I don’t think the key issue involves cars and/or battery technology.
I think the key issue is generating a whole lot of electricity from somewhere. Solar and wind aren’t going to be the solution. We need more power plants. Are we going to build more power plants? No? Than EV won’t take off sooner than I think.
The whole EV fetish seems to completely ignore lower generation!
We have a highly optimized system to manufacture and fuel ICE cars. Why replace it?
> Are we going to build more power plants? No? Than EV won’t take off sooner than I think. <
Consider a little child in a toy store. The kid doesn’t know just where his family’s money comes from. But he assumes that the supply is infinite. So he wants to buy everything in the store.
These electric car fanatics are like that little kid. They don’t know just where all that electric power will come from. But they assume that the supply is infinite. So they want to run everything on electricity.
The logistics of placing charging stations where they’re needed is also a huge impediment. I’m not sure what the minimum charge time is. If tens of thousands do their daily commutes and plug in overnight, at home, I can see problems, as well.
Yup, this.
Did a quick back of the envelope calculation.
If everybody went electric it would require an additional 50% increase in electric generation.
About the only practical and reliable source for that without evil CO2 is nuclear.
So the environuts will be confronted with a tough choice.
Not to mention time to refuel.
I think the key issue is generating a whole lot of electricity from somewhere. Solar and wind aren’t going to be the solution. We need more power plants. Are we going to build more power plants? No? Than EV won’t take off sooner than I think.
Henry Ford had unlimited domestic sources for iron and steel to build his engines and drive trains from. Not so these electrics. Key raw materials are lithium and cobalt for the batteries, and copper for the motors and the charging infrastructure. Of these only copper is mined in economic quantities in North America. Lithium and cobalt come from China and Africa, (and the Chinese are locking up control of the African cobalt mines at an alarming rate). You have to drive an EV 120,000 miles before it's overall carbon footprint equals a gasoline vehicle, and that's assuming the battery lasts that long, which is unlikely.
The USA also had virtually unlimited domestic sources for oil to make gasoline from, and existing infrastructure, (waterways, rail and roads) to deliver it anywhere it was wanted. California and Texas are both anticipating brown-outs and rolling blackouts this summer. Now imagine adding a million cars on charge to that demand. Not to mention expanding the grid to deliver increased power to every village and farm. (More copper - MUCH more copper!)
We need a crash program to develop and build nextgen high-safety and reliability nuclear plants, probably involving thorium. Wind and solar remain a pipe dream and have their own environmental issues. We need reliable on-demand electrical power.
Lets see, we just had the big Texas freeze and there was no electricity to so much as warm our houses. Now they’re saying we’ll have shortages this summer to cool our homes. CA is gearing up for their annual wild fires so no electricity there. Hurricane season will cause outages in FL. Sure, lets put more stress on our infrastructure with electric cars.
Hey, give every illegal an electric car!
Commuters here drive upwards of two hours one way to work. How does that play out when their batteries won’t last one day?
Two issues that are not going away but are swept under the rug by ev cheerleaders: 1. pi$$ poor energy density - a 100kwh ev battery stores as much energy as 3 gallons of gasoline. I use the rule of thirds when I take my boat on a trip. One third out, one third back and one third in reserve. I think that would be a reasonable rule to follow for EVs if you don’t want to get stuck someplace. And 2. Where is the electricity going to come from? The transportation sector of the us economy uses annually about 13 times the total energy output of all of the nuclear plants in the USA. Wind mills and solar is a rainbow and unicorn fart fantasy that only someone lacking the maths skills of a 3rd grader would believe.
The expensive so-called electric cars were called “coal powered cars” by Rush Limbaugh. They are 2% of the market now.
Meaning, the electricity to re-charge them would have to come from coal burning power plants....or nuclear plants.
And the time it takes to re-charge them is ridiculous.
A fuel cell using hydrocarbons to generate the electricity for motors could triple the overall efficiency of the power train. Batteries plus super caps would be to some extent needed as a buffer.
Ian Wright refurbishes route servicing trucks with a combination of electric motors, batteries, and a gas turbine charging system. This approach also achieved outstanding fuel economy in the niche application.
More pandemic for you! You will comply. And don’t forget to recharge your vaccines every three months.