Though the title may seem strange for many readers, in fact it rests in the heart of a big issue, which is the future of oil.
Why and how?
One of the big challenges, after oil will be to sustain the aviation sector, because so far, the world could not and have not developed a reliable, feasible and efficient electric plane, that can carry heavy loads and travel long distances. The main obstacle to that is having the right battery technology.
Current battery technology, hardly can fly a small plane for a short distance, at very high cost. To be able to fly a heavy, loaded plane for long distances (thousands of miles), it is essential to reduce the weight and cost of the battery, so improve what is called the battery “power density” which is how much energy you can store per unit of weight. Furthermore, we need to reduce the dollar per power stored. Furthermore, the battery charging time need to be reduced, which is still a big challenge. Hence, unless we give this issue the right priority in all current research and development programs, at the academia and in the industry, we will face a world without aviation.
Can you imagine this and its impact on the world; trade, tourism, economy and so many other things?
In my views, the battery which is a forgotten item in our daily life with little or no attention, will become one of our life’s masters.