Volume 4: The World of Great Conflict Chapter 0365 Exploring New Energy
After having a picnic on Mount Hollywood, Nan Yi and the other two started to descend the mountain.
On the way , Scarlett suddenly said, "Adam, are we going to get into the automotive field?"
"Why are you suddenly talking about cars? Have you encountered an opportunity?" Nan Yi asked curiously.
"No, I just feel that, apart from agriculture, where we can be the industry leader, there seems to be no chance for other areas. So we can only take the path of decentralized development, get involved in various industries, and wait for a few years to see which areas we can continue to develop in.
Then we focus on the development of these areas, cut investment in other industries, and concentrate on the development of advantageous areas.
The automotive industry is a very important industry and one of the world's leading industries. It would be a pity if we didn't enter it."
"Tell me what you think."
“The privatization of Eagle Country has been going on for several years. Since last year, with the re-election of the Conservative Party and the strengthening of its majority in Parliament, the pace of privatization of Eagle Country has greatly accelerated.
Eagle State owns multiple brands including Jaguar, Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Rover, Land Rover, Lotus, MG, MINI and McLaren. Whether it is Rover, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Jaguar, Lotus or Land Rover, they all have their own engine research and development capabilities.
No matter which of these brands we take, we can gain a firm foothold in the automotive industry.
First gain a firm foothold, and then expand into other areas. In Europe, it is difficult for us to have opportunities, but we can go to Asia, to China. Isn’t China vigorously introducing automobile brands and technologies? We can establish joint ventures in China.
China has a large population, and if only one percent of the people can buy a car in the future, this will be a huge market with great potential.”
"It's a good , but whether it's the privatization of France or the United States, do you think they are serving foreign capital? No, they are serving their own country, trying to find a balance between capital, workers and the government.
Domestic capital may fight among itself, but it will never give foreign capital a chance.
Do you think you can get anything good by barging in there rashly?"
“Adam, is there something wrong with your understanding? When I say we, I’m not just referring to Pan Am, I’m also talking about Nan’s. If Pan Am can’t get in, does that mean Nan’s can’t get in either?
Haven't you already asked people to pay attention to that woman named Catherine Boleyn? Can't you use her to participate in the privatization reform of Eagle Country?"
"Oh, it's my fault for not changing your identity right away." Nan Yi slapped his forehead and said, "To be honest, I have thought about buying a small car brand, not to enter the automotive industry, but to build safe vehicles for ourselves.
However, this does not mean that I have no ideas about the automotive industry. I don’t have any ideas about fuel-powered cars. If it were twenty years earlier, I might have bought a car brand and then developed it slowly.
Now, the situation of several major auto brands competing with each other has been formed. It is difficult for us to break in and carve out a path, but this does not mean that we have no chance at all. "
"So what do you mean, going in or not?" Scarlett asked anxiously.
"Don't worry, let me continue." Nan Yi waved his hand and continued, "Both Scarlett Grain Group and Shennong Nanliang Grain Group have collected climate data from various places over the years.
Data show that the global climate has been warming since 1965, although the change is very slow. I have also asked people to contact climate observatories in the Arctic and Antarctic, and the melting speed of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic has been accelerating.
Do you know what this means?"
"What?"
“As the world warms, it will cause droughts in many parts of the world. When the land becomes dry, water resources will naturally evaporate.
First of all, this will cause the death of several cold-resistant animals. There is a food chain between animals. When one of them becomes extinct, it will lead to very serious consequences. The food chain will collapse, and other animals will become extinct one after another.
Moreover, as the world warms, prehistoric viruses frozen in glaciers may be released. When these viruses spread around the world, they may bring unpredictable consequences.
Even if we don't consider the problem of viruses and only consider water, once water resources become scarce and the land becomes dry, food crop yields will decrease. At that time, food will become a problem for most people.
People can live without cars, televisions, air conditioners, etc., and can live without clothes, but they cannot live without food and drink. It is precisely because of this understanding that I will focus our Nan family's main business on agriculture and animal husbandry.
If the problem of continued environmental deterioration is not solved, then we humans will have only two options: either find a way to leave the Earth and go to another planet where humans can survive and start a new life.
Or we can adapt and evolve to make ourselves adaptable to future climates.
But evolution always has a cycle. Within this cycle, what should we do and how should we survive?
We still need food and water, so I am conducting research on high-yield crops, alternative foods, soilless cultivation, and drought-resistant cultivation at the Fan Shengzhi Research Institute.
I even want to start research on photosynthesis directly. Plants produce starch and sugar through photosynthesis. Is it possible for us to directly convert the light and carbon dioxide in photosynthesis into energy that can replace food? "
"Adam, are you stupid? Your idea has a pseudo-scientific flavor. It's just like Stanley Myers who said he wanted to invent a water-powered car. Do you think it's possible?"
"You know what? Water-powered cars are really possible. However, it's not just about using water as fuel to drive the car. Didn't you return the physics and chemistry knowledge you learned in high school to your teacher?"
"Uh-huh, go ahead."
"Dad, are you trying to say that water can be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen can be burned to generate power?"
"Haha, our Ruoyin is really smart." Nan Yi first praised Nan Ruoyin, and then said: "Water itself cannot be used as fuel, but it can be converted into fuel or energy carrier, but this requires additional energy input. For example, we can electrolyze water to produce hydrogen, and we can also use metallic sodium to react with water to produce hydrogen.
We just need to add extra energy to the water. Although according to the laws of thermodynamics, the energy input from decomposing hydrogen from water far exceeds the energy output from burning hydrogen , it seems uneconomical now, but it does not mean that there will be no breakthroughs in the future. "
"Since there is energy to decompose hydrogen, why not just supply this energy to the car engine? Isn't this redundant?"
"Ha, your idea is great. Yes, why don't we supply energy directly to the car?" Nan Yi smiled and said, "Does Thomas Davenport know who he is?"
In 1834, Thomas Davenport of England built the first electric tricycle powered by dry batteries and a DC motor, but it had a short range and could not be recharged.
In 1838, Robert Davidson of the United States built the first electric car powered by dry cell batteries.
In 1847, the American Farmer built the first battery-powered trackless electric vehicle that could carry two people. He installed the electric motor on a wheeled vehicle, powered by 48 Grove batteries.
In 1881, French electrical engineer Truff built the world's first electric tricycle powered by lead-acid batteries. In the same year, he exhibited a functional electric tricycle at the International Electrical Exhibition held in Paris, which caused quite a stir.
In 1896, the Hartford Electric Light Company proposed laying out a charging infrastructure that would allow people to buy cars from General Electric and refuel by replacing batteries through the Hartford Electric Light Company.
The service ran from 1910 to 1924, helping electric car owners travel 6 million miles.
In 1897, brand new electric taxis began to take to the streets of New York City, marking the first commercial use of electric vehicles.
In 1899, German Ferdinand Porsche invented a hub motor to replace the chain drive commonly used in cars at that time. He then developed the Loner Porsche electric car, which used a lead-acid battery as a power source and was directly driven by the hub motor in the front wheel.
Later, he installed two hub motors on the rear wheels of the car, thus creating the world's first four-wheeled electric car.
In 1902, Ferdinand Porsche added an internal combustion engine to this electric car to generate electricity to drive the hub motor, which was also the world's first hybrid car.
In addition, he developed the first multi-functional full hybrid car - the Semper Vivus.
On this model, two generators are combined with the gasoline engine to form a charging unit that simultaneously supplies power to the wheel hub motors and the battery.
Compared with the internal combustion powered cars of the late 19th century, electric cars have many advantages except for their slightly lower speed, such as easy starting, no noise when the electric motor is working, no engine vibration and no unpleasant gasoline smell.
Moreover, the DC motor's high torque output at low speeds means that when used as a car power, it does not require a complex transmission system and is easy to operate. Therefore, electric vehicles have become a major development direction for motor vehicles.
In 1911, The New York Times described the electric car as perfect because it was more environmentally friendly, quieter, and more affordable than gasoline-powered cars.
From the late 19th century to the early part of this century, electric vehicles became popular in Europe and the United States and entered a stage of commercial development.
By 1912, more than 34,000 electric cars were registered in the United States alone, marking the heyday of early electric cars. By 1915, the number of electric cars in the country reached 50,000, and the market share of electric cars was 16% higher than that of internal combustion engine cars.
By the middle of the century, development of electric vehicle technology had largely stagnated until the end of World War II.
Since the 1930s, with the rapid advancement of oil extraction and refining and internal combustion engine technology, cars equipped with internal combustion engines are faster, with a sustainable cruising range of about three times that of electric vehicles on a single refueling, and have low operating costs.
However, due to the slow progress of battery technology, electric vehicles have difficulty competing with fuel vehicles in terms of performance and price. Around the 1940s, electric vehicles basically completely faded out of the market and entered a hibernation period.
In the 1970s, the Middle East oil crisis broke out, plunging the world into an oil shortage. People began to pay attention to cars with other power sources, and electric cars began to recover.
At this time, China first used fuel cells in aerospace as the main power source for space shuttles.
Since then, European and American countries have turned their research on fuel cells to civilian power generation and as a power source for automobiles, submarines, etc.
Well-known automobile companies have successively invested a lot of manpower and material resources to carry out the development and research of fuel cell electric vehicles.
Major automobile companies have joined the International Fuel Cell Alliance supported by Congress, and each company has taken on corresponding tasks to produce cars powered by new fuel cells.
With funding from the Department of Energy, General Motors has launched a car powered by a combination of proton exchange membrane fuel cells and batteries.
By now, the impact of the energy crisis has gradually dissipated, and the research and development of electric vehicles has progressed slowly.
So, Adam, have I given you enough information?"
"Wow, quite detailed. I have done some research on electric cars, but I have never organized them. You have explained the history of electric cars year by year very clearly."
"Of course, I have planned several issues on the history of electric vehicles, and I know all the information about electric vehicles." Scarlett raised her chin proudly and said, "So, what do you want to do when you mention Thomas Davenport? Don't tell me that you want to enter the electric vehicle field."
"Ahaha, very smart. Global warming will definitely attract the attention of countries around the world. 'New energy' will definitely become a global hot topic at some point. We will skip fuel vehicles and directly plan for the future.
As far as automobiles are concerned, there are only two feasible directions: one is hydrogen energy, and the other is electric energy. We bet on both. Whichever is more profitable and has better prospects, we will increase investment. "
"I don't understand hydrogen energy. Electric energy refers to batteries, right?"
"Yes, battery." Nan Yi nodded.
"So which one do you want to bet on, lead-acid batteries or lithium batteries?"
"Do I need to ask this question? Let's not talk about voltage, energy, and storage life. Let's just talk about pollution. Lithium batteries are more malleable. Why am I thinking about developing electric vehicles? Isn't it from the perspective of environmental protection?"
"So, your next step is to invest in lithium mines?"
"Smart." Nan Yi praised first, and then said: "But it is not comprehensive, I not only want to plan lithium mines, but also graphite mines.
Graphite oxide was discovered more than 100 years ago, and 26 years ago, someone found that graphite oxide could be obtained more efficiently by using a mixture of sodium nitrate, potassium permanganate and concentrated sulfuric acid.
Then graphene oxide was prepared inadvertently. If the word "oxide" in front of graphene is removed, it will be a brand new material that will revolutionize the industry.
Many people have speculated on the role of graphene. It can be used in battery electrode materials, semiconductor devices, sensors, capacitors, transistors, etc.
I don’t care about other things for now, but the battery electrode material alone is worth a gamble.”
In fact, it is possible that Nan Yi did not know the bright prospects of graphene. Before he traveled through time, some applications of graphene had already been invented, but they were not yet popularized.
Even if his generation will not see any returns on graphene, there will definitely be signs of it in his son's generation, and at the very least it should be widely used by his grandson's generation.
But leave an inch of land for your descendants to farm.
As a father and grandfather, Nan Yi had to leave behind a few gold mines for his descendants to mine. He had to leave behind a few "gold mines" for his descendants to dig.
He consumes oil himself and leaves new energy for his descendants to consume, which is good.
