this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024
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Almost like we're still putting money into research to solve all those problems. Much of what you cite is overblown, and what remains valid isn't going to stay that way.
Edit: also, school buses need to support a lot of routes that are off the main roads. Tram or trolley systems are not feasible.
Most of what I cited applies to li-ion tech, and not sure what you mean by overblown, lithium fires are a nightmare and lithium doesn't grow on trees so we will run out of it. And recylcing is not a solution, we've seen how that works for much easier to recycle materials. The alternatives such as sodium batteries are even heavier due to lower power density. Imo there should be more research put into battery alternatives such as hydrogen cells.
As for school buses, wires may not be feasable, but the comment I replied to mentioned most buses not just school buses.
Not all lithium chemistries have fire issues, and lithium isn't the only chemistry on the horizon. Oceanic lithium sources are basically indefinite--there's more than we would have a use for. There are also alternative extraction methods that open up more economical sources ("mineral reserve" means the economically exractable sources, not the complete total amount).
Recycling products like this will work when there's scale to justify it, which there will be in about a decade. In fact, we don't necessarily need to fully recycle it. Cells that are no longer useful for cars can still be useful for general storage, so we'd reuse rather than recycle.
Hydrogen is a dead end. Inefficient and would require a totally separate and unnecessary set of infrastructure from battery charging. Why pay for two sets when one will do?
If you're using an argument against EVs that's repeated on the right, it's almost always bullshit. If it's an argument unique to the left, such as how cars have created terrible cities and EVs don't fix that, it's on much better ground. That's not relevant to busses, however.