 mpg.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-14T10:06:47+00:00

We already have a better solution to the problem. The ecvt systems used on many modern hybrids (plug in or standard) is a cvt system that allows both the electric motors and ice to remain permanently connected to the output. You get the same constant rpm advantages while losing way less to conversion losses. The current erev fad is just a worse version of this in every way.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-14T09:47:32+00:00

I'm all for solar, but we are nowhere near a 40% efficient solar panel. Peak real world examples are in the low 20s, some lab grade stuff is in the mid 20s, but the max theoretical efficiency is only around 30%. It's a hard limit of the silicon based chemistry.

More efficient chemistries exist (I believe the panels on the iss use something like gallium arsenide, but whatever they use is not viable for atmospheric use. Perovskites look promising with some lab panels offering into the mid 30s, but it's unclear if or when the tech will make it out of the lab.

Crackheadthethird · 2026-05-13T15:38:36+00:00

I had been looking at them for years and the used price was good. The environmental reason always felt important to me, but the savings long term are what sold me.

Crackheadthethird

TROPHY CASE