Yes, while you are pondering the ins & outs of various fuel cells,
Saudi/Iran tensions, here is a bit of news that is back down to earth.

But, Moody’s also added several large oil companies to that list of
possible credit downgrades, including Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:
RDS.A), Statoil (NYSE: STO), and Total (NYSE: TOT). “Even under a
scenario with a modest recovery from current prices, producing
companies will experience much lower cash flows. Today's review for
downgrade considers that much weaker industry fundamentals have
potential to warrant rating changes” for those companies, Moody’s
wrote in a press release.

This is another pointer to problems in the industry after Shell
selling assets such as Woodside just to pay dividends.

Rhosty,
charge a 500km vehicle battery in 4 seconds ?
You would need a three phase supply with cables as thick as your leg.
Bit difficult for a curbside charger.
Either that or a 132 Kilovolt supply. A bit nasty curbside.
Think what that would do to the street's supply if it was in your garage !

Adian so you think graphene lets a few protons through? Given we are just talking about something occurring at a molecular level, not an atomic one, that is hard to fathom.

Unless you have a smidgen of science and are just intent on attacking those who just might have some science based ideas or knowledge. Everything you say starts with what makes you think hostile challenge!

All the more reason simply to ignore your crackpot or troll like input in matters scientific or economic, and just crack on looking after our own best interests! Which may include mining the reef!

And let the Russians, little more than a nation of murderous gangsters, drowning in unsold and expensive oil/gas, please themselves, always providing they're willing to pay the ultimate price.

Bazz, you also misrepresent my written for anybody else to see remarks.

I said 0 to 100 is something I've read as the current top posible 0 to 100 4 second acceleration for an electric powered vehicle.

And proposed the inclusion of graphene could reduce the recharge time to around five minutes. And then to just 80%, Which as common practise would vastly extend the battery life.

We here in Australia have copious natural gas from many sources, instead of exporting it all for very little return to us, to prop up the interests of foreigners, we should keep/use some here.

And given a more robust low cost polymer based fuel cell. Use it to power locally manufactured gas powered ceramic cell driven hybrid electric vehicles. I reckon they'd sell like hot cakes in china and elsewhere that has similar smog problems?

Given the ceramic fuel cell produces mostly pristine water vapor as the exhaust product, we would have eliminated one source of carbon production and enabled a reasonably fast refill of CNG. Add in autonomy (Happening now) and vast distances could be covered even as you catnapped and arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed

Incidently we already have batteries/capacitators that charge and discharge quite rapidly.

Moreover, carry enough useable charge to quite significantly improve the current range of the electric vehicle.

Ordinary folks have had their fill of the machiavellian machinations of members of the oil supply industry; and are looking at all other options that will finally separate the cold, clutching dead hand grasp on their economic short and curlies, by the rapacious oil industry!

Who as you would expect are fighting back with a mountain of misinformation.

Rhosty said;
I'm predicting that a combination lithium cobalt Graphene battery will
more than double the current range of the electric vehicle. Which
currently seems to be nudging 500 klms.

And I expect the 0 to 100 in 4 seconds for the tesla electric vehicle,
to also be past history with these potentially lighter and more
powerful batteries.

Sorry, I thought you were saying a discharge to 100% charge in 4 secs !

How is the life of fuel cells going ?
My son's father-in-law, Managing director of Dennis said their
experiments with buses worked OK but the lifetime was too short so
they were uneconomical. He said Mercedes had the same result.
That is back 2 or 3 years.

Well, when the pollies have to go by train to Canberra and walk from
the hotel to parliament, or ride a horse, then they will start drilling the reef.

Thanks for that Bazz. It might be of some interest, but the federal government ordered a seismic survey of the area of interest in the "reef" and when they got the results, back then, promptly buried them.

Strange if there was nothing to see?

In any event I've seen what is purported to be a leaked copy,(not every pollie is sucking up to the greens) which shows a geological feature where the Townsville trough would lie, and given the size, an estimated 5 billion barrels could be very conservative indeed, and there other larger geological features a little further out; which may have given rise to the published claim that we could have more hydrocarbon resources (verbatim) to our immediate north than the entire known reserves of thee middle east!

In any event a few relatively harmless drill holes would settle the matter indefinitely!

I think it is just a question of time before those technically clever Germans sort out our ceramic fuel cell, so we can use it in CNG hybrid electric vehicles, probably mercs?

And sad really, given we invented the thing and had there been a smidgen of government backing we could be the ones earning the possible future millions.

But par for the investment shy visionless and excuse making national government of any color or political persuasion.

Hence we lurch from one financial crisis to another given we still haven't got the wit to invest in our better ideas or people, or limit our involvement, when what we should be doing is bringing them to a commercial reality!

Rhosty,
The Super capacitors have a future in electric cars but I think it will
only to improve efficiency. By smoothing out the discharge rate of
the battery could reduce internal heat and simulate lower internal
resistance on peak demands.

I am also convinced that the politicians are the biggest obstacle we
have to get things done. My MHR is a minister and he believes the
service industries do not use energy !
He also admits that cabinet considered buying US nuclear submarines
but decided on 12 diesel subs instead.
He does not believe we might have a fuel problem in the event of
hostile military activity that needed submarines.
We do have firm commercial arrangements !

I read an article by Colin Campbell in which he explained that most
areas that are the best prospects are known and that they are
in areas where the earths plates intersect.
If I remember correctly it was because as one plate moves over another
great heat and pressure is generated. Just what is needed to make oil.

cheers