2020年经济学人 让乌龟和兔子交配(4)

Bristling¹ to work

竖着工作

In tests with a number of unnamed battery companies, Dr Boulanger says VACNT electrodes achieved an energy density² of 500wh/kg in one battery and up to 1,400 watt-hours per litre in another. This is roughly double what a typical Li-ion battery can manage in terms of weight and volume respectively. "We have done that very easily," he adds, "so we believe there is more room for improvement."

布朗热博士称，在与一些未具名的电池公司的测试当中，VACNT电极在一种电池中达到了500wh/kg的能量密度，在另一种电池中则达到了每升1400瓦时的能量密度，这大概是普通锂离子电池在重量和体积上的两倍。他补充道：“这一点我们很容易就做到了，所以我们相信还有很大的改进空间。”

One firm that NAWA does admit to working with is Saft, a large batterymaker owned by Total, a French oil giant keen to diversify³ from fossil fuels. Among Saft's customers are several Formula 1 teams which use some electric power in their racing⁴ cars. Saft has also teamed up with PSA group, a big European carmaker, to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles.

NAWA承认有合作的一家公司是“帅福得”，“帅福得”是想要从化石燃料转向多元化的法国石油巨头道达尔旗下的一家大型电池制造商。Saft的客户包括几支F1车队，他们的赛车要使用电力。“帅福得”还与欧洲大型汽车制造商PSA集团合作，为电动汽车生产电池。

Naturally, the new device's success will depend on the cost of manufacturing it. NAWA is already constructing a mass-production line to make VACNT plates for its latest supercapacitors. The process used, which grows nanotubes on both sides of a roll of aluminium⁵ foil, would, says Ulrik Grape, NAWA's chief executive, transfer easily to an existing battery-production line and might even reduce battery-making costs. He expects the first versions of the supercapacitor-battery hybrids⁷ to be in production by 2023.

当然，新设备的成功将取决于它的制造成本。NAWA已经在建设一条大规模生产线，为其最新的超级电容器生产真空极板。NAWA的首席执行官葛卫凯称，这种在一卷铝箔的两面都种植纳米管的工序可以很容易转移到现有的电池生产线上，甚至有可能降低电池的制造成本。他预计第一代超级电容-电池混合动力车将于2023年投产。

Whether such hybrid⁶ storage will be able to compete with conventional Li-ions remains⁸ to be seen. Li-ion batteries have the advantage of incumbency⁹, and batterymakers have invested billions of dollars in huge "gigafactories" to turn them out in droves. Yet, for all the hype surrounding electric cars, doubts about Li-ions linger in many customers' minds. Range-anxiety, recharge rate and cost all combine to induce a hesitation¹⁰ to reach for the credit card. Mixing the spice of a supercapacitor with the stamina¹¹ of a battery might overcome at least the first two of these objections, and thus, at last, truly launch an era of carefree electric motoring.

这种混合储能技术是否能与传统锂离子电池竞争还有待观察。锂离子电池具备市场主导优势，电池制造商已经投资数十亿美元建立了巨大的“超级工厂”来对它们进行批量生产。然而，尽管对电动汽车的大肆宣传，对锂离子电池的疑虑仍萦绕在许多消费者的心中。里程焦虑、再充电速度和费用所有这些因素都会让消费者犹豫要不要买它。将超级电容器的爆发力和电池的耐力混合起来至少可以克服上述两个障碍，从而最终开启一个真正无忧无虑的电动汽车时代。

1 bristling   

a.竖立的

参考例句：

• "Don't you question Miz Wilkes' word,'said Archie, his beard bristling. "威尔克斯太太的话，你就不必怀疑了。 "阿尔奇说。他的胡子也翘了起来。
• You were bristling just now. 你刚才在发毛。

2 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

3 diversify   

v.（使）不同，（使）变得多样化

参考例句：

• Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
• Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。

4 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

5 aluminium   

n.铝 (=aluminum)

参考例句：

• Aluminium looks heavy but actually it is very light.铝看起来很重，实际上却很轻。
• If necessary, we can use aluminium instead of steel.如果必要，我们可用铝代钢。

6 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

7 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 incumbency   

n.职责，义务

参考例句：

• Every incumbency employee has his year-end bonus.所有的在职员工都可以领到年终奖金。
• Administrator ethic includes administrative incumbency and administrative conscience.行政人员伦理包括行政义务和行政良知。

10 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

11 stamina   

n.体力；精力；耐力

参考例句：

• I lacked the stamina to run the whole length of the race.我没有跑完全程的耐力。
• Giving up smoking had a magical effect on his stamina.戒烟神奇地增强了他的体力。