Pulling the Plug on the Electric Car
In a recent article published on the site Alternative Energy Stocks, John Peterson writes about the lies consumers tell themselves when it comes to electric vehicles (EV) and battery power.
Placing this era in the Cleantech Revolution, Peterson warns us from viewing energy prices and CO2 emissions as the number one hazard to our environment.
Though these are crucial issues for our planet, we mustn’t forget other threats that might be overlooked in the cleantech race.
Metal Prices
Turns out metal prices are higher than oil prices, while the production of metal is substantially lower than oil. And guess what? We need metal and especially rare and expensive metals for electric cars, and a lot of it.
The metals that are most important to alternative energy and electric drive are very difficult and expensive to recycle. With the exception of lithium which is a plentiful resource that only represents 5% or 6% of the metal content in Li-ion batteries the world cannot produce enough technology metals to permit a widespread transition to alternative energy or electric drive. Yet, it’s both difficult and expensive to produce and later recycle metal. In the long run we must soon face the fact that our society can’t create enough metals that will allow us to switch completely to the electric drive.
From hybrids to the Nissan Leaf
This doesn’t mean we should give up completely on the EV. But if we make a comparison of full and half hybrids and the fully electric powered Nissan Leaf, we’ll see that the same 96 kWh of batteries go a much longer way with hybrids. In other words, when the electric drive serves as a fuel tank replacement, a single kWh of capacity saves just 19 gallons of fuel per year compared to 107 fuel gallons saved per year in hybrids while using the recuperative braking technology. This means that the EV isn’t as efficient as we had all hoped it would be.
EV manufacturers don’t hide this information from us, instead trying to sell battery charging with solar and wind power. But the fact remains that, even though solar and wind are as green an energy source as you can get, they’re not as powerful in charging as we would like them to be. And in this configuration plenty of metal parts for the batteries themselves are still required for the daily process of charging.
There are many crucial differences between high-power batteries for hybrid drive and high-energy batteries used in EV. When it comes to raw materials these differences aren’t that important, however using battery capacity as a proxy for metal consumption in the following analysis makes complete sense in order for us to find out how far can this metal go when fuel comes into the picture. Assuming an automobile with an internal combustion engine will use 400 gallons of fuel for 12,000 miles each year, Peterson makes the next comparison, taking under consideration that a total of 96 kWh of batteries should be used in reducing fuel consumption.
- 64 Prius-class hybrids will generate 160 gallons of fuel savings per year for a total of 10,240 gallons per year;
- six Volt-class plug-in hybrids that will generate 300 gallons of fuel savings per year for a total of 1,800 gallons per year
- Four Leaf class electric vehicles will generate 400 gallons of fuel savings per year for a total of a mere 1,600 gallons per year.
This shows the basic flaw in all EVs. When batteries reuse braking energy that would otherwise be wasted, as they do in hybrids, a single kWh of capacity can save up to 107 gallons of fuel per year. Yet when used as fuel tank replacements, a single kWh of capacity can only save 19 gallons of fuel per year that will balance out with increased fuel consumption in power plants.
Recharging our Batteries
All supporters of EVs reassure us that battery prices and EV costs themselves will gradually decrease in the next few years. At the same time, the manufacturers are promising that electric vehicles will be the perfect solution for short commuters. However, the examination of graphs that compare oil prices with cost per kWh in electric automobiles such as the Nissan Leaf or the GM Volt, reveals that the people who will get the most value from their EVs will be those who drive more, while having to recharge at least twice a day to get the best ratio.
Just take a look at your laptop, even if it’s top notch, once you pull out the plug it can only work for a few hours before it dies. The same goes for Iphones and any other electric devices that work on battery power. We might like to think of them as extra strength, but the facts are that the last twenty years haven’t seen an overwhelming rise in battery efficiency. They have their limit.
Global Energy INC
Unless we change our transportation habits to more public transport, shorter commutes and car sharing, we should probably start looking towards other solutions to the fuel problem.
Global Energy is one example of a company hoping to change regular fuel by using biomass, and waste. With its KDV technology, Global Energy has been able to turn municipal solid waste into high mineral diesel (Renewable Drop In fuel), allowing to fuel vehicles, reduction of CO2 emissions, or financial dependency on oil producers countries.
Looks like batteries aren’t going to be our saviors, but maybe our garbage will be the one thing that comes to our rescue at the end of the day.
global-nrg.biz |
