How Feasible Are Electric Vehicles For The Future?

How feasible are Electric Vehicles for the future?
by Jeremy Horne, Ph.D.
Once again we find ourselves debating how electric vehicles (EV) can be a main source of transportation in the world. The events putting us on that course have been rather tortuous. In 1973 the world, in particular the U.S., was jolted into the realization that its major supply of petroleum could be cut off, leaving dozens of millions of vehicles idle on its roads. As the Arab oil embargo through the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dragged on, the lines at gas pumps grew longer until 17 March 1974 it ended [1]. At that time, there was much discussion about alternative renewable energy, not only as a source of vehicle fuel but for power production all across the infrastructure. There were major efforts to bring forth solar and wind, in particular, but other forms of energy production using geothermal, hydroelectric, and even very novel ideas like fuel cells. Not only was there a heightened awareness of the fragility of petroleum supply but there were rising concerns about the environment, in particular, pollution, land spoilage, and global warming. The global warming issue has been around ever since the term was coined 8 August 1975 in a science paper by Wally Broecker in Science entitled "Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming? [2]. As the embargo crisis receded, so did all the ideas of the need to conserve petroleum in the collective social memory. Thirty years down the road, we face not so much the threat of an embargo, but peak oil, where it has been found that we may have passed a point where oil consumption surpasses the discovery of new sources [3]. Too, there are greater environmental issues, made prominent after the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989 and more recently with the disastrous British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil gusher incident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Middle Eastern wars over oil,
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highlighted the cost of extracting this fuel. As motor vehicles consume the greater part of petroleum in the world, it stood to reason that there would be a search for alternative sources of power, in light of the newly perceived need to address the petroleum issue. Numerous ideas have arisen over the past decade about how to fuel vehicles, some of those innovations involving fuel cells (refined development occurring as a result of space programs), natural gas, and electric. Here, we focus on electric powered vehicles, their problems and prospects [4]. Using electricity to drive cars is not a new idea, it originating as far back as 1828, when nyos Jedlik, a Hungarian inventor of a motor created a model of a vehicle powered by it. A primitive electric carriage was made in the latter 1830s by Scottish inventor Robert Anderson, but it took the development of rechargeable batteries to bring forth EVs in Europe, staring in the mid 1800s. The U.S. had to wait for its electric cars until William Morrison built a six passenger car in 1890. From that point onward electric cars became popular, with Anthony Electric, Baker, Columbia, Anderson, Edison, and Studebaker, among others being favorite brands.
Electric vehicle model by nyos Jedlik [5]
In 1900, more cars on the road were electric than steam or gasoline. However, they were for localized use only, as there were no recharge stations out in rural areas. In
addition, because the batteries were lead-acid, the range was severely limited, and the lifespan, because of the numerous recharges required, was not that long. Improvements in the internal combustion engine (ICE) and mass production by Henry Ford's automobile plants to drive down costs pretty much demolished the electric car market.
German electric car, 1904, with a chauffeur on top [6]
Today, people are back on track in attempting to further the technology of EVs. Mostly everyone is aware of the ubiquitous golf carts that pass by silently, and these have served well, but the scale them upward to road use has not been easy. How an EV works Overall, the arrangement of components is rather simple and straight forward, especially in comparison to an ICE car. An electric motor drives a car, just like it does in clocks, washing machines, or knife sharpener. Three types of motors exist: direct current (DC) brushless, alternating current (AC) induction, and permanent magnet (PM). The first gives the highest speed, but the car accelerates more slowly. The AC motor accelerates the vehicle faster but has only an average speed. The PM motor is in between the DC and AC motors. The DC and PM motors can run directly from the batteries, while the AC motor needs an inverter. Current passes from the battery to a variable resistor actuated by the gas pedal then to a controller that
regulates current to the motor. There can be just one motor propelling one or more wheels, or each wheel can have its own motor.
Mitsubishi i-MiEV [7] To help recharge the battery somewhat, there is regenerative braking, when the inertia of the vehicle drives the generator part of the electric motor during slowdown. For braking, itself, the vehicle load is used as a way of backpedaling to slow down the vehicle. EVs don't need a standard or automatic transmission, but to simulate driving in a regular car because of peoples' force of habit, various arrangements for shifting have been invented. The shifting arm operates as a switch that sends signals to the controller but has labels, such as park, reverse, drive neutral, and low (PRNDL) as a transition device. The park and neutral usually disengages the motor and activates a brake. Some cars allow the motor to pull a bit to simulate the feel of an automatic transmission in ICE cars. In an ICE car, the weight of the car helps slow it down, but an EV car will engage the regenerative brake system to create the same effect. The low selection will enhance this [8].
Limitations of the EV A sad little story emerged in 1990 of General Motors' attempt to literally kill electric cars. In 1990 the California Air Resources Board made a ruling called the Zeroemissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate which said that in order to continue selling gasoline vehicles in that state auto manufacturers had to sell electric vehicles, as well. General Motors (GM), Toyota, Honda, Ford, Nissan, and Chrysler; produced among them 5,000 EV1s. The oil industry and automobile manufactures were enraged, and lobbied and filed lawsuits to have the mandate canceled. GM, perhaps the most upset, recalled all its EV1s and proceeded to destroy them by crushing. Some were donated to universities and museums after being disabled. GM selfishly refused to allow owners to pay the lease value on 78 remaining ones, and they too were crushed. One of their excuses was they didn't want to follow the U.S. government mandate to keep spare parts for the EVs already deployed. Protesters, accompanied by some actresses were arrested in protests to GM about the car's destruction but their efforts were fruitless. GM claimed that no one really wanted them, the driving range was too low (80-100 miles), and they were too expensive.
EV1s being taken off to the crusher [9]

However, the EV1 were durable, clean running, and required no tune-ups or much maintenance. To highlight the whole controversy and bring home the view that big oil was behind the destruction, a movie was made about this incident, Who Killed the Electric Car?
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References (Subject is indicated by URL accessed 14 October 2011) [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis#Chronology [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming [3] http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5247 [4] http://avt.inl.gov/pdf/fsev/history.pdf [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_electric_vehicle [7] http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Killed_the_Electric_Car%3F [10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Power_and_Associates [11] http://businesscenter.jdpower.com/JDPAContent/CorpComm/pdfs/DriveGreen2020_102610.pdf [12] Ibid., p. 2 [13] Ibid., p. 17 [14] Ibid., p. 64 [15] http://www.theoildrum.com/node/5247, http://www.pennenergy.com/index/articles/display/0663918147/articles/pennenergy/microblogs/rafae l-sandrea/natural-gas-supply--potential-setbacks.html, http://ideas.repec.org/a/eap/articl/v39y2009i2p255-270.html , http://www.ourbusinessnews.com/natural-gas-supplies-within-5-year-average , https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.postcarbon.org/reports/PCI-report-nat-gas-futureplain.pdf&embedded=true&chrome=true , and http://environmentalheadlines.com/ct/2011/05/12/thetruth-about-natural-gas-supply-costs-environmental-impact/ , as examples
[16] http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/solar-roadway-that-generates-heat-energyunveiled/5335 [17] http://www.gizmag.com/harvesting-solar-heat-asphalt/16904/ [18] http://www.piezo.com/prodproto4EHkit.html, http://www.smart-material.com/Smartchoice.php?from=MFC, http://www.advancedcerametrics.com/pages/contact/, http://www.mide.com/products/qp/qp10ni.php, http://www.newenergytechnologiesinc.com/contact [19] http://www.gizmag.com/google-invests-168-million-in-solar-power-tower/18383/ ], thermal depolymerization [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWf9nYbm3ac&feature=related [20] http://www.gizmag.com/enviromission-solar-tower-arizona-clean-energy-renewable/19287/ [21] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc%E2%80%93air_battery [22] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten_salt_battery [23] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc-bromine_flow_battery [24] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanadium_redox_battery
Resources (Subject is indicated by URL accessed 14 October 2011) http://www.cleancaroptions.com/html/battery_electric_vehicles.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car http://www.sweethaven02.com/ModElec/electrical01/Lesson0402.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_battery http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlI1duF4K9o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyden_jar Batteries for Electric Cars - http://www.bcg.com/documents/file36615.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_battery http://www.energyharvesting.net/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piezoelectricity#Mathematical_description http://inhabitat.com/new-crash-proof-electric-vehicle-battery-can-be-mass-produced/ http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/avta/light_duty/fsev/fsev_batteries.html http://spinnovation.com/sn/Batteries/Batteries_and_Ultracapacitors_for_Electric_Hybrid_and_Fuel_Cell _Vehicles.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle_battery http://www.bcg.com/documents/file36615.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car
http://www.iqpc.com/Event.aspx?id=473352 http://www.cleancaroptions.com/html/battery_electric_vehicles.html http://www.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm Future Car series

How Feasible Are Electric Vehicles For The Future?

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How feasible are Electric Vehicles for the future?

by Jeremy Horne, Ph.D.

Electric vehicle model by nyos Jedlik [5]

German electric car, 1904, with a chauffeur on top [6]

EV1s being taken off to the crusher [9]

http://www.iqpc.com/Event.aspx?id=473352 http://www.cleancaroptions.com/html/battery_electric_vehicles.html http://www.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm Future Car series

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