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TIL a fleet of electric taxi cars was first introduced to London, UK in 1897
(en.wikipedia.org)
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this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2023
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Imagine if development of these electric vehicles continued back then - the internal combustion engine would've been rendered all but obsolete.
And we would've had a future
Doubtful. Internal Combustion engines took off well before the petroleum industry was obscenely wealthy. Coal/Railroad had a vested interest in keeping cars as a rich person toy rather then as something to build a society around. ICE powered by Oil/Kerosene was and IS much more energy dense then batteries were then, and are today. You have more energy per unit volume in a gallon of gas then even the most exotic batteries. That directly translates to more power, more distance, and more opportunity for miniaturization.
I reckon primarily the energy density and the convenience of merely filling up. Electric cars would not have had the raw power and ease of combustion engines. At least battery tech has now caught up.
Yea the liquid form factor is certainly a huge advantage as well.
Shell and BP
If nothing else, they would've faced the same limitations with battery capacity as we are today.