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Electric Vehicles From 2010 onwards, increasing numbers of electric vehicles, including buses and commercial vehicles, will be phased into transport plans around the world. Development and improvement of battery technology is leading to a wide range of options coming to the market in 2011: some are already here. While some manufacturers explore fuel cell technology, the emphasis will be on electric/hybrid for the coming decade as we transition away from petroleum as a source of energy. However battery-powered vehicles are forecast to make up less than 2.5% of the world's fleet in 2015. There are currently 880 million vehicles on the roads, with 98% gas powered contributing 40% of the planet's greenhouse gases. _____________________________________________________________________ Recent news: Jan 17 2012: Electric
vehicles could soon be cheaper than conventional cars. This
week, Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu gave a speech at the Detroit
Auto Show about the progress being made
on bringing down the costs of batteries - the biggest cost for EVs.
He expects the cost for electric car batteries
to drop 70% by 2015, down from a whopping $12,000 in 2008 to $3500 by 2015 and
$1500 by 2020. link Below
March 2011: A 5-minute fill up at the gas station? Imagine being able to charge your
cell phone in a matter of seconds or your laptop in a few minutes. That might
soon be possible, thanks to a new kind of nanostructured battery electrode
developed by scientists at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The
researchers found that their electrode can charge and discharge up to 100 times
faster than existing devices while holding the same amount of energy. High-storage
batteries that could charge and discharge quickly might make a number of
still-marginal technologies much more attractive. For example, if you could
recharge an electric car in minutes rather than hours, filling up your battery
at a charging station would take no longer than the amount of time it takes to
buy a tank of gas. link
August 2011: Yearlong study of electric
vehicles "perfect for urban driving". A year-long trial conducted by BMW discovered
that the driving behaviour of 138 participants did not really change when
swapping conventional engines for electric motors. BMW said that 96% of
participants would consider buying an electric car as a result of taking part
in the trial, and half would be happy to pay a third more to get one. February 2011: 30-minute charging arrives. A San Diego, California-based company called 350Green LLC is installing 480-volt fast chargers that can fully replenish a lithium-ion car battery in less than 30 minutes, while 240-volt Level 2 chargers can take 90 minutes to four hours. Home chargers destined for garages have around 120 volts and can take up to eight hours for a full charge.link
The global market for plug-in vehicle charges will soar to $11.75 billion by 2015 to support the anticipated widespread distribution of electric vehicles in the coming years according to research by ABI Research. Their report entitled Plug-In Vehicle Infrastructures, projects a surge in the installation of charging station infrastructure, from just over 20,000 stations at present to approximately 3 million by 2015. In five years, the U.S. will represent 54% of the global market. link January 2011: J.D.Power market research company predicts the prospects for electric vehicles are low however. link American taxpayers have pumped more than two billion dollars into electric drive vehicles. What are U.S. car companies doing? Jeff Young interviews writer Jim Motavalli on the future for America's big 3 and Asian companies in the coming years. read here October 2011: Plan to boost electric cars in eastern USA. Only about 1,000 of the 15,000 E.V.s on U.S. roads are in eastern states. A new collaboration aims to boost that number with more charging infrastructure. Based on population size some 200,000 electric vehicles, or 20% of President Obama's call for one million plug-in cars, could hit the region by 2015. link July 2011: The National Clean Fleets Partnership, announced by President Obama in April, is a public-private partnership that helps large companies reduce diesel and gasoline use by bringing electric vehicles, alternative fuels, and fuel-saving measures into their daily operations. Energy Secretary Steven said, "This initiative will support the nation's largest commercial fleets as they move to adopt fuel-efficient vehicles that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and improve our energy security." The Partnership furthers the Obama administration's goal to cut U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025. Although the U.S. lags behind China and Japan in battery technology, President Obama wants the US to be at the forefront of electric vehicle production. President Obama has set a goal to have 1 million plug-in electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. This is promoted by a federal tax credit of $7,500 for the purchase of plug-in electric vehicles. Obama’s vision is backed by $2 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with $1.5 billion earmarked for U.S. battery manufacturing. October 2010 : Portugal on track to be first nation with EV recharging network. In the first half of 2011, it will be possible to drive anywhere in the country without problems of recharging. Portugal plans to replace 10% of all vehicles with electric cars by 2020. link April 2011: Market to expand for 2-wheel electric vehicles. Market analyst Pike Research says two-wheel electric vehicles could number 138 million by 2017. Based on growing demand for and use trends in electric motorcycles and scooters, electric vehicles could be one of the world’s most widely used vehicles years from now. At present there are 17 million electric motorcycles and scooters on the road globally, with an annual growth rate of 9%. Plug In America is an advocacy group for electric vehicles.
September 2010: The future? Battery charging made simple. Pull up to a station, a mechanical arm installs a new fully charged replacement in less than 5 minutes. In Tokyo, a battery-changing station has been in operation for 90 days using 17kw lithium-ion batteries and accounted for more than 15,000 km (9,300 miles) of total mileage link  Lithium Batteries.
In order to mine the resource from the salt flat, technicians need to get a
brine to the surface, where it is evaporated in pools to expose the lithium. Half of the world's known lithium reserves lie in a remote salt flat in the
southern Andean plane of Bolivia which is not a country known to be friendly
to foreign businesses. Accounting for an estimated reserve of 5.4 million tons, the Salar De Uyuni
salt fields - predicted to become the Saudi Arabia of lithium - is being eyed by
the world’s largest auto companies. Compared with lithium reserves of 3 million tons in Chile, 1.1 million in China
and just 410,000 in the United States, the Bolivian reserve indicates the
leverage Bolivian President Evo Morales has.The Lithium Chase - worldwide sources being sought with battery potential uncertain.
October 2010: Alternative technology to recharge batteries
without plugs.
The problems presented by the need to recharge electric vehicles could become a
thing of the past, thanks to a new wireless charging technology which promises
to recharge a car's battery while it is being driven. Using an approach
reminiscent of a giant Scalextric without the wires, two New Zealand firms have
developed a wireless charging system where cars simply position themselves above
a charging pad rather than using a conventional plug. Cars fitted with a
receiving pad can be charged via a magnetic field created using an advanced
version of the Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) technology commonly found in
electric toothbrushes. Electricity can be transferred over gaps as large as
400mm, meaning that recharging pads could feasibly be fitted beneath asphalt
roads. Poor parkers can position their vehicles 250mm either side of the pad,
which would then power up the car overnight without drivers having to
remember to plug it in. Pilot systems have been
successfully tested on buses in Italy and Holland. link June 2010: Nanotubes expand lithium battery prospects. A lithium-ion battery with a positive electrode made of carbon nanotubes delivers 10 times more power than a conventional battery and can store five times more energy than a conventional ultracapacitor. The nanotube battery technology, developed by researchers at MIT and licensed to an undisclosed battery company, could lead to batteries that improve heavy-duty hybrid vehicles and allow faster recharging for electronic gadgets, including smartphones. link  French coachbuilder Heuliez, along with Michelin, has introduced a remarkable car - no engine. The WILL incorporates a motor, brakes and "a revolutionary electric
suspension system" inside the wheels. The WILL should
have three different lithium ion battery configurations offering 150,
300, or 400 km of range, (93, 186, or 249 miles). The first vehicles should be available for professional drivers,
fleets and municipalities in 2010. The general public may have to wait
an extra year. The current price target is being reported as between
€20,000 ($27,350) and €25,000 ($34,000). linkJuly 2010:General Electric introduces a new electric vehicle charger to accelerate adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. link March 2010: A group of Japanese vehicle manufacturers move towards standardizing how electric vehicles are charged to speed up adoption of clean energy cars around the world. link October 2009 : US utility companies pledge to aggressively pursue the creation of infrastructure to support the full-scale commercialisation and deployment of plug-in vehicles. link
China is now the largest global auto market. A report by McKinsey & Co predicts the Chinese electric vehicle market to be worth up to $220 billion by 2030. The government is adding fuel to the fire by offering local governments and taxi fleets up to $8,800 in subsidies for every electric or hybrid vehicle. Electric charging stations will soon be constructed in Beijing, Shanghai, and Tiajin. Even if powered by electricity generated from coal, electric cars will decrease carbon emissions by 19% and reduce urban air pollution. First time car owners comprise a whopping 80% of the market. link Currently Japan is the market leader in hybrids today with cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight which run on both electricity and gasoline. Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader in electric cars and buses after that. China wants to raise its annual production capacity to 500,000 hybrid or all-electric cars and buses by the end of 2011 (from 2,100 in 2008). By comparison, CSM Worldwide, a consulting firm that does forecasts for automakers, predicts that Japan and South Korea together will be producing 1.1 million hybrid or all-electric light vehicles by then and North America will be making 267,000. link
Electric buses.
January 2012: First 100 electric cars in
ground-breaking battery-swap scheme to be delivered to customers over next few
weeks. link Better Place, a firm started by Shai Agassi, a 41-year-old Israeli and
co-founder of Project Better Place, is seeking a fundamental
challenge to petrol-driven cars. Better
Place, which will run the scheme with Renault are planning to market
around 160,000 cars annually by 2011 in Denmark and Israel. The car
maker is developing three models: a sedan, a compact city car and a
panel van. In Denmark, a car will cost up to 200,000 kroner ($37,600)
to buy. February 2010: Better Place takes big leap forward with Israel electric-car pilot. Over 90 companies, covering 45,000 cars, agreed to lease a fraction of their fleets from the firm Dor Alon Energy Company who agreed to set up battery switch points at some of its 170 gas stations. If all goes as planned, 1,000 electric cars will hit the roads each month starting in 2011. In total, 100,000 cars will be running in Israel and Denmark by 2016, according to figures by Renault-Nissan. The price of the car, however, remains a big mystery. Better Place will only reveal that it will be cheaper than its gas-powered counterpart. In oil-bereft Israel, where gas costs around $7 a gallon, the firm's business model could be a lure. Subscribers pay for per-mile plans, just like cell phone minutes, or they can pay a flat rate to drive as much as they want. link September 2010: GE deal with Shai Agassi furthers step toward EV's future. The two companies said they had agreed to work together on a number of fronts, including standards-based technology development, battery financing, joint fleet electrification programs and consumer awareness. link Better Place has signed deals for electric car
networks in San Francisco, Hawaii, Denmark and Australia, but the project in
Israel is seen as its pioneer system. link An interview with Shai Agassi.
February 2010: Coming out late 2010 Ford will introduce the Ford TransitConnect, an all-electric fleet car. The TransitConnect will drive 80 miles on a charge and hit a top speed of 75 mph. These cars will be sold to companies to be used as delivery vehicles or vans, mostly in urban environments. In 2011, Ford will follow up with an all-electric version of the Focus and a plug-in hybrid passenger car in 2012 that will compete against the Chevy Volt. link Chevrolet's Volt. (August 2009) GM is putting a lot of its faith in the Volt with a claim of 230 mpg. However the Volt is still trailing alternative choices in mpg and cost and could prove to be no more than PR and hope for GM read (Under the same EPA guidelines for mileage ratings - not yet revealed by the EPA - the Nissan Leaf scores 367 mpg.)] New Nissan Leaf unveiled - August 2009 - Nissan announces the long-awaited October 2009: Aimed at California, a $30,000 electric car able to run 250 miles. Chinese car manufacturer, BYD, says their new E6 electric car due out before the end of the year will do 250 miles on a single charge. The E6 is roomy with space for five passengers and a good-sized boot. The battery tucks under the back seat. It needs 7-8 hours with a domestic plug to charge the car but BYD says a specially developed fast charging point with a lead the diameter of a fire hose will fill up the car in just one hour with half a charge in only 10 minutes. link Electric Mini one-year trial period. (August 2009) Two months into its pioneering field trials of electric-powered automobiles, MINI USA is gathering valuable, real-world data from 450 drivers of MINI E electric-powered vehicles. These vehicles are now in daily use in metropolitan New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, where they are being driven by private customers, municipalities, universities, public utilities, non-profit and commercial organizations. The 100-mile range on a single charge that is being reported in the trials is an accurate reflection of the typical range of the MINI E on a full charge driven in the variable conditions of the real world. One contributor to a dedicated MINI E Facebook group has reported that he has achieved 141.2 miles on a single charge. link What's it like to live with an electric Mini? After 6 months driving an all-electric mini, a British businessman reports on what life is like with an all electric car. link
Fuel cell vehicles are basically electric vehicles that use hydrogen tanks rather than batteries for energy storage. With current technology, fuel cell cars tend to have greater range than pure electric cars. Hydrogen tanks are lighter than big battery packs and take much less time to fill. However, electric cars have the advantage of an existing charging infrastructure - a hydrogen station infrastructure has yet to be built. Sept. 15 2009: Hydrogen-powered vehicles are slowly gaining traction, first with an announcement last week that auto companies are spending billions on fuel cell vehicles, and now with news that Germany is planning with to launch a countrywide hydrogen fueling network by 2015. A total of eight companies (Daimler, EnBW, Linde, OMV, Shell, Total, Vattenfall and the NOW GmbH National Organisation Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology) are working to bring the fueling network to fruition. link January 2011: Japanese carmakers in push for hydrogen
vehicles. Japan's top three automakers Toyota, Honda
and Nissan have united with Japanese energy firms in a push to commercialize
greener hydrogen fuel cell cars and build a network of fuelling stations. Along with 10 Japanese
energy groups including natural gas refiners and distributors, the companies
are aiming to build 100 filling stations by 2015 in Tokyo. link July 2010: Honda switches from hydrogen. Honda, which had previously favoured hydrogen fuel cells to batteries as the future technology for cars, revises its plans to concentrate on batteries claiming inadequate infrastructure development for hydrogen. link
Hydrogen fuel-cells not a solution for USA: Links to other alternative fuels: biodiesel hydrogen natural gas electricity propane ethanol supplied by the Department of Energy. |
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Commercial vehicles.
zero-emission cars being developed with Renault. Designed as a four-to-five seat, front-drive C-segment hatchback, Nissan says
the Leaf is not just for use as a specialty urban runabout, but rather, it was
designed as an everyday vehicle – a "real car" whose 160-kilometer+ (100 mile)
range meets the needs of 70% of the world's motorists. In the case of U.S.
consumers, Nissan says that fully 80% of drivers travel less than 100km (62 miles) per day, making the Leaf a solid fit for America's motoring majority. 
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