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While researching about the past of electric motorcycles, it came as a surprise to me that at the turn of last century there were a comparable number of electric cars. Then came along Ford Model T, the innovation of an assembly line, the dropping of prices are some of the reasons that ice technology took off while EV struggled with range and charging problems. ice technology reached mass popularity and sounded the death knell of ev.
Intellectually, an ev is so much better than a ice. It is much cheaper to run per kilometre because electricity is cheaper to produce and distribute today, because an electric motor is much more efficient than a ice (talk about efficiency of ev) and because electric vehicles are a lower maintenance cost (talk about batteries). This makes this technology so interesting for consumers and businesses alike, I'm specially enthused about it in a price sensitive market like India.
The other big thing about ev is that it is faster than the ice. This owes to the fact that the electric motor has maximum torque at zero RPM. This means that you need less technology to produce an ev which accelerates from 0-100 under 3 secs than ice. All speed buffs, including racing teams and enthusiasts need to be on lookout.
The real problem with an ev has been battery technology which troubles the consumer in two ways - range and recharging time. Latest generation battery chemistry using Li ion and advanced capacitors are improving and at some point will be good enough to have energy mini Wells which can store enough energy to run an ev for 500 km on one charge and can be charged in a few minutes if not seconds while being practically light enough to be put on a vehicle as light as a motorcycle. In the meantime, use cases bound by a limited small range is going to be good testing ground for this technology. Battery swapping solutions can solve the charging time problem.
However, the real big benefit of ev to society at large is lower CO2 emissions. About three fourths of co2 emissions in developed countries cities is related to automotive emissions. (In India this is about 40%). CO2 emissions causes global warming which is probably one of the biggest concerns of enlightened leaders across the world. No wonder governments across the world are providing all kinds of incentives to promote this technology. Conspiracy theorists say that governments around the world are too tired of problem in the middle east, even if it's true it helps a bigger purpose. Naysayers point out that the electricity used in ev technology is still produced in coal fired power plants, and that it only shifts the pollutants from our cities to elsewhere. However this analysis of well to wheels shows how... Nonetheless, the true potential of ev is that it can be plugged to a renewable energy grid and that would be totally clean automotive. And that to me is not unreal or distant. Someday when that happens all of us would feel how stupid we were for using ice, it's almost like few years ago there were debates in courts about harm done by cigarettes - of course cigarettes kill.
Intellectually, an ev is so much better than a ice. It is much cheaper to run per kilometre because electricity is cheaper to produce and distribute today, because an electric motor is much more efficient than a ice (talk about efficiency of ev) and because electric vehicles are a lower maintenance cost (talk about batteries). This makes this technology so interesting for consumers and businesses alike, I'm specially enthused about it in a price sensitive market like India.
The other big thing about ev is that it is faster than the ice. This owes to the fact that the electric motor has maximum torque at zero RPM. This means that you need less technology to produce an ev which accelerates from 0-100 under 3 secs than ice. All speed buffs, including racing teams and enthusiasts need to be on lookout.
The real problem with an ev has been battery technology which troubles the consumer in two ways - range and recharging time. Latest generation battery chemistry using Li ion and advanced capacitors are improving and at some point will be good enough to have energy mini Wells which can store enough energy to run an ev for 500 km on one charge and can be charged in a few minutes if not seconds while being practically light enough to be put on a vehicle as light as a motorcycle. In the meantime, use cases bound by a limited small range is going to be good testing ground for this technology. Battery swapping solutions can solve the charging time problem.
However, the real big benefit of ev to society at large is lower CO2 emissions. About three fourths of co2 emissions in developed countries cities is related to automotive emissions. (In India this is about 40%). CO2 emissions causes global warming which is probably one of the biggest concerns of enlightened leaders across the world. No wonder governments across the world are providing all kinds of incentives to promote this technology. Conspiracy theorists say that governments around the world are too tired of problem in the middle east, even if it's true it helps a bigger purpose. Naysayers point out that the electricity used in ev technology is still produced in coal fired power plants, and that it only shifts the pollutants from our cities to elsewhere. However this analysis of well to wheels shows how... Nonetheless, the true potential of ev is that it can be plugged to a renewable energy grid and that would be totally clean automotive. And that to me is not unreal or distant. Someday when that happens all of us would feel how stupid we were for using ice, it's almost like few years ago there were debates in courts about harm done by cigarettes - of course cigarettes kill.
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