not at all. in fact, i said their (comparatively) low energy density is what makes them safe. that low energy density is a problem for range, places a lower bound on the size of vehicle, and somehow fixing that issue will make battery storage a far less safe option.
> There's nothing inherent about battery energy density that makes them more dangerous.
yes, their absolutely is - gasoline requires air to burn. batteries store energy, and they can discharge that energy without any other materials: a battery could burn in space.
> What makes LiPo/Li-ion unsafe is that they have a flammable liquid electrolyte in the middle.
well its the combination of the electrolyte and the metals that make the battery the battery, it wouldn't be battery without it.
> EVs, even with LiPo/Li-ion, are FAR safer than ICE vehicles, there's just no competition.
indeed, and i don't disagree. i think you may have misunderstood what i was trying to say about about safety here: i'm not trying to suggest that gasoline vehicles are inherently safer, at all. i'm saying that if you were to create a battery technology that was even 10x more energy dense, i.e. 10MJ/kg, you'd have great difficulty in making that vehicle safe.
> But the fire department here in Norway say they already have the needed training/experience, and make it clear that EVs are far better for fire safety in general.
once the battery has started burning, it has basically inextinguishable. "clear the area" is the only option you'd have.
> As for your points on whether they're better for longer distance, personal journeys.. I mean, yeah.. at some point they are. If you're driving 1000km in a day I'd definitely agree. But how many people do that often?
in Europe? probably not much. in the US? India? Pakistan?
> [...] For most people the range of EVs is good enough, even for long trips.
likely true, and, as i mentioned, EVs have a place.
> Almost every single road-trip charging session for me has been: 1. spend 30 seconds plugging in and beeping the payment card (with Tesla you don't even have to do this). 2. walk into a restaurant/cafe/grocery store and take a pee, drink some coffee, buy groceries for the trip, etc.. 3. come back to a fully charged car
well there's a couple of issues there - adding 30/45 minutes to a journey like that might not be suitable for everyone. traumatic charge rates (above 4C) are not good for the battery, too.
> The only reason you need that expertise with ICE drivetrain is because it's so hard to maintain.
well even the linked video states that this isn't really the case these days for ICE vehicles, a point i largely agree with.
regardless, if gasoline could be recovered from the atmosphere - closing the CO2 cycle - what would be so bad about this? as it stands, with EVs alone, we're pushing the costs of a complete infrastructure change over to individuals. sure, government assistance might help us here in the west, but that's not the world a lot of people live in.