BBC/PixabayA man has invented a revolutionary car battery which will allow drivers to drive 1,500 miles before recharging their battery; four times more than the industry’s top model.
As well as fuelling electric cars, this innovative new battery can also be used to power buses, lorries and even certain types of aircraft.
The inventor behind the battery is former Royal Navy officer Trevor Jackson, an ingenious British engineer who has just signed a multi-million-pound deal to begin large scale manufacture in the UK.
BBCBeginning next year, Essex-based engineering firm Austin Electric will begin to put thousands of these clever batteries into their vehicles.
Austin’s CEO, Danny Corcoran told the MailOnline the new technology is a ‘game-changer’:
It can help trigger the next industrial revolution. The advantages over traditional electric vehicle batteries are enormous.
This battery is reportedly way simpler and cheaper to manufacture than batteries currently in use in millions of electric vehicles worldwide and can be easily recycled.
Furthermore, swapping a battery takes just 90 seconds, with Corcoran and Jackson said to be in ‘advanced discussions’ with two major supermarkets to provide this facility.
PAJackson told the MailOnline:
Everyone knows that if we are really going to hit the Government’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, the hardest nut to crack is transport,
We’re just not going to do that with lithium-ion. Apart from anything else, it’s no use for trucks, which burn vast amounts of fossil fuel.
I know we are battling ferocious vested interests but the technological and environmental advantages of aluminium-air are overwhelming – and Britain has a chance to become the world leader in it.
Jackson and his company Metalectrique Ltd came up with this invention more than ten years ago. However, they have come up against repeated resistance from those in the traditional automobile industry.
According to Jackson, motor manufacturers even went as far as to lobby the Foreign Office to have the green invention banned from official events.
PexelsThese attempts to shun this innovative technology proved futile. Not only has Jackson secured the Austin deal, he has received an additional £108,000 ($140,237) grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, a partner of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
As of next year, Austin will launch conversion kits which will transform ordinary petrol- or diesel-run cars into hybrid vehicle. This will cost an approximate £3,500 and will allow drivers to choose between electricity and fossil fuels.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.