Quote:
Originally Posted by GrussGott
Definitely, however major retailers, grocery stores, strip malls, etc installing wireless charging will seriously impact most gas station locations ...
The business model depends on a small real estate footprint, usually near other places you're going like ... strip malls and retail but you also NEED gas! Further, the business model needs you to run in for milk, snacks, et al ... and it needs that at scale & high frequency and further, the gasoline refining & distribution business requires high scale, i.e., running lots of volume through a major metro ...
So the gas station financial crunch simultaneously hits them on both sides, demand AND supply:
* If consumers can wireless charge at the mall, why drive over to the gas station?
* Even if you do, for a quick trip, the gas station has a small real estate footprint, so it can only accommodate so many vehicles ... why not just park at the grocery store since you need snacks anyway? The only reason you combined errands was for the gas ... which you don't need anymore.
* And, You don't really need to charge anyway since you do it at home and Amazon, ubereats, and new autonomous delivery services are running most of your errands for you ... quick stops now = quick delivery
* With gas station visits down, gas stations start selling less gas AND less retail .. they have no choice but to raise prices on everything, that further pushes consumers away.
* As their gas sales go down, prices go up if only due to delivery costs as distributor stops diminish
* As gas stations start to close, convenience falls which reinforces the cycle.
And we could say, "well only for cities & suburbs though" except the supply side hits them the worst: rural gas will get really expensive! And, given their land, many will start to find solar a WAY cheaper and more convenient long-term solution ... and not just individuals, but communities - as in a rural area forms a solar / wind collective. Community solar has 100 startups ...
Gas stations are basically malls, or landline services, or cable companies, except x10: In those cases it's only demand that was killed ... in the case of energy it's both demand and supply that gets hammered and happens fast.
there's an old joke:
Q: How did you go bankrupt?
A: Slowly at first, and then all at once.
That's gonna be gas stations and anyone planning on selling an ICE vehicle.
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This makes the gross assumption that battery-energy storage vehicles are the answer. While humanity sometimes chooses the right technologies based on facts and logic, often that is not the case. Emotion, marketing and following the flock often take precedence. (think: fashion trends, pop music trends that are found to be awful years later, Nickleback)
The energy density of batteries has grown in recent years, but many people cannot comprehend the amount of energy needed and transfer rates necessary to achieve vehicle propulsion.
Ye-olden Ni-Cd batteries had an energy density of around 50Wh/kg. Current technology has this peaking around 265Wh/kg. While a 5.3x increase is tremendous, you need a log scale to touch the achievable output (not theoretical energy density of the fuel) of a hydrogen fuel cell at 33,600Wh/kg. For those keeping track at home, the achievable energy density output from a Hydrogen FCEV is 126.8 times as dense.
We have most of the infrastructure ready for hydrogen already. Will humanity choose it? Probably not. We're stupid creatures. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.