Island News & Views
General · 2nd November 2008
Ray Grigg
The electric car is coming. And this new technology will reshape the automotive industry and the way we think about energy and travel.
Some of these electric vehicles (EVs) are already on the market. The Zenn car (zero emissions, no noise) – about $16,000 and mostly sold in California – is now appearing in Canada as provinces and cities relax regulations to accommodate them. (Quebec is allowing them throughout the province on a three-year trial period and BC is permitting them at the discretion of individual municipalities. Vancouver and Oak Bay in Victoria have approved their use.) The Norwegians have an electric car called the Think City that is ready for production. And the Israelis have a project, Better Place, that is developing an entire network of electric plug-in and battery exchange sites to support thousands of Nissan-Renault EVs.
In North America, General Motors is giving high profile to the Chevy Volt, due on the market in 2010. Chrysler is expected to have from one to four EVs on the market the same year. Ford will be marketing at least one plug-in hybrid. Honda has a new hybrid model coming on the market but also has approval to sell a fuel-cell model – the electricity produced by the fuel-cell runs electric motors that drive the wheels. And Toyota is upgrading a version of its Prius to a plug-in hybrid EV. The Zenn car company expects to be selling a 2010 model that will hit 125 km/hr and travel 400 km between charges. Tesla, a Californian company, is on the verge of selling a high performance, fully electric sports car for $100,000 but expects to have a $30,000 sedan in three years that will travel nearly 500 km on a single charge.
If the technology seems complicated, here are definitions for the three basic types of electric cars. Hybrids, the cars presently on the market, are usually powered by a gasoline engine that is coupled to battery-powered electric motors. Depending on driving conditions, the car alternates between the two power sources or may even use both. These cars can run short distances on battery power alone – the batteries are charged by storing energy from decelerating and braking but can also be charged by the large gasoline motor. Plug-in hybrids are powered only by electric motors with electricity from a battery. The battery can be recharged by plugging the car into regular house current or by a small, on-board gasoline engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery during extended travel. The fully electric vehicles, the third type, are powered only by batteries that must be recharged by plugging into electrical outlets or by replacing the discharged battery with a freshly charged one.
Each type of vehicle has its advantages and disadvantages. The hybrids, while more efficient than conventional gasoline and most diesel powered vehicles, still consume relatively large amounts of fossil fuel and emit carbon dioxide along with other pollutants.
The plug-in hybrids have a somewhat limited range – at an expected price of $40,000, the Volt will travel about 65 km on its battery alone before needing more electrical power from the electrical grid or its gasoline engine. Since most driving is only about 80 km per day and 99% of driving is less than 320 km, these cars may be able to go for protracted periods without using any gasoline. When the on-board engine does start, it can be run at maximum efficiency for the explicit purpose of recharging the battery, another saving in fuel and emissions.
The fully electric vehicle is the most promising option, if technology can solve the problem of limited battery power – refinement is increasing the storage capacity of existing battery design about 8-9% per year. Recharging the battery by an over-night plug-in to the existing electrical grid has the advantage of using surplus electricity when demand is low. Such charging from the grid can also utilize renewable power sources such as wind, tidal and geothermal, making these energy sources more practical while reducing fossil fuel pollution – even cars charged with electricity from dirty coal-fired plants would produce less net pollution than conventional gasoline powered vehicles. Also, centralizing power sources allows for much more control of emissions than dispersed sources such as millions of individual cars.
Battery technology remains the single largest barrier to the success of the electric car. The electric motors themselves are powerful and efficient. Norway's Think City, a fully operational vehicle with a top speed of 100 km/hr and a range of 180 km, will sell for about $20,000 without the battery. But the battery would boost the price to about $35,000 ‹ the compromise solution is to buy the car and lease the battery at $150 to $200 per month. Virtually every electric car is awaiting a battery that is easily built, holds adequate power, can be recharged quickly and is not prohibitively expensive. This is where international research is proceeding at a furious pace.
The prospects are promising. Nissan, in conjunction with the Japanese electronics giant, NEC, has developed a high powered lithium-ion battery that is half the size of the previous generation and holds twice the power. The new generation of fuel-cells are 3.4 times more powerful than the former ones. Governments are tightening some regulations to reduce fossil fuel emissions, loosening others to allow electric vehicles on roads, offering tax concessions to cleaner power, and funding research. EEStor, a company linked to Zenn cars, is promising a battery that will be 90% lighter than conventional types, can be charged in minutes and will work equally well in hot or cold climates.
The automotive world is electric with the promise of electric vehicles. But the sobering reality is that 887 million conventional cars are already on the planet's roads – in four years, the number is expected to be a billion. And three billion additional consumers in India, China and Brazil could be buying cars by 2030. That's a lot of cars to build or convert. While the industry is pondering the prospects for profit, anyone else with a bit of environmental awareness should be both expectant and apprehensive.
Some of these electric vehicles (EVs) are already on the market. The Zenn car (zero emissions, no noise) – about $16,000 and mostly sold in California – is now appearing in Canada as provinces and cities relax regulations to accommodate them. (Quebec is allowing them throughout the province on a three-year trial period and BC is permitting them at the discretion of individual municipalities. Vancouver and Oak Bay in Victoria have approved their use.) The Norwegians have an electric car called the Think City that is ready for production. And the Israelis have a project, Better Place, that is developing an entire network of electric plug-in and battery exchange sites to support thousands of Nissan-Renault EVs.
In North America, General Motors is giving high profile to the Chevy Volt, due on the market in 2010. Chrysler is expected to have from one to four EVs on the market the same year. Ford will be marketing at least one plug-in hybrid. Honda has a new hybrid model coming on the market but also has approval to sell a fuel-cell model – the electricity produced by the fuel-cell runs electric motors that drive the wheels. And Toyota is upgrading a version of its Prius to a plug-in hybrid EV. The Zenn car company expects to be selling a 2010 model that will hit 125 km/hr and travel 400 km between charges. Tesla, a Californian company, is on the verge of selling a high performance, fully electric sports car for $100,000 but expects to have a $30,000 sedan in three years that will travel nearly 500 km on a single charge.
If the technology seems complicated, here are definitions for the three basic types of electric cars. Hybrids, the cars presently on the market, are usually powered by a gasoline engine that is coupled to battery-powered electric motors. Depending on driving conditions, the car alternates between the two power sources or may even use both. These cars can run short distances on battery power alone – the batteries are charged by storing energy from decelerating and braking but can also be charged by the large gasoline motor. Plug-in hybrids are powered only by electric motors with electricity from a battery. The battery can be recharged by plugging the car into regular house current or by a small, on-board gasoline engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery during extended travel. The fully electric vehicles, the third type, are powered only by batteries that must be recharged by plugging into electrical outlets or by replacing the discharged battery with a freshly charged one.
Each type of vehicle has its advantages and disadvantages. The hybrids, while more efficient than conventional gasoline and most diesel powered vehicles, still consume relatively large amounts of fossil fuel and emit carbon dioxide along with other pollutants.
The plug-in hybrids have a somewhat limited range – at an expected price of $40,000, the Volt will travel about 65 km on its battery alone before needing more electrical power from the electrical grid or its gasoline engine. Since most driving is only about 80 km per day and 99% of driving is less than 320 km, these cars may be able to go for protracted periods without using any gasoline. When the on-board engine does start, it can be run at maximum efficiency for the explicit purpose of recharging the battery, another saving in fuel and emissions.
The fully electric vehicle is the most promising option, if technology can solve the problem of limited battery power – refinement is increasing the storage capacity of existing battery design about 8-9% per year. Recharging the battery by an over-night plug-in to the existing electrical grid has the advantage of using surplus electricity when demand is low. Such charging from the grid can also utilize renewable power sources such as wind, tidal and geothermal, making these energy sources more practical while reducing fossil fuel pollution – even cars charged with electricity from dirty coal-fired plants would produce less net pollution than conventional gasoline powered vehicles. Also, centralizing power sources allows for much more control of emissions than dispersed sources such as millions of individual cars.
Battery technology remains the single largest barrier to the success of the electric car. The electric motors themselves are powerful and efficient. Norway's Think City, a fully operational vehicle with a top speed of 100 km/hr and a range of 180 km, will sell for about $20,000 without the battery. But the battery would boost the price to about $35,000 ‹ the compromise solution is to buy the car and lease the battery at $150 to $200 per month. Virtually every electric car is awaiting a battery that is easily built, holds adequate power, can be recharged quickly and is not prohibitively expensive. This is where international research is proceeding at a furious pace.
The prospects are promising. Nissan, in conjunction with the Japanese electronics giant, NEC, has developed a high powered lithium-ion battery that is half the size of the previous generation and holds twice the power. The new generation of fuel-cells are 3.4 times more powerful than the former ones. Governments are tightening some regulations to reduce fossil fuel emissions, loosening others to allow electric vehicles on roads, offering tax concessions to cleaner power, and funding research. EEStor, a company linked to Zenn cars, is promising a battery that will be 90% lighter than conventional types, can be charged in minutes and will work equally well in hot or cold climates.
The automotive world is electric with the promise of electric vehicles. But the sobering reality is that 887 million conventional cars are already on the planet's roads – in four years, the number is expected to be a billion. And three billion additional consumers in India, China and Brazil could be buying cars by 2030. That's a lot of cars to build or convert. While the industry is pondering the prospects for profit, anyone else with a bit of environmental awareness should be both expectant and apprehensive.