Electric vehicles (EVs) are our best bet for the post oil world. That is if the battery problem can be overcome. And recent developments suggest that that may be happening. One of the advantages of EVs is that emissions can be controlled at a relatively small number of generating plants rather than in every vehicle; there is no need for catalytic converters and other pollution-control equipment in every vehicle. Another advantage is that they can be re-charged at home during times of off-peak electrical usage. And electricity can be generated using wind, nuclear, hydro, solar, etc.
Of course many think of upgraded golf carts or moon buggies when EVs are mentioned. Well rest assured; not all EVs are this strange:
So if you're interested in seeing some photos and specs promising EVs, and learning about a huge new leap in battery technology, go below the fold.
One of the most exciting developments comes from Subaru. Fuji Heavy Industries, Subaru's parent company, is developing a car with Tokyo Electric Power Co. The 10 prototypes will be based on Subaru's R1 city car. This EV has a range of only 50 miles, but the amazing part is that it can be recharged only 15 minutes; that's right -- 15 minutes. The secret to the short recharge time is the recently developed batteries from NEC Lamillion Energy Co., Ltd.
Here's the story from Subaru's New Zealand site
Toshiba has also developed fast charging lithium-ion batteries. They recharge 60 times faster than normal lithium-ion batteries. Toshiba says that these babies can recharge to 80 percent of a battery's energy capacity in only one minute. Wow. From Toshiba's site :
The new battery fuses Toshiba's latest advances in nano-material technology for the electric devices sector with cumulative know-how in manufacturing lithium-ion battery cells. A breakthrough technology applied to the negative electrode uses new nano-particles to prevent organic liquid electrolytes from reducing during battery recharging. The nano-particles quickly absorb and store vast amount of lithium ions, without causing any deterioration in the electrode.
The excellent recharging characteristics of new battery are not its only performance advantages. The battery has a long life cycle, losing only 1% of capacity after 1,000 cycles of discharging and recharging, and can operate at very low temperatures. At minus 40 degrees centigrade, the battery can discharge 80% of its capacity, against 100% in an ambient temperature of 25 degree centigrade).
Toshiba will bring the new rechargeable battery to commercial products in 2006. Initial applications will be in the automotive and industrial sectors, where the slim, small-sized battery will deliver large amounts of energy while requiring only a minute to recharge. For example, the battery's advantages in size, weight and safety highly suit it for a role as an alternative power source for hybrid electric vehicles.
Another neat EV development is Mitsubishi's
announcement that it will market EVs in 2010. But what's even cooler is that they'll have the motors in the wheels. 4wd should be standard.
Hybrid Technologies recently announced that it has begun producing an electric version of the Smart Car According to Treehugger. The electric Smart car will have a range of over 120 miles per charge (at highway speeds), and it should take 10 hours to recharge the 30kWh battery pack with the 3,000W charger, or 6 hours with the optional 5,000W charger.
A Korean company, GEO EV, has introduced a four-passenger EV that can travel 299 km per $1.00 recharge. The vehicle is powered by a lithium polymer battery and electric motor jointly developed by local battery specialists Kokam and VK, and its frame is produced by the French small car maker MC. "Tests of the GEO EV1 show that the car can run 250 km on a single three-hour recharge," GEO EV chief Chun Hyeong-min said. "It hit top speeds of 120 kmph (75mph), with top horsepower at 35." It plans to start mass-producing the GEO EV1 next year. The GEO EV1 will cost about $25,000.
Even the Chinese are building EVs. TianJin QingYuan Electric Vehicle Company announced that it has shipped six of its Happy Messenger electric autos to the US. Green Car Congress says the Happy Messenger's message may foretell the future of cheap EVs:
The Happy Messenger is not going to wow buyers. It is rather slow, and has a limited range (although certainly sufficient for in-city excursions). Nevertheless, the basics are all there, functional and developed indigenously.
In 1972 (or thereabouts), other Asian firms (Japanese, that time) sent over odd, clunky-looking little vehicles that were timed perfectly for the onset of the oil crisis. The rapid shift in buyer demand from large, gas-swilling American cars to fuel-parsimonious Japanese compacts was dramatic, and provided the salient into the US market the Japanese manufacturers needed. Once given that toehold, the manufacturers rapidly improved their offerings--and their marketshare. And now look where we are today.
In this market, it's certainly not a foregone conclusion that China will be able to replicate the Japanese reshaping of the US auto market. (That said, the lower cost of labor in China makes it likely that Chinese-made vehicles (especially small vehicles) will be sold in the US--by US-based vendors if not by Chinese. Both outcomes are already being openly discussed.)
But the concentration on the electric powertrain and the necessary support systems (power management, energy storage, etc.) will give Chinese engineers a broader base of experience. Experience that is also applicable in hybrids and fuel cell vehicles. When another opening in the market appears as did in the 1970s, it's quite likely that Chinese manufacturers will push to step into that breach. And they may do it partly with electric vehicles.
And remember that bizarre EV above the fold? It's called a Pivo. Which sounds just like the Polish word for beer. Is that what they were drinking? In any case, here's what the Nissan press release says:
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., today unveiled Pivo, its imaginative electric car concept, in partnership with renowned Japanese artist Takashi Murakami at the company's Nissan Ginza Gallery in downtown Tokyo.
Pivo, which will be on display at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, features an innovative cabin that revolves 360 degrees, eliminating the need to reverse. Thanks to its compact body, the car is also exceptionally easy to maneuver.
The three-seater car comes with a number of user-friendly technologies, including Nissan's Around View Monitor which reduces blind spots by displaying the outside surroundings on screens mounted on the inside of the car's A-pillars located on either side of the windshield. A dash-mounted infrared (IR) commander allows the driver to operate the navigation and stereo systems with simple finger movements without letting go of the steering wheel.
Two wheeled EVs are also evolving quickly and practical examples are already on the market. Have a look at this Scooter from Hybrid Technologies, Inc . It'll do 25mph and as a range of 50 miles. Just the thing for scooting around town.
Yamaha is launching a second generation electric scooter as well, showing a strange prototype of a 2wd electric adjust-to-fit dirt bike, I think. Go to their Tokyo Motor Show press release if you like weird bikes (including some fuel-cell and hybrid versions).
If you need more performance from your scooter there is the Vectrix electric maxi-scooter. It does 62mph and has a 70 mile range. An 80 percent recharge takes just over two hours. Were it not for the price, about 8400 Euros (yes, they'll be sold in the US) this would be an ideal around-town vehicle.
Practical EVs are starting to arrive. Perhaps the average American wouldn't want one as an only car. But as a second or commuter car existing models would get the job done. And consider that `filling up' an EV costs between one and two cents per mile per mile. A small car getting 35mpg would cost $0.09 per mile with fuel at $3.00 per gallon.
My tin foil hat theory of why BushCo is pushing hydrogen cars, rather than electric, goes like this: Consider that EV cars can be recharged at home, and the required electricity could be generated using renewable methods. Charging stations along roads, like gas stations, would be easy and inexpensive to build, no expensive pipelines, storage tanks, or tanker trucks required. Contrast this with hydrogen, which requires all that stuff and more. With EVs, big oil companies get left completely out of the loop. Bye-bye to the GOP's best buddies. Maybe that's not such a crazy theory after all.
But before anyone starts thinking that we'll be motoring along as usual in EVs after peak oil, think about how much energy can be generated by renewable methods. It won't be a fraction of what's been available from oil. And it'll cost a to build the necessary infrastructure. We'll still be driving, but it won't be as far and as often.
This only scratches the surface of what's going on in the EV world. If this diary gets a lot of interest I'll post part two later.