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Powering Ahead - .PDF file.
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Powering Ahead - .PDF file.
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A report commissioned by the RAC Foundation and the UK petroleum industry claims that fossil fuelled cars will continue to dominate the automotive sector for the next two decades, and predicts that only a step-change in battery technology will bring the price down.
Over the weekend Detroit Electric used the Shanghai Motor Show to unveil its new high-performance electric sports car, the SP:01, to the public.
The company claims the limited-edition, two-seat pure-electric sports car ‘sets a new benchmark for performance and handling in the electric vehicle (EV) segment.’
It certainly looks the part (see below) and stats provided the company appear to back its claims of being the world’s fastest pure-electric production car: 0-62mph in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 155mph, performance metrics attributed largely to the vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio.
The company further claims that the rear-wheel-drive SP:01 features a compact, mid-mounted 201bhp electric motor (delivering 166lb ft of torque), a lightweight, purpose-designed battery pack and all-new carbon-fibre bodywork.
With prices for the car starting at $135,000 its probably fair to say that the chances of seeing a SP:01 outside of a motor or TV show are pretty slim.
A report published today suggests that EVs and other low-emission vehicles at the more affordable end of the market are a long way from becoming ubiquitous on Britain’s roads.
Entitled Powering Ahead, the report was commissioned by the RAC Foundation and the UK Petroleum Industry Association to examine the relative merits of major fuels and powertrains in delivering the UK’s greenhouse gas reduction targets over the coming decades, and assess each technology’s market potential.
Forecasts differ, with some analysts expecting between 40,000 and 200,000 plug-in hybrid and pure battery powered cars sold each year in the UK by 2020.
Ricardo-AEA took this into account, analyzing predictions made in 14 major studies for the take-up of low-carbon cars. After discounting the most extreme projections, Ricardo-AEA found differing assessments for the scale of green car sales in 2020.
The report says, ‘The speed with which plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles achieve significant market shares is highly dependent on their total cost of ownership in comparison to that of more conventional alternatives. This is, in turn, dependent on factors such as oil prices, further battery and fuel cell cost reductions, and government policies.’
In a statement, Prof Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said, ‘It is more than two years since the government introduced the plug-in car grant. Yet even with subsidies of £5,000 per vehicle available only 3,600 cars have been purchased through the scheme.
‘This report concludes that the key to making electric cars a commercial success is a major advance in battery technology. Until then these vehicles are likely to remain too expensive and too impractical to penetrate the mass market.’
Furthermore, Chris Hunt, director general of UKPIA believes around 60 per cent of vehicles in 2030 are likely to be powered – in full or in part – by internal combustion engines.
Its interesting to note the varying arguments that arise with regard to greenhouse gas emissions (regardless of their source) and the wider climate change debate. I’m not going to open that can worms right now, but you can read my colleague Stephen Harris’ views on one area of the debate here.
I’m more confident that consensus may be found when assessing mankind’s environmental stewardship of space.
The launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 was the first of around 4,900 launches that have led to approximately 23,000 objects larger than 5-10 cm orbiting Earth at speeds of 25,000km/h. These in turn present a hazard to satellites still working in space.
Help is at hand, however. Last week The Engineer reported on how Astrium has developed a new way to capture large items of space junk and pull them out of orbit using a harpoon and tether.
This week sees the 6th European Conference on Space Debris being held at ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.
The organisers say the objective is to discuss the latest findings, policy approaches and technical options to cope with the increasing risks of space debris with special sessions devoted to active debris removal.
Thursday’s session is going to be streamed live. Click here for more information.
Sadly electric cars are expensive. In principle they should be really simple, but to make them safe and user friendly requires a lot of peripheral hardware. The main reason that I would not have one is the cost and the resale value which in addition to the normal wear tear and age will also be dependent on the remaining battery life. Maybe if the batteries were leased separately from the car say from the power companies it would raise buyers confidence.
I would love to have an electric car but two things put me off:-
1. The cost.
2. Battery life.
Experience from cordless drills and laptops leads me to think that after 2 years the battery will be as good as useless.
Leasing batteries may be the answer.
Consider though, that if electric cars became popular we will need a new national (and local) grid and quite a few new power stations!
This is a fair one and we’ve known for a long time that the production, therefore the purchase of the “Electric Car” is going to be high.
Even with the technology of producing smaller and more efficient electronic fuel cells, the price won’t come down for a very long time. Surely this has something to do with Government taxes. The tax on fossil fuels is extremely high against that of battery power.
Anyway, what happened to the “Hydrogen Fuel Cell”???? This was produced a few years ago and the last I heard was that there was a bit of an issue with the storage of the fuel cell into the vehicle. Has the technology been bought up by the some of the Governments around the world and kept under wraps?
I would be a willing EV driver if I could afford one, but they are simply too expensive, and things like range anxiety, location of charging facilites, battery life, and the styling of the vehicle are all turn offs. Also don’t forget that these are not truly zero emmissions vehicles, as we still need the electricity to charge them, much of which comes from burning coal or gas. Green electricity is also part of the overall solution to the truly emmissions free vehicle. I think we will get there, but not for a while yet.
Several things putting people off;
1. The initial cost is high!
2. Battery life not proven and expensive to replace!
3. many people park on the street (no Garage) how do you charge up??
4. Distance on a charge limiting!
Another aspect (positive) often overlooked in debates like these is the potential of battery cars being used as storage medium for electricity generated by renewable means.
Apart from this, I agree with the comments above, battery technology needs a breakthrough before I even consider one of these cars.
Of course, if I had more money than sense, I would buy one of these toys today.
Ricky
The life of these batteries will be limited in their normal use, to suggest that other perople should use MY battery to save and then use THEIR power, thereby using some if not all of my available charge/discharge cycles, borders on the ridiculous.
What is the actual cost of running an electric car over its “life”?
A lot of the sites I have looked at harp on about the savings made due to the cost of electricity being pence compared to petrol and diesel costs being pounds. But the vast majority don’t include servicing and maintenance costs in these calculations.
If the batteries only last 2 years surely this is going to add massive costs to the maintenance of such vehicles and make their payback period vs an efficient diesel or petrol model longer and less attractive. And how long before an electric motor failure and the cost of this?
The biggest downfall of electric cars is the lack of range and the recharge time (as highlighted by Top Gear a few years ago).
Speaking as a petrol-head I can’t see myself ever owning an electric car.
I have watched compressed gas/IC hybrid
technology being developed over the last
ten years and I consider that electric /IC hybrids will be superceded by the likes
of the Peugot IC/compressed air hybrid
This idea of using EV batteries to store energy from renewable resources is a complete mystery to me. How is it ever going to work?
If say windpower generates surplus energy during the night it can be stored in all those EVs that are plugged in and charging but first thing in the morning they are all going to be unplugged and driven to work. How does the national grid get the energy back out again when it needs it. Even if it could draw on the stored energy during the breakfast surge before they’re unplugged, this would then reduce the charge available for the day’s use, reducing the car’s range which is already one of the biggest worries regarding EV ownership.