Hi Eric,
Hi Eric,
Thanks for an interesting article.
I don't understand the push toward a pure EV future, even from a "green" perspective. First, ZEV's are not zero emission vehicles, they are remote emission vehicles (REV's). Second, the infrastructure required to handle a small, say 10%, increase in pure EV's does not exist. Creating that infrastructure will be hugely expensive and have a massive carbon impact. Building what will be required for a pure EV future, will likely negate any "green" advantages for pure EV's for quite some time.
I understand why people like pure EV's, but they are practically inferior to either ICE's or Hybrids. Yes, battery technology is improving, but not nearly as fast as hoped. EV's have limited range compared to ICE's or hybrids, cannot be "fueled" nearly as quickly as ICE's, and access to charging stations is meager compared to gas stations. Pure EV's have more range than needed for most daily driving and less range needed for long trips.
I posit that plug in hybrids make much more sense, both practically and environmentally, than pure EV's. Of course, your cost concerns are valid but, as with EV technology and scale, costs could come down significantly, maybe not with the particular Voltec platform (though I suspect it would), but other, more cost effective technology would likely be created. Of course this would require large scale adoption of the plug in hybrid model, which has proved illusory, though pure EV's don't do well here eitherl. One marketing problem is that pure EV's are said to be "greener" than any other possibility, this is far from clear. Those who won't sacrifice the practical superiority of an ICE, won't buy an EV and those who wish to be "green" consider hybrids to be a step below EV's
So, imagine what would be needed to achieve a pure EV future.
- A massive increase in the infrastructure, both at the production end and the consumption end. The consumption end would require huge changes to both public and private infrastructure to make pure EV's even remotely comparable, practically, to ICE's or hybrids. The necessary changes at the production end would require many more coal plants and/or a shift toward nuclear power (sorry, wind and solar won't do it).
What would be required for a plug in hybrid future?
- Almost nothing. If plug in hybrids achieved a sensible range, say 40 to 50 miles, they could be fully, or mostly, charged overnight on standard power. No need for expensive additional equipment for the home (apartment dwellers pose a problem, but that;s true for pure EV's as well) . Of course, this would create additional demand for electricity, requiring additional production capacity, but not nearly as much as for pure EV.s.
Plug in hybrids have most, sometimes all, of the advantages of a pure EV with none of the significant disadvantages. In addition, factoring in everything, they are probably "greener" too.
Kind Regards,
Jeremy