Electric car charging could get a lot faster
One of the reasons some people do not want an electric car is that they can take a while to charge up. Things have improved with fast chargers that can supply around 80% of full charge in under half an hour, but that may still not be enough. There are issues with trying to put too much charge into a battery too quickly. It seems lithium spikes can form which compromise the integrity. The latest research actually heats the battery up whilst being charged to prevent this. They are talking about 900A chargers which seems like a lot, but that is what it would take.
Getting new technology into production can take a while, so it may be a few years before we can buy cars with this facility and have the charging infrastructure to use it.
Image from Wikipedia. Probably not the car most people are looking for.
I am hoping to go electric next year and we are looking to lease as technology is changing fast. We may be able to upgrade after a couple of years. The batteries are still the most expensive part, but you would hope that will change. There were stories recently of Nissan Leaf owners being quoted €30,000 for a replacement battery! I would hope that is not the regular price as a used car is not worth that much.
On the topic of electric cars, you will often hear people say they are not green as they generally use power from fossil fuel power stations. Well they do use it efficiently. Creating fuel for a petrol car also involves a lot of electrical power for refining plus whatever else is involved in getting it from the ground to the filling station. According to these figures an electric car can still emit less CO2 when powered by electricity from oil and of course it can also use wind, solar or hydroelectric power.
I have had people saying I should go for a hybrid, but almost all of our driving is short range and those cars have the maximum of complexity with more things to go wrong as well as having all the same consumables as a regular petrol/gas car, e.g. oil, spark plugs, filters. No car can be totally green, but I see electric cars as the future of motoring and I want to live in the future. Meanwhile our 15 year old Honda will still be used.
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CO2 is not a concern. Carbon footprint is a stupid metric.
CO2 is not a greenhouse gas. This was proven by Al Gore in the movie he starred in.
Now, the thing about electric vehicles.
It is only because lithium is mined in third world shitholes that you can even own an electric vehicle.
The pollution of such mining is bad. (and pollution is what we should be measuring, not CO2)
After we get past that, the comparison between EV and ICE is more about driving habbits. If it is to the store and around town, with lots of starts and stops and low speeds, the EV is much more efficient.
If it is long distance driving at about 65 mph (100 kmh) then the ICE is much more efficient. (especially considering the added battery weight)
Now, driving an electric vehicle is much more pleasant.
It is why all locomotives are now diesel-electric.
i really do not know why we haven't gone back to experimenting with turbines. They tried to put them in cars, but there was always problems with gearing.
But, if you get a turbine to run a genset with a few batteries, and then an electric motor driving the wheels, the whole system is lighter and more efficient.
Yes, the mining of the required materials is a big issue. Basically we need there to be less cars, but a lot of the world is still trying to catch up with what the rich countries have. Fossil fuel cars have got more efficient, but they have also tended to get bigger. For the average commuter two seats and minimal luggage space would do. I used to commute by motorbike, but that can be dangerous and the bikes are not as efficient as they could be. I fancied the idea of an updated 'micro-car' with decent crash protection. It could be half the weight of a modern small car.
Where we live public transport is limited and we need at least one car. I can get to work by train for now.
My e-bike takes a few hours to charge up. It would be nice if it could be quickly charged out on the road but there doesn't seem to be many publicly available places to charge it. I've heard a lot of news lately about different new battery technology being developed and wonder if there could be faster charging batteries that weigh less soon.
I expect some e-bike and e-scooter users can charge up at work. Batteries are improving, but it takes time to get them to market. We saw rapid development with phones and cars/bikes will be the next frontier to be conquered.
Availability of chargers is a particular issue in rural areas like west Wales where usage distances tend to be greater. It is also vital that they have good maintenance when they break down.
The two nearest ones to us were both out of action for over 3 weeks waiting for parts.
There was a story about that. Every council carpark should have charging facilities. It could be an extra form of revenue if they make it affordable. I am seeing more chargers when I am out and about around here. At least the average range of the new models is improving.
They laid off all the contractors and they made the Leaf in the plant I worked at, Sunderland. Maybe they were not selling enough replacement batteries?
I wonder how many of these cars will be built in the UK. Our car industry is in serious decline. Mind you, my Hyundai was made in India.
There were lots up there. I walked through the factory often.
Conveyor belts full of Juke and Qashqai's. Everyone had a specific role. I bet it was very boring unless they switched around a little.
I am fascinated by the electric car movement, but cannot afford one at this time.
I have read some on-line articles about some countries in the EU are mandating electric only sales in the next 5 years.
I think if I was going to go that route I would probably go with a hybrid. We just have much larger distances to cover over here. You can't always count on a battery giving you the fuel you need for a long trip.
Your requirements are different to ours. I'm pretty happy that I don't have to drive much now. I've done plenty before.
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