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From The Sunday Times
September 16, 2007
Listen up, there’s an electric buzz in the air
The electric car, once all but dead, is poised for a return with manufacturers in a dash to unveil new models and technology
Meet the Mixim, Nissan’s vision of the future. Unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show last week, it has gullwing doors, drive-by-wire technology and cameras instead of mirrors. Most importantly, it is powered by electricity.
Of course, nobody should expect to see a Mixim or anything like it in their local showroom any time soon, because it’s a concept, dressed up to show off Nissan’s ideas. However, the manufacturer says it is planning to have electric cars that use technology previewed on the Mixim in showrooms as soon as 2010.
The Mixim is powered by compact lithium-ion batteries, and is all-wheel drive as it has one electric motor per axle. It may only have been driven to the stand at low speed at the show, but Nissan predicts it could have a top speed of 112mph, a range of 90-125 miles between recharges, and a charging time as short as 20-40 minutes.
Nissan was not the only company plugging electric cars. BMW debuted a petrol-electric hybrid concept version of its new X6, “sports activity coupé”. Citroën was showcasing its C-Cactus hybrid, a concept vehicle made from ultra-light, recyclable materials, and it announced plans to launch a diesel-electric C4 by 2010. And Volvo revealed its plug-in petrol hybrid C30, named ReCharge, which has one electric motor per wheel and can travel more than 60 miles on battery power alone.
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Car makers are at last putting serious money into developing electric cars, partly because of criticism that they aren’t doing enough to combat one of the causes of global warming, and partly because of the European Union’s threat to bring down the CO2 emissions of all new cars to less than 120g/km. But the biggest reason is oil. Last week the price of crude reached a price of $80 per barrel, the highest for 20 years, and most economists don’t expect that to come down by much. This changes the economics of electric cars, not so much in Britain, where fuel is heavily taxed, but in overseas markets, where changes in oil prices have a bigger proportional effect on the cost of fuel.
Battery technology is crucial to the speed of electric-car development because it determines a car’s range, performance and recharge time.
Traditional lead-acid batteries, which typically produce some 60 watt-hours of electricity to the kilogram, don’t have the strength to drive something as heavy and power-hungry as a car for long. But rapid advances in battery technology mean that newer nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries – the sort used to power the Toyota Prius hybrid – achieve as much as 120 watt-hours to the kilogram, while the latest generation of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, similar to those used in laptops and mobile phones, are good for almost 200 watt-hours to the kilogram.
Put simply, for the same weight as a lead-acid battery, a Li-ion battery produces nearly four times the power, doubling an electric car’s travelling range. However, the cost of Li-ion batteries has so far restricted their use to concept vehicles.
There are also safety concerns about their use in cars; some critics have warned of the potential of Li-ion batteries to overheat and cause fires. Earlier this summer, Panasonic recalled 46m mobile phone batteries made for Nokia after a handful of them burst into flames. Toyota says it will continue with NiMH power in the Prius for the time being.
Nonetheless, many manufacturers see Li-ion technology as the way forward. Last week the Elettrica, a small two-seat city runaround, arrived in Britain. Built in Italy, it has a 70-mile range, a top speed of 45mph and is the first reasonably affordable Li-ion battery-powered car on the market. It is certainly nippier than many other electric cars that have come and gone, and although it costs £12,750 – almost double the price of the current bestselling Reva G-Wiz – it makes battery-powered motoring more practicable.
Later this year a new Li-ion version of the Th!nk electric car will roll off the production line in Norway. It’s a successor to the original Th!nk killed off by parent company Ford due to its lack of profitability. The new car has a projected range of 112 miles and a top speed of 62mph.
The G-Wiz is also set to get a battery makeover. In 2008, Britain’s most popular electric car, driven by celebrities such as Jonathan Ross, the presenter, and Kristin Scott Thomas, the actress, is set to be relaunched with an upgraded lithium power pack.
Meanwhile, General Motors last month announced a tie-up with a small company named A123 Systems, that claims to have produced an affordable Li-ion battery for the company’s planned Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle, due to hit showrooms in 2010.
Of course we’ve heard this all before. The recent history of the battery car has been bleak. Despite decades of trying – electric cars have been around since the 1890s – no manufacturer has made a success. The original Th!nk was not alone in having its plug pulled: after great fanfare at its launch and a high take-up, notably by celebrities such as Mel Gibson, Martin Sheen and Tom Hanks, the EV1 electric car was scrapped by GM in 2003, while Citroën ditched the Berlingo electric van as recently as 2005 after poor sales.
But if the signs at Frankfurt are to be believed, we are on the verge of a comeback for the electric car. Not only that, but according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders there is a growing public appetite for these vehicles.
In 2006 only 298 electric vehicles were sold in Britain, compared with the 294 that have already been registered in the past eight months, putting 2007 on course to being the biggest year ever for electric vehicle sales.
Okay, so 294 is a tiny quantity but, to borrow from Chairman Mao, the longest journey starts with a single volt, and the cause has at least one high-profile optimist. Chris Paine, the American film maker responsible for last year’s searing attack on the car industry and oil lobby groups with his documentary entitled Who Killed the Electric Car?, is busy working on his follow-up feature: Who Saved the Electric Car?
Money saver
The Reva G-Wiz is the most popular electric car currently available, and as well as saving the environment it can save you money. Here’s how
Model Reva G-Wiz AC. Price: £7,299
Road tax Free (all vehicles in tax band A – less than 100g CO2 – are free)
Insurance group 1
Fuel cost 40p per full recharge
Range 48 miles per charge
Battery life Three years on average
Battery replacement cost £1,400
MPG Equivalent of 600mpg /km 63g/km (well-to-wheel emissions when using a regular electricity supplier)
Company car tax £131.38 for 20% tax payer, £262.76 for 40% tax payer
Congestion charge Exempt (saves £8 a day five days a week – about £2,000 a year)
Parking Free in many London council areas
Residual value Good (a one-and-a-half year-old model with a list price then of £7,900 sells for £5,000, retaining 63.3% of its original value)
The argument that lithium based batteries pose a recycling problem is specious as car manufacturers have programs in place to recycle and reuse these batteries. One program is in place to use reduced life batteries as energy storage for wind tubines. Go to teslamotors.com for information that counters most arguments about the viability of the EV. (And check out their beautiful and powerful car that is soon to be on the roads).
david moxness, newhall, USA / California
Yeah i agree with u Reva is enviroment friendly and saves money. Reva electric has come up with a new car Revai a new model with a high performance AC drive train. The REVAi offers benefits to user in terms of increased power resulting in a higher top speed, 35% better acceleration and grade ability. A new optimized algorithm and higher efficiency motor extends the range. In addition features such as hill restraint and boost power mode enhance drivability.
Kliona Dsouza, UK,
Robert, I disagree that EV's are a mid-term solution. Hydrogen fuel cell powered cards are a myth. Especially compared to a battery EV, hydrogen is very energy inefficient. You need lots of electricity to free it from water or natural gas (a limited supply fossil fuel), more energy to compress it, then even more energy again to transport it. As such, it takes substantially more energy to produce the hydrogen than you get out of it when you convert it back into electricity via the fuel cell (which then powers the electric motor).
Battery EV's are a lot more energy efficient, don't require stops to a hydrogen filling station (which are expensive to build).
Even if they solve all the many problems of a "hydrogen economy", maybe in 30 years, hydrogen fuel cells won't replace the battery EV, they would replace the gas/diesal/E85/etc onboard generator (used as a range extender for when you exceed the range provided by the charge in the batteries).
Jeff M, Windham, New Hampshire, USA
Electric drive is the future. Even if you combine electric drive with an onboard constant speed gasoline generator, the efficiency / mpg gains are tremendous. However, for those still holding out for a hydrogen economy and fuel cell cars, remember hydrogen is simply an energy carrier. The cost of producing ,transporting and storing hydrogen on a large scale makes the idea impractical, even if lower cost fuel cells can be perfected. It makes much more sense to use the established grid to distribute energy directly to every driveway.
Allen Helton, Fredericksburg, VA
For what it's worth, I predict the future vehicles will be PHEV format. Sixty mile full EV and turbo diesel for long range trips.
Price point will have to stay below $30k (US) for any success.
Three wheel cars and all the "transformer looking" vehicles will not appeal to the market - thereby failure is probable. Folks want something more conservative to the eye.
When gasoline hits $4/gallon in 2008, folks will flock to new technologies - just as these new products are coming to market.
Toyota should upgrade to a 50 mile range pure EV PHEV Prius.
John, new mexico, USA
It's a step - a step away from dependency on Arab oil.
What will they do........!?
I can't wait
Phil, Preston,
Surprised the article doesn't mention, if only for entertainment, an electric car called the Zap-x. Headline claims: top speed 155mph, range 350 miles, recharge time as little as 10 minutes. Here's the link: http://www.zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/electric-cars/zap-x. But it's more fun to google for "zap-x electric car" to find the forums on sites such as ecogeek and slashgear.
J. Saunders, Reims, France
Yes, I am all for he latest Electric Car technology. Again, the problem lies in the battery and how much charge it can hold and the range it has. An ideal Electric Car would be one that is a 5 door, 5 seater with all electric drive, and an internal battery range of up to 300-400 miles on a full charge, and a top speed of 80 -90 MPH. To be able to be fully charged within 10 minutes, or overnight 'trickle' charge, and maybe have a small on-board petrol/diesel generator to run whilst the vehicle is running. However, that is probably some years away, as safe Battery Technology still has to be developed.
B Clark, Chelmsford Essex, England UK
I read quickly so maybe I missed the part about TESLA MOTORS and their ground breaking high performance electric vehicle for sale now. Yes I know it is expensive but they are helping to pave the way for the technology. They are proving that there is a desire and a market for viable EV's that everyone would gladly drive if available.
david moxness, newhall, USA / California
GM produced a wonderful electric car, a whopping great chevrolet. It did around 100,000 miles on about 200 grams of fuel. No residue and no re charge. Unfortunately it used the nucear reactor from a spy satelite. Insurance was out of the cuestion and nobody would licence it. Citroen/renault built the tulip, and then electric clio and saxo cars. both were very successful. The secret was the batteries were paid for by the french government making the car cheaper than a fuel car. The super battery was the sodium arsenide battery. fantastic with a massive charge but explosive if exposed to water or air. Sinclairs C1 was a great idea so long as you wanted to die young, and didnt mind the roars of laughter. I know as I got one for a hundred pounds. The future is still a secret, but it is not silly plastic death traps with torch bateries. The answer is a new type of car made of light weight super strong materials, using a better power source, and solar power.
Pedro Santamaria, Granada, Spain
When compared to fuel cells, electric cars certainly are the easy solution. The number of technical and infrastructure problems that FCVs will have to overcome are enormous. Platinum is the biggest problem. Fuel cells require relatively large amounts of platinum as catalysts. As for infrastructure, well, there isn't any. To safely store hydrogen on board will require expensive carbon fiber high pressure tanks. The list goes on. The only real advantage fuel cells have is the fact that they are heavily backed by big oil who would like to keep their dominance in transportation fuels by delivering the hydrogen. Long term, the most likely place for hydrogen fuel cells will be as range extenders for plug-in hybrids.
Neil, Vancouver, Canada
Electric cars are mid-term solution, though admittedly investment in them is understandable given consumer susceptibility to easy answers. From a manufacturer perspective, the EU's pressure for all companies to make recyclable vehicles means massive difficulties when batteries become part of the equation. Bully for Chevrolet to pick up the reins, but long-term fuel cells are the answer. No doubt Mr Harmsworth will be pleased to hear Honda has a limited fleet being produced next year...
Robert, Tokyo,
I'm not convinced that there's much truth to the A123 or Altair Lithium claims.
The only proven batteries for EVs are Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) and Lead-acid.
The 1997 Toyota RAV4-EV, last sold in Nov., 2002, is still running fine on the same NiMH battery packs.
To see these run off a solar system, one of hundreds,
www.SealBeach.org
If GM were serious, they would use NiMH or Lead, which gave the 1999 EV1 a range of 110 miles (lead) and 160 miles (NiMH).
Doug Korthof, Seal Beach, USA/CA
you say no one has come up with good range on a battery vehicle.
may i suggest you take the time to look up the tesla roadster.
lotus design body,100mph+ performance with a 200 mile range.
s colbourne, pateley bridge, north yorks england
We as a society need to change our ways of thinking about electric vehicles. We should want to help the environment and be able to share our world with the generations to come. The resources are out there to be able to help lower gas prices and make our air cleaner. I have researched an electric vehicle which is available to buy now by the name of ZAP. ZAP car are perfect for those trips around town. The cars they have are amazing and unique. They run on three wheels like a motorcycle, have two doors and four door cars, and can travel up to 40 miles per day. I have had the privilege to drive in one of these cars and it’s no different than a gas powered vehicle, and it doesn't make lots of noise. It’s great being able to go around the neighborhood and have people admire your car, especially if it’s because you’re helping the environment
Krystal, Redwood City, California
At last good news on a grand scale! If half the manufacturers claiming that they're going to bring something like this to market in 3 years do so, well that's a healthy number: a competitive number. There is no need for the Lib Dems to suggest we should ban petrol cars by 2040. By 2040 nobody will be wanting to sell you one. All we have to do is keep asking "when will you do one I can plug in?". I've had a Civic Hybrid for 4 years - it's great, but I can't plug it in and dearly wish I could.
Andrew Harmsworth, Cambridge, UK