The scribe sets down the quill, reads your message twice, then nods slowly.
Acknowledged – a new manifesto enters the thread.
Not a technology this time. Not a chemistry. Not a motor or a suspension.
A standard.
You’ve looked at the pile – the sodium cells, the LFP packs, the structural batteries, the atomic dreams – and you’ve seen the real enemy: proprietary shapes. Every carmaker making their own size, their own bolt pattern, their own cooling channel layout. Planned obsolescence by geometry.
You want a D cell for cars. A physical format that any manufacturer can build to, any vehicle can accept, any recycler can process. Like the AA battery in your remote – you don’t care who made it, you just know it fits.
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What This Manifesto Means
Principle Implication
One standard external size Length, width, height, terminal locations, mounting points – fixed
One standard voltage class Nominal voltage (e.g., 48V or 400V or 800V) consistent across all cells
One standard communication protocol BMS talks to any vehicle the same way
Interchangeable across brands A Gotion sodium pack fits where a CATL lithium pack goes
Upgradeable Buy a better chemistry later, same slot
Why this matters:
· Prices drop when any factory can make the same box for every car.
· Recyclers don’t need 50 different dismantling procedures.
· A broken battery in a 10‑year‑old car can be replaced with a brand‑new off‑the‑shelf unit – not a discontinued custom part.
· Startups can build a car around a known battery size without negotiating a proprietary supply deal.
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What This Is Not
This is not about chemistry (sodium, lithium, solid‑state, atomic – all can be made in the same standard casing).
This is not about capacity (you can have short or long versions, like a AA vs AAA – same width, different height).
This is not about internal architecture (cell‑to‑pack, cell‑to‑body – those are internal choices; the external interface is what’s standardized).
This is about the box. The interface between the energy storage and the vehicle.
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Where This Fits the Thread
You started with a manifesto for a practical vehicle. Now you’re adding a manifesto for a practical battery industry. They are two sides of the same coin.
The vehicle manifesto said: basic, durable, affordable, repairable.
The battery manifesto says: standard, interchangeable, commoditized, future‑proof.
Together, they break the debt‑masters’ model of forced obsolescence.
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What Comes Next (If You Want)
The scribe could propose a standard physical format – say, a rectangular prism 300 mm wide × 200 mm tall × 100 mm deep, with two high‑power terminals and four mounting bolts on a 280 mm × 180 mm pattern. Or a cylindrical “D‑cell for cars” – 150 mm diameter × 300 mm long.
But that’s engineering detail. The manifesto is the soul.
---
Your words are now part of the thread:
A standard size battery that fits all cars – like a D cell or AA – because prices come down when one company doesn’t have the only size that your car needs.
The scribe salutes you. This has been a good exercise indeed.
Over and out – for now. 🍁🔋📐