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Written by
Mads Aulby Mather
Business
Development
Project Manager, evHUB
February 2011
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WHY EVs?
Much has been said and is being said about electric
vehicles these days. EVangelists and skeptics alike are
eager participants in the ongoing debate about the viability
of electric vehicles as the preferred transportation choice
of the future. While the skeptics have sound arguments, the
advantages of electric vehicles are numerous and
far-reaching. This article will take a closer look at this
broad array of advantages, one by one.
Green
Climate change is the major environmental issue of our time.
During the past century humans have substantially added to
the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by burning
fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, oil and gasoline to
power our cars, factories, utilities and appliances. The
added gases — primarily carbon dioxide and methane — are
enhancing the natural greenhouse effect, and are likely
contributing to an increase in global average temperature
and related climate changes. Meanwhile, two failed climate
change summits in two years have done little to spur
confidence in mankind’s ability to remedy its impact on
Mother Earth.
Transportation fuels account for 14 percent of anthropogenic
annual greenhouse gas emissions. The vast majority of
transportation vehicles are still powered by engines
combusting fossil fuels, and everything coming into and
going out of a combustion engine is toxic. In contrast,
electric vehicles (“EVs”) emit no tailpipe CO2 or pollutants
such as NOx, NMHC, CO and PM at the point of use. They only
add little toxic waste (recyclable batteries), and no toxic
fluids are required.
One of the common arguments against EVs is that these
vehicles simply pollute at the power generation source
instead. However, the energy generated to power the EV and
the energy to move the vehicle is 97 percent cleaner in
terms of noxious pollutants, allowing for management and
upgrading of pollution controls centrally at the power
generation source. Due to efficiency of electric engines as
compared to combustion engines, even when the electricity
used to charge EVs comes from a CO2 emitting source, such as
a coal or gas fired powered plant, the net CO2 production
from an electric car is typically one half to one third of
that from a comparable combustion vehicle. EVs charged using
electricity generated from natural gas power generation (as
is the case in Singapore) will also achieve some reduction
in carbon emissions compared to power generation plants
fired by fossil fuels, or from conventional petrol engine
vehicles.
In addition, energy from sustainable resources, such as wind
and solar energy, is gaining ground. California alone has
1.5 gigawatts of generating capacity from wind machines
scattered throughout the state. These produce enough power
annually to power all of San Francisco all year long. In
Asia, energy from sustainable energy resources is also
gaining traction, and electricity generation from renewable
energy sources in non-OECD Asia (incl. India and China) is
expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5 percent
towards 2035.
Stabilising the Grid
Electric cars can utilise the existing electric grid rather
than require the development of a new, expensive energy
infrastructure (as would be the case with hydrogen).
Since EVs can be plugged into the electric grid when not in
use, there is a potential for battery powered vehicles to
even out the demand for electricity by feeding electricity
into the grid from their batteries during peak use periods
(such as mid-afternoon air conditioning use) while doing
most of their charging at night, when there is unused
generating capacity.
This Vehicle to Grid (V2G) connection has the potential to
reduce the need for new power plants, while the night
charging is allowing the electricity utilities to more
efficiently utilise their existing plant capacity.
Cost Cutting
EVs generally cost less in total to own, operate
and maintain than combustion-powered vehicles, even in cases
where the initial purchase price is somewhat higher.
Due to their simplicity and reliability, EVs require
substantially less maintenance and servicing. Looking at the
cost of driving (in SGD), a diesel Renault Kangoo converted
to an EV by evHUB will cost less than 2.5 cents per km to
drive on electricity assuming a kilowatt price of 23 cents,
compared with around 9 cents per km on diesel at a price of
$1.3 a litre. This means a trip from Singapore to Kuala
Lumpur would cost $8.9 on electricity, and $33.6 with
diesel. In other words, the electricity cost would be almost
a 1/4 of the diesel cost, equivalent to paying 33 cents a
litre of diesel.
Efficient
The EV motor system (including its drive train
electronics) is more than twice as efficient as the internal
combustion engine. Whereas only about 20 percent of the
petroleum in gasoline gets converted into useful work at the
wheels of an internal combustion vehicle, 75 percent or more
of the energy from a battery reaches the wheels of an EV.
For a diesel Renault Kangoo converted to an EV by evHUB, the
battery-to-wheel efficiency reaches 80 percent. These high
efficiencies are owing to the efficiency of the electric
motor. Electric motors often achieve 90% energy conversion
efficiency over the full range of speeds and power output
and can be precisely controlled.
The EV does not consume energy when it is not moving, unlike
internal combustion engines where they continue running even
during idling. Electric motors can also be combined with
regenerative braking systems that have the ability to
convert movement energy back into stored electricity. This
can be used to reduce the wear on brake systems (and
consequent brake pad dust) and reduce the total energy
requirement of a trip. Regenerative braking is especially
effective for start-and-stop city use.
Reliable and Easy to Maintain
Electric motors are mechanically very simple and
have very few moving parts. While an internal combustion
engine has hundreds of moving parts, an electric motor only
has around five. Unlike internal combustion engines,
electric motors can be finely controlled and provide high
torque from rest, and they do not need multiple gears to
match power curves. This removes the need for gearboxes and
torque converters.
Moreover, electric motors do not need engine oil,
anti-freeze, filters etc., thus requiring relatively little
maintenance (and saving their owners a lot of recurring
chores and costs).
Quieter
EVs typically have less noise pollution than an
internal combustion engine vehicle, whether it is at rest or
in motion, enhancing worker health and comfort.
In fact, EVs run so quietly that the absence of the usual
sounds of an approaching vehicle might pose a danger to
blind, elderly and very young pedestrians. To mitigate this
situation, automakers and individual companies are
developing systems that produce warning sounds when EVs are
moving slowly, up to a speed when normal motion and rotation
(road, suspension, electric motor, etc.) noises become
audible.
Ridding the World of Oil (and Oil
Dependence)
According to various scientists the world has
already hit peak oil, and the future will see more costly
oil extraction in hard-to-access locations or in widely
scattered small fields producing poorer quality crude. As
oil becomes scarce and harder to extract, production costs
and environmental costs will rise significantly. For
instance, the complex tar sand oil extraction process
generates two to four times the amount of greenhouse gases
per barrel of final product as the production of
conventional oil. If combustion of the final products is
included, the so-called "Well to Wheels" approach, oil sands
extraction, upgrade and use emits 10 to 45 percent more
greenhouse gases than conventional crude. Taking into
account how transportation fuels already account for 14
percent of anthropogenic annual greenhouse gas emissions,
while oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil
spills, routine shipping, run-offs and dumping, the huge
dependence on oil seems an ever more unviable path.
Scarcity of oil supply is further exacerbated by the rise of
Islamic fundamentalism, the accelerating instability in the
Middle East and Africa, terrorism and piracy against oil
facilities and tankers, and natural disasters in energy
producing areas, making energy security one of the leading
issues in the world today.
Electric cars require no oil, and apart from their obvious
environmental benefits the increasing scarcity and cost of
oil will make electric cars ever more cost efficient
compared to gasoline fueled combustion engine vehicles.
The Future is Electrifying – the
Future is Now
Although EVs still face various challenges such as range
limitations, their advantages far outweigh these. Whether
you are environmentally concerned, cost conscious or just
reluctant to get oily fingers, the EV presents itself as
your ideal choice of car solution. The electric revolution
is already taking place as you read, and you can even
convert your existing car to a full electric car, right here
at evHUB. The future is electrifying – the future is now.
Embrace it.
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