Electric cars a game changer for motor-tax revenue

If we are to halt climate change by 2050, we need to make dramatic alterations in our economy and in wider society. A key part of this transformation will be moving road transport from its current dependence on fossil fuels to alternative sources of energy.

While predicting technological change is even more difficult than predicting the economy, it now looks highly likely that electric cars will become the "cheap" option in the first half of the next decade. This does not rule out other technological developments, but it does mean we need to plan for such a transition to new technologies.

The cost of electric cars has fallen rapidly so that they will soon be cheaper to manufacture than cars using combustion engines.

The major obstacle to their adoption is the travelling range of such cars using current batteries. However, battery technology is also developing so that by 2025, if not before, electric cars are likely to squeeze out fossil fuel cars, even without tax advantages.

In turn, as older cars are phased out, it seems likely that the bulk of cars on the roads from 2030 onwards will be electric.

The electrification of road transport will have important implications for the economy across a range of dimensions.

If road transport is to be truly free of fossil fuels, it is essential that electricity production is also carbon free. This is, in some ways, a bigger technological task than a move to electric cars.

To ensure that this transformation happens, it is essential the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is reformed to guarantee that the European electricity system no longer contributes to global warming. Electric cars, dependent on electricity generated by using fossil fuels, would not be a sustainable outcome.

The widespread adoption of electric cars will, in turn, have important infrastructural implications.

In the medium term, concerns about range may require some filling stations to be re-equipped to provide rapid charging of batteries. However, it will eventually make the investment in filling stations supplying petrol and diesel redundant. Instead cars will be charged with electricity at a range of locations, including at home.

Major costs

The electrification of road transport will have very significant implications for government revenue.

At present around 7 per cent of Government revenue (up to €5 billion) is derived from motor transport activity, representing almost 2 per cent of GDP. Some of this revenue goes to pay for the major costs of the road transport network and other related transport activity. However, the majority goes to finance other vital expenditure, such as health and education.

If all of motor transport were electrified, the Government would lose most of this revenue. Currently motor tax on electric vehicles is very low and, when purchased, they also attract a lower rate of excise, and hence less VAT. Because they use no petrol or diesel, all of the revenue from this source would disappear. This revenue would have to be replaced from some other source.

In the case of the tax on new cars, and annual car tax, the Government could change the basis on which these taxes are levied so that the rates of tax on electric cars were the same as those on petrol or diesel cars today, with much higher rates on traditional cars, preserving this source of revenue. However, this would need to be signalled well in advance to avoid "disappointment" among existing car owners.

Replacing the revenue from motor fuels would be much more complicated.

While the NCT test could be used to check the distance travelled by cars, opening up the possibility of taxing based on kilometres travelled, this would be difficult to administer as car owners could face very large bills at infrequent intervals.

A much more sensible way of raising the revenue would be to charge for road usage – effectively taxing congestion. This approach is being considered in the UK to replace excise on motor fuels. It would have the benefit of rationing scarce urban road space, while reducing the cost for those in rural Ireland using uncongested roads.

Experience suggests that introducing such a "novel" charge, albeit replacing another tax, could lead to major opposition.

There are still a few years before any new charging regime will need to be phased in. If the Government is to preserve this key revenue source in the face of a gradual decarbonisation of transport, they need to begin the debate today on new sources of revenue to achieve a national consensus.

Source: Electric cars a game changer for motor-tax revenue

How India’s electric car ambitions could take off

As US President Donald Trump has declared that his country would withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change, it remains to be seen whether other US allies would follow suit.

Now, however, at least one thing is certain: the US is swimming against the tide as countries across the Eurasian continent are eagerly jumping on the clean energy bandwagon.

In particular, emerging economies are spearheading the rapid growth of the renewable energy industry around the world. Apart from China, which has already vowed to promote a green economy, another major emerging market, India, is also working aggressively to become a new energy power of the 21st century.

In fact, India has been highly ambitious in promoting clean energy. Recently, the Indian government has taken one giant step forward by announcing that vehicles powered by gasoline or diesel will be completely banned by 2030 across the country, and by that time only electric cars will be available on the domestic market.

And India didn't just put forward that plan to wow the rest of the world; there are indeed compelling domestic reasons for the Indian government to press ahead with new energy development: India is not only the second most populous country on earth, but is also one of the most polluted ones. And industrial pollution in India is getting so serious that it has already become a political issue that could threaten social stability if not handled properly and decisively.

According to a recent report published by Greenpeace, air pollution results in an average of one million premature deaths in India each year. And air in the city of New Delhi has become so heavily polluted that it is causing the same degree of damage to the human lungs as smoking 10 cigarettes a day.

It is indeed hardly an overstatement to say that the degree to which the Indian government is able to clean up its country's environment will, to a significant extent, determine whether voters, particularly middle class voters, will continue to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.

And through years of government efforts, India's plan to develop the renewable energy industry on a national scale doesn't just exist on paper; it has already begun. For example, solar energy has now become so popular in certain parts of the country that it has actually become cheaper than fossil fuels.

Last year, the Indian government announced that it was going to build a gigantic solar power plant in Kamuthi that will occupy an area of 10 square kilometers. Once completed, it will become the largest solar power plant in the world and turn India into the third largest solar energy market.

If things play out in the way New Delhi has hoped, the manufacturing sector will be increasingly relying on solar energy in the days ahead, and so will the auto industry, thereby gradually reducing the percentage of fossil fuels in the total energy consumption of the country.

However, despite the fact that the Modi administration is determined to press ahead with its ambitious 2030 electric car program, there are concerns among Indians over whether the authorities have time and resources to build enough charging stations in every corner of the country in order to meet rising demand over the next decade.

Besides, there are still a lot of technological hurdles to clear in order to achieve the full marketization of solar energy. Given that, many Indians are skeptical about Modi's plan.

Yet, some foreign investors, such as global electric car giant Tesla, have already cast their confidence vote in India's 2030 electric car program. Elon Musk, founder and chief executive of Tesla, said he is seriously considering setting up production plants in India.

As we can see, Modi's electric car program is actually both environmentally and politically motivated.

However, there is also a diplomatic side to it: by formulating a comprehensive and visionary national energy strategy that looks beyond fossil fuels, New Delhi hopes that in the future, traditional western energy powers and the powerful vested interests in the global oil and coal industry will no longer be able to pull India's strings.

This article appeared in the Hong Kong Economic Journal on June 29

Translation by Alan Lee

[Chinese version 中文版]

– Contact us at [email protected]

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Source: How India's electric car ambitions could take off

Proposed bylaw gives electric vehicles special access to transit lanes

Electric vehicles could get priority access to the motorway under proposed bylaw.

Shorter commute times are being used as an incentive to encourage more New Zealanders to consider driving electric vehicles.

The Government wants 64,000 electric vehicles being driven in New Zealand by the end of 2021, with the aim of helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ministry of Transport is working on amending legislation to allow electric vehicles to use some high occupancy (T2) lanes and bus lanes, regardless of how many occupants are in the vehicle.

NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is currently consulting on a bylaw that will allow electric vehicles access to 10 T2 lanes and one bus lane in Auckland for a 12-month trial.

READ MORE:* Wireless charging for electric vehicles demonstrated* Competition heats up in race for electric vehicle* Electric vehicle technologies put to the test - battery or hydrogen power?

Of the 11 proposed lanes, three are on Auckland's North Shore. The T2 and truck lane, southbound on-ramp, Constellation Drive; T2 and truck lane, southbound on-ramp, Greville Rd; and the bus lane, northbound on-ramp, Upper Harbour Highway.

The Upper Harbour Highway bus lane is the only bus lane NZTA considered suitable for electric vehicles, at the moment.

In anticipation of the legislative changes, NZTA ran a 14-day trial allowing electric vehicles access to five Auckland on-ramps in March.

NZTA found 78 per cent of electric vehicle drivers who took part in the trial said access to T2 lanes improved their journey time, with 94 per cent stating that if additional special vehicle lanes were made available to electric vehicle drivers they would use them long-term.

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Legislative changes to the Land Transport Act 1998 are expected to come into force on in July, with changes to the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 and Land Transport Rule: Traffic Control Devices 2004 expected in August.

Following the changes it will be up to individual road controlling authorities to make suitable special vehicle lanes available to electric vehicles by making bylaws.

Consultation closes on August 3. Feedback is to be emailed to AEVTbylaw@nzta.govt.nz.

 - Stuff

Source: Proposed bylaw gives electric vehicles special access to transit lanes

Aston Martin's all-electric supercar launches in 2019

Originally unveiled as a concept in 2015, the 800 horsepower RapidE will go into production in 2019. There's just one catch: the vehicle is being limited to a production run of just 155 cars, about a third of the initial quota, reports Reuters. As such, what was going to be an expensive motor anyway, will likely see a price hike that is enough to make even Tesla S owners blush. The RapidE will come in at just under £200,000 ($255,000) on its home turf (that's $115,000 more than the top-of-the range Model S, which can reach upwards of 760hp), with Aston Martin starting to take orders next month.

Aston's Chief Executive Andy Palmer spoke to Reuters after the news agency caught wind of LeEco's withdrawal from the project, confirming that his company is independently funding the venture. The two firms announced their partnership in February of last year and also promised a launch date of 2018 for the electric version of the Rapide S. But LeEco was forced to backtrack on its electric car investments after falling on hard times -- the Chinese tech giant also scaled back its planned $1.3 billion Faraday Future factory in Nevada earlier this year.

"We've decided to make this car rare, which will obviously tend to push the price higher."

Aston's other collaborator on the RapidE project is staying the course. Williams Advanced Engineering, which built the original concept for the electric vehicle, will assist with its engineering integration and batteries. Aside from the RapidE, Aston Martin is set to reach another milestone with the launch of its first full production battery car in 2019: an electric version of the DBX crossover.

Source: Aston Martin's all-electric supercar launches in 2019

All-Electric Aston Martin RapidE Confirmed For Production, Arrives In 2019

Aston Martin has announced plans to build a production version of the RapidE concept which was introduced nearly two years ago. While Aston Martin originally planned to partner with LeEco, the company's financial problems has apparently pushed the automaker to name Williams Advanced Engineering as the lead engineering partner on the project.

The change will delay the launch of the RapidE to 2019 but Aston Martin and Williams Advanced Engineering worked together on the original concept so hopefully it's a change for the better.

Details about the car are limited at this point but the model will be based on the Rapide AMR and have "four-door sports car looks" combined with the "dynamics of the Rapide S." The company also says the instantaneous power delivered by the car's electric motors means the "RapidE will offer a unique driving experience" unlike any previous Aston Martin.

In a statement, Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said "Having unveiled the RapidE Concept back in October 2015 we reach another milestone with the confirmation that we are now putting the first all-electric Aston Martin int o production." Palmer added, the "RapidE will showcase Aston Martin's vision, desire, and capability to successfully embrace radical change, delivering a new breed of car that stays true to our ethos and delights our customers."

Production will be limited to 155 units and additional information will be released closer to launch.

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Source: All-Electric Aston Martin RapidE Confirmed For Production, Arrives In 2019

A Fast, Fun, All-Electric Polestar Would Be The Biggest Automotive Surprise Since Tesla

If any European brand was going to be first with a mass-produced all-electric hot hatch or super-saloon, we'd have bet on Audi or Renault Sport, but Polestar could be about to spring a massive coup while the rest are fumbling their lines

Polestar has, until now, been a curious Swedish also-ran when it comes to comparing the performance arms of major European car makers. Sure, it has plenty of racing experience, exploitable heritage on track and has even spread plenty of speed like butter all over the S60 and V60's crackers. We like what it's done so far, despite the scale of its consumer action being on the atomic level against the behemoths of BMW M and Mercedes-AMG.

Polestar is shifting gears, though. Instead of being a small-volume Volvo fettler, it's expanding its business model to include its own machines, crowned with Polestar badges and not a Volvo symbol in sight (on the outside, at least).

The big news, as we reported this week, is that from minute one Polestar performance cars will be rely on electrified drivetrains, split across hybrids and all-electrics. Wow. Tesla aside, no one volume-sells fast electric cars. Apart from Elon Musk and his team, no one has built a good enough one, yet. We've obviously excluding the likes of the Nio EP9 and Rimac Concept One, here, because they're never going to be built in numbers.

When you think about it, the task facing Volvo and Polestar, a pair that we'll soon have to start referring to as sister companies, is gargantuan. Look at the EV market today. Of the mass-produced stuff you actually might want to buy for entertainment value, there's the Model S, Model X and all-electric BMW i3. And that's it. Polestar has no template for most of the all-electric models it could make; no existing metal to try to beat. It will have to blaze the trail itself.

That's massive, if they do take the challenge. It's like Henry Ford in his mission to make the Model T a reality. Back then engines existed, chassis were numerous and tyres were black and round, but to actually bring it all together for the first time as a (relatively) affordable mass-produced vehicle that people wanted was something historic. Giants like Volkswagen, Renault and Nissan have dabbled with trying to produce an electric car that people want to buy, but sales have been dismal outside of those countries whose tax law basically forces (or bribes) people into EVs.

It doesn't take Stephen Hawking to figure out that the reason people aren't buying these cars is because they don't want them. The e-Golf is a good car; a likeable car, but it's completely devoid of the desirability splashed all over the hybrid – and more performance-oriented – Golf GTE. The Nissan Leaf is another technically really good electric car, but with the best will in the world it's still a bit weird-looking and it's impossible to market it as truly exciting, because it isn't. It's effective at its job, but it's not a thriller.

Tesla, on the other hand, did things differently. It went straight after straight-line speed and wide-eyed marvel, with world-beating technology another news hook that the company can fall back on time and again. It's not the greatest sports car in the world, but it sells in the thousands; the tens of thousands in North America. All because from the get-go it was an exciting thing. Other EVs… aren't. They never have been. A superfast Polestar would be.

Volvo has been free with its praise of Elon Musk and Tesla, even going as far as to position the three-model minnow as the shining example that they – in the shape of Polestar – want to follow. Could the small, mischievous subsidiary of a sensible, bantamweight Swedish safety enthusiast really show the rest of Europe how to make fast, exciting electric cars that people actually want to buy? It would be the greatest automotive coup since, well, Tesla.

Source: A Fast, Fun, All-Electric Polestar Would Be The Biggest Automotive Surprise Since Tesla

Dundee taxi chiefs say some drivers are still to be switched on to benefits of electric cars

An electric car at a charging point in South Tay Street, Dundee.

Concerned taxi drivers worried about running out of charge in their electric vehicles can adapt their style to avoid potential break-downs, according to a taxi chief.

Worried drivers raised concerns with the Unite union about having to potentially refuse requests for journeys outside of the city, over fears the battery powering their engines would drain, leaving them stranded.

Chris Elder, Unite union taxi branch secretary, said he has been contacted by drivers over fears they might not be able to carry out their duties in electric cars.

He said: "There is concern in the Dundee taxi trade regarding electric taxis, with some drivers having to refuse some out-of-town hires due to the lack of battery charge.

"Some drivers have had to drop passengers off at a taxi rank in their electric vehicles so passengers could continue their journey.

"At the moment we feel these cars are not fit for purpose as a taxi for bigger distances out of town."

Graeme Stephen, president of the Dundee Taxi Association, said electric cars have a range of about 120 miles, and that a battery can be charged to 80% capacity on the back of a 15-minute charge.

He said: "Driving an electric vehicle is a different way of working. If you adapt your driving style, I believe as a driver you will not really notice a difference to driving a petrol or diesel car.

"The attitudes toward electric vehicles, and taxis in particular, in Dundee are advanced compared to other cities. At seminars discussing electric car use it is regularly noted that Dundee is leading the way in electric taxi provision.

"A standard 30kW engine will have, on average, a mileage capability of around 120 miles. Drivers have wee competitions to see who can drive the most miles from a single charge. One told me they reached 137 miles on one charge, which goes to show you can get very good mileage from an electric car.

"We find that some drivers are hesitant to try an electric vehicle and perhaps some are stuck in their ways – so to speak – but the majority of those who have a proper trial of electric vehicles end up becoming their biggest fans.

Addressing concerns regarding out-of-town job request, Mr Stephen said: "There are plenty charge points in Dundee, and outside also. For example, if a driver is asked to drive to Aberdeen, there are rapid charge points in Stonehaven and Laurencekirk, which can charge a battery to 80% capacity in about 15 minutes.

"The same applies for Glasgow Airport, where there are charging points located in the car park.

"Drivers have free access to council car parks at the moment, as well as free charging. Even when it does change and charging comes into affect, it will cost around £2.40 for a 100% charge."

Source: Dundee taxi chiefs say some drivers are still to be switched on to benefits of electric cars

Alta Says Its Electric Motorcycle Battery Has Highest Energy Density

Batteries

Published on June 23rd, 2017 | by Steve Hanley

The Alta Redshift MX electric motorcycle is designed to compete successfully against the best off-road bikes in the world. To do that, it needs a great battery that is both powerful and light in weight. Even though it begins with the same 18650 lithium ion battery cells as Tesla uses in its Model S and Model X cars, it packages them in a way that is unique to Alta. The result is an electric motorcylcle battery with higher energy density than virtually any other battery in a production vehicle.

"We're right around 180 Wh/kg, which is about 20-30% higher than the current Tesla Model S. We believe the Model 3 will probably be on par with where we are today, although they haven't announced numbers yet, so we can't calculate it," says Rob Sweney, Alta's director of advanced powertrains.

The Secret Sauce

Battery cells are battery cells. It's how you put them together that makes the difference. Alta builds its own electric motorcycle battery pack and thermal management system with help from two companies you have probably never heard of. Kevin Kim, Alta's head mechanical engineer, explains. "Unfortunately we can't disclose too many details about the interconnect system because it's proprietary. I will say that the system allows us to very effectively cool the battery using passive (air-cooled) methods, with no need for liquid cooling. We describe it as being passively air-cooled, and it helps keep the weight down significantly.

"Passive cooling means that the thermal conductivity of the materials that surround the cells is very important. After some testing, we found that a two-part polyurethane from Wevo-Chemie (a German company that specializes in casting, bonding, and sealing resin solutions) had the highest thermal performance, so it became a critical component in our system as an adhesive."

The bonding agent has to be strong, light, and provide a high degree of electrical insulation. "For any battery pack, you have to balance the need to take away heat from the system while dealing with the high voltage electrical challenge," says Kim. "Usually things that are good at conducting heat are also good at conducting electricity.

"Optimizing for those two goals is a fundamental challenge of any battery pack design, so this implementation with the Wevo-Chemie material is part of our solution to improve that tradeoff, because it conducts heat extremely well and at the same time has a high dielectric strength – so it's also electrically insulating." It helps that the bonding agent also has a bit of give to it. That helps the pack stay together under the rigors of off-road riding.

Getting The Sauce Where It's Needed

Once Alta found the bonding agent it wanted, the problem became how to use it in its electric motorcycle manufacturing process. For that, the company turned to Scheugenpflug, another German specialist. The Wevo-Chemie material has to be mixed precisely with a catalyst just at the time of use. The main ingredient is about the same consistency as peanut butter. The catalyst is thin like water. Scheugenpflug was the only company that had ever built a machine that could mix the two together successfully on a production line.

Christian Geier, general manager at Scheugenpflug USA explains. "When an adhesive contains a lot of filler material, in this case inorganic fillers, it can increase the complexity of the production equipment. For instance, the inorganic fillers can be incredibly abrasive and quickly wear out dispensing machine components. Depending on the material, each system is designed based on the needed application."

It Ain't Rocket Science

Advances in battery technology are happening everywhere around the world. Recently, the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems in Dresden announced a new system for packing more battery cells into less space. The result is a battery that fits in the same space as a conventional battery but can double the effective range of an electric car. Building a battery with high energy density isn't rocket science, but it's close.

Other Applications

According to Business Insider, Alta CEO Marc Fenigstein has plans to use its proprietary battery technology to build batteries for other companies. "The technology, the architecture, and the capabilities that we built as a company in introducing the Redshift have very, very broad applicability across lightweight vehicles," Fenigstein said. "Really nobody in the market can build a drivetrain for a small vehicle that is as compact, robust, or economical as ours is for a given range and power."

Source: Charged EVs

Tags: Alta electric motorcycle, battery energy density, battery management system, building a battery pack, Scheugenpflug, thermal cooling system, Wevo-Chemie

About the Author

Steve Hanley I have been a car nut since the days when Rob Walker and Henry N. Manney, III graced the pages of Road & Track. Today, I use my trusty Miata for TSD rallies and occasional track days at Lime Rock and Watkins Glen. If it moves on wheels, I'm interested in it. Please follow me on Google + and Twitter.

Source: Alta Says Its Electric Motorcycle Battery Has Highest Energy Density

Banks see electric car industry revving up and ushering in an energy fortune

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

Morgan Stanley is betting that electric cars will corner 70 per cent of the European vehicle market by the middle of the century, leading to upheaval for the power sector and a scramble for dominance of lucrative new technologies.

Global banks in London and New York are no longer debating whether the switch-over will occur. Research reports have shifted to granular analysis over what this means for large swathes of the economy, and who will be the winners and losers as the old edifice crumbles.

Morgan Stanley says in a report this week that a ratchet effect is under way. It's becoming more costly each year to develop petrol and diesel cars that comply with tightening rules on emissions of CO2 and particulates (NOx), yet the cost of electric-vehicle (EV) batteries keeps falling. The crossover point will arrive in the mid-2020s.

EV sales

The US bank expects global EV sales to reach one billion annually by 2050, pulling ahead of internal combustion engines. The switch could take place much faster. A widely-cited report by Tony Seba and James Arbib at think tank RethinkX argues it will make no sense to make fossil-fuel driven cars, trucks, buses, or tractors within a decade.

The US pioneer Tesla – worth more on Wall Street than General Motors or Ford – is targeting annual sales of one million EVs within three years. It is mulling a joint venture in China, the biggest market for zero-emission cars.

China has banned petrol motorbikes, leading to a massive switch to EV two-wheelers. Some 230 million are on the roads. Under draft proposals from the industry ministry, all car companies will have to reach an EV quota of 8 per cent of sales from next year, 10 per cent by 2019, and 12 per cent by 2020.

Morgan Stanley said it would be "very difficult" for Volkswagen, BMW, and Mercedes to comply with this. They will hit a sales cap in China. This will be a rude shock.

Whether China's breakneck drive for EVs lowers CO2 emissions is an open question. This depends on how quickly it cuts reliance on coal plants – down 8 per cent in two years – and shifts to gas, nuclear, and renewables.

In Japan, Honda is betting its future on EVs, aiming to raise the sales share to two-thirds by 2030. Ford plans 13 new EV models in the next three years.

In Europe, Renault-Nissan is targeting 1.5 million EVs sales a year by 2020, and Volvo 1 million by 2025; Volkswagen is scrambling to make up lost ground with plans for 2 million to 3 million annually by 2025.

Power companies

A parallel battle is under way among power companies, each eyeing control of ultra-fast charging points in the way that US railroad barons sought to snap up land in the late 19th century. Even more money will be made from the "big data" networks that underpin EV technology. Chargemaster in the UK runs a network of public charging stations called POLAR. ChargePoint in the US offers an ultra-fast unit enabling "hundreds of miles of range in under 15 minutes".

Morgan Stanley expects up to 3 million public charging stations in Europe by 2050, up from 100,000 today. They will be ubiquitous. Smart phones will locate them instantly. "Range angst" will rapidly fade. Britain's National Grid has carried out advance planning under its Future Energy Scenario and is eyeing a network of fast-chargers for the motorways. It estimates there could be 6 million EVs in Britain by 2030 under a "Gone Green" assumption.

A string of European firms are jostling to seize the lead in their home markets, with SSE in the UK, Innogy, EON, Iberdrola, Enel, Fortum, EDP, ABB, and Schneider Electric, all pushing ahead with expansion plans.

They are watching developments closely in Norway. The country is close to 30 per cent penetration for EVs, achieved by tax-free status and waivers on toll roads, as well as free parking until 2016.

Germany's Bundesrat has voted to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel cars by 2030. This is not binding but it is a straw in the wind. In Italy, EVs are tax-exempt for five years. France offers euros 6,300 subsidies for EVs.

Nicholas Ashworth from Morgan Stanley says electrification will break the existing system with time. Utility companies should have no trouble over the next decade but the extra power required to recharge a European fleet of 150 million cars in 2050 would be equivalent to "another Germany" springing into being.

Nobody knows how much could be achieved by shifting to off-peak hours through smart grids and variable tariffs. Nor whether car batteries will act as a major storage reservoir.

Everything is up in the air. All we know is that vast sums are at stake and vested interests that fail to adapt in time will be wiped out.

Source: Banks see electric car industry revving up and ushering in an energy fortune

How electric vehicles could help power buildings & how Australia could lift its game

Stored energy from electric vehicles could be used to power large buildings and, contrary to popular belief, could even help extend the lifespan of batteries.

There have been concerns that using lithium-ion EV batteries to transfer energy to grids could lessen battery life and lead to degradation, however researchers from Warwick Manufacturing Group, part of the UK's University of Warwick, have found a way to take energy from idle EVs without damaging the batteries, and could actually increase battery life by about 10 per cent over a year.

Dr Kotub Uddin, along with colleagues from WMG's Energy and Electrical Systems group and Jaguar Land Rover, have for the past two years been researching advanced lithium-ion batteries used in commercially available EVs, and created an advanced battery degradation model to predict battery capacity and power fade under a variety of ageing acceleration factors.

Now they've combined this model with a "smart grid" algorithm to calculate how much energy a vehicle would need to carry out daily journeys, as well as how much energy could be taken without negatively effecting battery life.

Using WMG's International Digital Laboratory as a case study – a building that houses about 360 staff and contains a 100-seat auditorium, two electrical laboratories, teaching laboratories and meeting rooms – the researchers calculated whether enough energy could be taken from EVs parked on campus to power the building.

Using an estimate that 2.1 per cent of cars on campus were EVs (the UK market share), the researchers concluded enough energy would be spared to power the buildings, and that capacity fade in participant EV batteries would be reduced by up to 9.1 per cent, and power fade by up to 12.1 per cent over a year.

Dr Uddin said the findings reinforced the attractiveness of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, with EVs able to help buildings meet peak demand and provide income for vehicle owners.

"Not only is vehicle-to-grid an effective solution for grid support – and subsequently a tidy revenue stream – but we have shown that there is a real possibility of extending the lifetime of traction batteries in tandem," he said.

This could provide a strong incentive for business to pursue EV fleets.

"The results are also appealing to policy makers interested in grid decarbonisation," Dr Uddin said.

The research, On the possibility of extending the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries through optimal V2G facilitated by an integrated vehicle and smart-grid system, is published in Energy.

 Call for Australia to increase EV share

The news came as the newly established Electric Vehicle Council and ClimateWorks released a report into the state of electric vehicles in Australia, finding that the country was falling behind on uptake compared to the rest of the world.

While there was a 40 per cent global increase in EV sales, in Australia sales fell by 23 per cent.

The report said policy support for EVs in Australia was in its early stages and the government needed to step up support.

"In Australia, the adoption of light vehicle CO2 emissions standards could provide an overarching incentive to support electric vehicle uptake, provide a signal to industry to support greater investment, and could help to lower electric vehicle costs over time," the report said.

Electric Vehicle Council chief executive Behyad Jafari said Australia was one of the few remaining developed countries without light vehicle CO2 standards in place.

"Electric vehicles, powered by renewable energy, emit zero carbon emissions, while providing a boost to the economy, providing opportunities for investment in Australian industry," he said.

Tags: Electric vehicles, energy

Source: How electric vehicles could help power buildings & how Australia could lift its game

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Details WhaTech Channel: Transport Market Research Published: 21 June 2017 Submitted by Research N Reports WhaTech Agency News from Research N Reports Viewed: 1 times

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Who are the key vendors in the global Off Road Electric Vehicles Sales market?

What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Off Road Electric Vehicles Sales market?

What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the global Off Road Electric Vehicles Sales market?

The report broadly analyzes the Global off Road Electric Vehicles Sales Market on the basis of the type of product and the application. Based on the type of product, the market has been classified different sections, trends, end-users, and technology.

The segment which is likely to fuel the demand for Off Road Electric Vehicles products is mentioned.

Production capacity, product pricing, the dynamics of demand and supply, sales, revenue, and the rate of expansion of the overall market is provided. A detailed analysis of the competitive landscape of the Global Off Road Electric Vehicles Sales Market has also been presented in this research study.

Also, the profiles of the leading companies o this market have been reviewed to determine their growth prospects in order identify the market hierarchy.

Key players of Market:

Ford

Mitsubishi

Fiat

GM

John Deere

Alk?

Textron Specialized Vehicles Inc.

Polaris

Yamaha

Toyota

Nissan

Toro

Exmark

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Source: Global off road electric vehicles sales market forecast to 2022 explored in latest research

China investments drives rise of ultra-performance electric cars

The Nio EP9 electric car on show at the Shanghai Auto Show will cost you NZ$2.1 million.

Want an insanely fast ride with zero emissions? Startup NIO has the car: An electric two-seater with muscular European lines and a top speed of 313 kilometres per hour.

The catch: The EP9 costs nearly US$1.5 million (NZ$2.1 million). NIO, a Chinese-Western hybrid with bases in Shanghai, London and Silicon Valley, created it to showcase the company's technology and had no sales plans. But it is taking orders for ``bespoke vehicles'' after hearing from buyers ready to pay the eye-popping price.

"We are actually pleasantly surprised how much interest we are getting,'' said the CEO of NIO's U.S. unit, Padmasree Warrior, a veteran of Cisco and Motorola.

READ MORE:* We test drive what's on the way from China's biggest car company* Petrol cars will be obsolete in 8 years, says US report* Chinese carmaker aims for electric, self-driving car by 2020

NextEv's Nio EP9 is part of a drive by Chinese investors to back ultra-high performance electric cars.

NIO is part of a wave of fledgling automakers - all backed at least in part by Chinese investors - that are propelling the electric vehicle industry's latest trend: ultra-high-performance cars.

Manufacturers including Detroit Electric, Qiantu Motor, Thunder Power and NEVS aim to compete with Europe, Detroit and Japan by offering top speeds over 240 kmh and features including carbon fibre bodies and web-linked navigation and entertainment.

The ventures mix U.S. and European technology with Chinese money and manufacturing, reflecting this country's rise as a market and investor for an industry where Beijing wants a leading role. Communist leaders see electric vehicles as a way to clear China's smog-choked cities and as an engine for economic development.

NextEv's Nio EP9 electric supercar can travel speeds over 240 kmh.

"We really haven't seen non-Chinese companies get into this super-technology market,'' said Chris Robinson, who follows the industry for Lux Research.

NIO's backers include Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings, operator of the popular WeChat messaging service; computer maker Lenovo Group, a Singapore government-owned investment fund and U.S.-based IDG Capital, TPG and Hillhouse Capital.

Some brands are following the strategy of Tesla Inc., which debuted with an eye-catching roadster to establish a premium image before launching lower-priced models.

The instant torque and acceleration of electric cars make them natural performance vehicles.

Detroit Electric, a revival of a pioneering U.S. electric car brand founded in 1907, launched a sports car venture this year with a Chinese battery maker and the government of Yixing, west of Shanghai. For a base price of US$135,000 (NZ$186,000), the company promises zero to 100 kmh in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 250 k mh.

The first seven of 100 cars ordered by European dealers have been delivered, according to its chairman and CEO, Albert Lam, a former Lotus chief executive. He said the company aims to release an SUV in 2018 and wants to have a four-vehicle lineup by 2020.

"Our target is to be the first Chinese-based vehicle company to sell worldwide,'' said Lam.

Thunder Power, led by Hong Kong entrepreneur Wellen Sham, has a similarly multinational plan for a sport sedan due out in late 2018.

The company is building a factory in southern China and plans a second in Spain. Engineering work is being handled by Italy's Dallara Automobili, which helped develop Bugatti's Veyron, the fastest street-legal car with a top speed of 408.84 kmh.

Thunder Power promises a top speed of 245 kmh. The company says its competitive edge will be a battery that can go up to 650 kilometres on one charge, or almost double the 320 to 400 kilometres of current high-end electrics.

Bei jing's backing has helped to make China the biggest electric vehicle market at a time of uncertainty about the scale of support for the industry from Washington and European governments.

Sales in China of plug-in and hybrid vehicles in the first quarter of this year totalled 55,929, versus 44,876 for the United States.

The Cabinet hopes to have 100,000 public charging stations and 800,000 private stations operating by the end of this year. Regulators are pressing manufacturers to speed up development with a proposal to require that electrics account for at least 8 percent of each brand's production by next year.

To raise its profile, the electric vehicle industry launched its own racing circuit, dubbed Formula E, in 2014 with battery-powered Formula One-style cars and events in China, Europe, the United States and Mexico.

Still, no matter how appealing they are, there aren't enough buyers to support so many high-performance brands, said Lux's Robinson. He not ed Ferrari or Lamborghini might sell only 15 of their fastest vehicles, which are treated as marketing tools and even at prices above $1 million fail to make a profit.

Manufacturers wanting to move into lower priced segments face a crowded market, he said.

"Really, not all of them are going to make it,'' said Robinson.

Despite that, the newcomers express confidence they can take market share from established rivals.

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NIO's Warrior points to the transition from cellphones to smartphones, in which industry leaders were displaced by upstarts.

"We are in the beginning of a race. We are all at the same starting position,'' said Christopher Nicoll, marketing director for Thunder Power.

Detroit Electric's Lam said his financial plan calls for each car to be sold at a profit by 2019.

"We are not from the internet world,'' he said. "We know how important it is for a car company to make money.''

Other Chinese tech companies including internet search engine operator Baidu Inc. and LeEco, an online video service, are working on electric and self-driving vehicles. Most have research centres in Silicon Valley or Europe.

"China isn't necessarily a technological leader. They are a production leader,'' said Robinson. "A lot of the more advanced electric vehicle, power train and other technology research is going on in Europe and the United States.''

Chinese city governments are forging partnerships with automakers in hopes of becoming manufacturing centers.

That helped Detroit Electric carry out its plans after other investors were uncertain, Lam said. He said the company picked Yixing after talking with four cities.

"We were invited to come to China,'' said Lam.

The most prominent homegrown competitor is Qiantu Motor, led by a former executive of a state-owned automaker.

Qiantu says its K50, on sale next year, will deliver a top speed of 200 kmh and go 300 kilometres on one charge.

NEVS is developing a sedan to be made in China based on technology acquired from defunct Swedish automaker Saab.

Its owners include National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd., a Chinese developer of renewable energy technology, the government of the eastern city of Tianjin and State Research Information Technology Co., owned by the Chinese Cabinet.

NIO developed the EP9 to promote its technology for self-driving vehicles. The first, a seven-seat SUV, is due to be released in China in 2018.

The company worried buyers saw electrics as a "little toy car.'' It wants to "break that mold and say that an electric car can be a serious performance car,'' said Warrior.

NIO says a self-driving version of the EP9 hit 256 kmh in February on an Austin, Texas, test track.

"We made seven, thinking it was essentially for a collector,'' said Warrior. "Now there is increased interest. People actually want to buy this car.''

 - AP

Source: China investments drives rise of ultra-performance electric cars

New tech can wirelessly charge electric cars, smartphones

Stanford scientists have developed away to wirelessly deliver electricity to moving objects, an advance that could charge electric vehicles, smartphones and medical implants on the go.

If electric cars could recharge while driving down a highway, it would virtually eliminate concerns about their range and lower their cost, perhaps making electricity the standard fuel for vehicles.

Scientists at Stanford University in the US have overcome a major hurdle to such a future by wirelessly transmitting electricity to a nearby moving object.

"In addition to advancing the wireless charging of vehicles and personal devices like cellphones, our new technology may untether robotics in manufacturing, which also are on the move," said Shanhui Fan, a professor at Stanford.

"We still need to significantly increase the amount of electricity being transferred to charge electric cars, but we may not need to push the distance too much more," said Fan, lead author of the published in the journal Nature.

The team transmitted electricity wirelessly to a moving LED lightbulb. The demonstration only involved a 1MW charge, whereas electric cars often require tens of kilowatts to operate.

The team is now working on greatly increasing the amount of electricity that can be transferred, and tweaking the system to extend the transfer distance and improve efficiency.

Wireless charging would address a major drawback of plug-in electric cars - their limited driving range.

"The hope is that you'll be able to charge your electric car while you're driving down the highway. A coil in the bottom of the vehicle could receive electricity from a series of coils connected to an electric current embedded in the road," said Fan.

Some transportation experts envision an automated highway system where driverless electric vehicles are wirelessly charged by solar power or other renewable energy sources.

The goal would be to reduce accidents and dramatically improve the flow of traffic while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Wireless technology could also assist GPS navigation of driverless cars. GPS is accurate up to about 35 feet. For safety, autonomous cars need to be in the centre of the lane where the transmitter coils would be embedded, providing very precise positioning for GPS satellites.

"We can rethink how to deliver electricity not only to our cars, but to smaller devices on or in our bodies," Fan said.

"For anything that could benefit from dynamic, wireless charging, this is potentially very important," he said.

Source: New tech can wirelessly charge electric cars, smartphones

Low cost DIY electric car made from recycled parts has 380+ mile range

What is even more impressive they did it for $13,000 USD

California-based company ITAP converts a 1997 BMW into an electric car with a 38% longer driving range than the tesla model 'S P100D' for just a fraction of the cost. dubbed the 'phoenix', this BMW ex-junkyard car was stripped completely bare, then fitted with three types of recycled batteries totalling 130 kilowatts of capacity, plus an electric motor. this DIY combination allows the recycled electric vehicle to drive for 382 miles before needing a recharge.

ITAP founder and CEO, eric lundgren, started with a 'E39' generation BMW '528i' he bought from a junkyard. to save weight, he stipped back the entire interior excluding a seat for the driver and passenger. the battery pack is a 130 kW unit that comprises cells from lithium-ion 18650, old laptops, and used electric car batteries. lundgren and his team built the 'phoenix' in 35 days for just $13,000. lundgren hopes that if nothing else, 'the powers that be' within electronic corporations will notice ITAP's effort and will feel motivated to start practicing what he calls 'hybrid-recycling'.'re-use is the purest form of recycling. it creates zero carbon footprint. re-using parts/components within broken/obsolete electronics is called "hybrid recycling". this is a much-needed and often missing part of the recycling ecosystem.' comments eric lundgren.

In  a second  video he puts the 'phoenix' up against the tesla 'model S 100D' in a simple test: drive both cars in completely identical conditions and see at which mile each one runs out of power. the tesla died at about 315 miles, while the recycled BMW ran out after covering 382 miles. lundgren didn't to achieve his initial target of 400 miles, but he still managed build an 88% recycled car that had enough battery power to set a guinness world record for the longest distance ever driven on a single charge at highway speeds.

 Reference

low cost DIY electric car made from recycled parts has 380+ mile range

Website

Environmental Recycling

Source: Low cost DIY electric car made from recycled parts has 380+ mile range

Electric Cars Charged While Driving

Electric cars charge themselves while driving through magnetic coils in the road. Such wireless charging units are already available. However, up to now, charging by induction only works when both objects are stationary. In order for the alternating magnetic field to generate current in the receiver coil, the frequency of both coils must be exactly matched. If the distance or angle change, the charging power is immediately reduced or even completely broken.

Shanhui Fan, Stanford University, CA, USA, and colleagues have modified the charge coil to automatically adjust the frequency of the magnetic field to the distance of the receiver coil. A voltage amplifier and a resistor coupled to it ensure effective transfer.

The researchers demonstrated that their system works with a prototype: They transferred power wirelessly to an LED, which was slowly moved past the charge coil. Normally, the brightness of the LED is dependent on the distance to the coil. In the experiment, the brightness always stays the same.

So far, the researchers have transferred only one milliwatt with their wireless charge system and also only to a moving object in a one meter radius. But they are confident that this can be significantly increased. They consider charging of electric cars with this technique quite feasible. Mobile devices such as smartphones could also benefit from their technology.

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Source: Electric Cars Charged While Driving

Wireless, on-the-go charging for electric cars a step closer

The researchers demonstrate their wireless charging model. The bright LED light shows that current is flowing.

Stanford University

Two commercially available components could be the key to one day rolling out electric cars that can be continuously recharged just by driving along the road.

A study published in Nature reveals a modest proof-of-concept experiment that shows how electricity can be transmitted wirelessly. Deployed on a much larger scale, the research opens the door to having transmitter coils embedded into roads, which would then charge up cars as they drove over them.

The study also goes on to show how incorporating a voltage amplifier and feedback resistor into electric car design might overcome the main hurdle any such scheme would face – the need to continually retune the car's magnetic resonance frequency as it moves over the coils.

The study was led by Shanhui Fan of Stanford University in the US. He and colleagues began their work by building on 2007 Massachusetts Institute of Technology research that demonstrated the wireless transmission of electricity over a short distance.

Fan and his colleagues refined that work and succeeded in transmitting power to a moving LED lightbulb. It was a mere one-milliwatt trickle, and electric cars will require a flow many orders of magnitude higher, but until now the base concept had not been demonstrated.

Interestingly, though, the distance over which the power was transmitted – less than a metre – might already be enough.

"We still need to significantly increase the amount of electricity being transferred to charge electric cars, but we may not need to push the distance too much more," says Fan.

Fan's concept relies on a technique called magnetic resonance coupling. In essence, coils of wire held between magnets would be embedded into roads – and also on the undercarriage of cars.

Electricity passing through the wires of the road-based coils creates an oscillating magnetic field. This, in turn, stimulates the electrons in any nearby coil – such as the ones in the cars – to also start to oscillate, thus transferring energy.

This transference, however, only works at optimum levels if the two magnetic fields are oscillating at the same frequency, which only happens if the angle between them doesn't change. In other words, both coils have to be stationary.

For the process to work with a moving vehicle, its onboard transmission coil would have to be constantly recalibrated to take account of the rapidly changing angle between it and the coil in the road – a complex and power-hungry process.

However, Fan and his team worked out that if the car was equipped with a voltage amplifier and feedback resistor – both standard items of electrical engineering kit – the problem can be easily resolved.

"Adding the amplifier allows power to be very efficiently transferred across most of the [one-metre] range and despite the changing orientation of the receiving coil," says team member Sid Assawaworrarit.

"This eliminates the need for automatic and continuous tuning of any aspect of the circuits."

Assawaworrarit tested the set-up using the LED lightbulb model. Without the extra components the LED's intensity rose and fell as it approached, travelled over and went past the power source. With them, the light remained constant.

For Fan, the implications of the wireless charging model are huge.

"We can rethink how to deliver electricity not only to our cars, but to smaller devices on or in our bodies," he says.

"For anything that could benefit from dynamic, wireless charging, this is potentially very important."

In an opinion piece in the same issue of Nature, Geoffroy Lerosey of the Langevin Institute in Paris, France, calls the work of Fan's team a "beautiful concept" that "can have real-life applications" and "builds an inspiring bridge between the worlds of quantum physics and engineering".

Source: Wireless, on-the-go charging for electric cars a step closer

Wireless charging of moving electric vehicles overcomes major hurdle in new Stanford research

June 14, 2017

Stanford scientists have developed a way to wirelessly deliver electricity to moving objects, technology that could one day charge electric vehicles and personal devices like medical implants and cell phones. See video here.

By Mark Golden and Mark Shwartz

If electric cars could recharge while driving down a highway, it would virtually eliminate concerns about their range and lower their cost, perhaps making electricity the standard fuel for vehicles.

Now Stanford University scientists have overcome a major hurdle to such a future by wirelessly transmitting electricity to a nearby moving object. Their results are published in the June 15 edition of Nature.

"In addition to advancing the wireless charging of vehicles and personal devices like cellphones, our new technology may untether robotics in manufacturing, which also are on the move," said Shanhui Fan, a professor of electrical engineering and senior author of the study. "We still need to significantly increase the amount of electricity being transferred to charge electric cars, but we may not need to push the distance too much more."

The group built on existing technology developed in 2007 at MIT for transmitting electricity wirelessly over a distance of a few feet to a stationary object. In the new work, the team transmitted electricity wirelessly to a moving LED lightbulb. That demonstration only involved a 1-milliwatt charge, whereas electric cars often require tens of kilowatts to operate. The team is now working on greatly increasing the amount of electricity that can be transferred, and tweaking the system to extend the transfer distance and improve efficiency.

Driving range

Wireless charging would address a major drawback of plug-in electric cars – their limited driving range. Tesla Motors expects its upcoming Model 3 to go more than 200 miles on a single charge and the Chevy Bolt, which is already on the market, has an advertised range of 238 miles. But electric vehicle batteries generally take several hours to fully recharge. A charge-as-you-drive system would overcome these limitations.

"In theory, one could drive for an unlimited amount of time without having to stop to recharge," Fan explained. "The hope is that you'll be able to charge your electric car while you're driving down the highway. A coil in the bottom of the vehicle could receive electricity from a series of coils connected to an electric current embedded in the road."

Some transportation experts envision an automated highway system where driverless electric vehicles are wirelessly charged by solar power or other renewable energy sources. The goal would be to reduce accidents and dramatically improve the flow of traffic while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Wireless technology could also assist GPS navigation of driverless cars. GPS is accurate up to about 35 feet. For safety, autonomous cars need to be in the center of the lane where the transmitter coils would be embedded, providing very precise positioning for GPS satellites.

Magnetic resonance

Mid-range wireless power transfer, as developed at Stanford and other research universities, is based on magnetic resonance coupling. Just as major power plants generate alternating currents by rotating coils of wire between magnets, electricity moving through wires creates an oscillating magnetic field. This field also causes electrons in a nearby coil of wires to oscillate, thereby transferring power wirelessly. The transfer efficiency is further enhanced if both coils are tuned to the same magnetic resonance frequency and are positioned at the correct angle.

Professor Shanhui Fan (left) and graduate student Sid Assawaworrarit have developed a device that can wirelessly charge a moving object at close range. The technology could be used to charge electric cars on the highway, or medical implants and cellphones as you walk nearby. (Image credit: Mark Shwartz/Stanford University)

However, the continuous flow of electricity can only be maintained if some aspects of the circuits, such as the frequency, are manually tuned as the object moves. So, either the energy transmitting coil and receiver coil must remain nearly stationary, or the device must be tuned automatically and continuously – a significantly complex process.

To address the challenge, the Stanford team eliminated the radio-frequency source in the transmitter and replaced it with a commercially available voltage amplifier and feedback resistor. This system automatically figures out the right frequency for different distances without the need for human interference.

"Adding the amplifier allows power to be very efficiently transferred across most of the three-foot range and despite the changing orientation of the receiving coil," said graduate student Sid Assawaworrarit, the study's lead author. "This eliminates the need for automatic and continuous tuning of any aspect of the circuits."

Assawaworrarit tested the approach by placing an LED bulb on the receiving coil. In a conventional setup without active tuning, LED brightness would diminish with distance. In the new setup, the brightness remained constant as the receiver moved away from the source by a distance of about three feet. Fan's team recently filed a patent application for the latest advance.

The group used an off-the-shelf, general-purpose amplifier with a relatively low efficiency of about 10 percent. They say custom-made amplifiers can improve that efficiency to more than 90 percent.

"We can rethink how to deliver electricity not only to our cars, but to smaller devices on or in our bodies," Fan said. "For anything that could benefit from dynamic, wireless charging, this is potentially very important."

Part of the work was supported by the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford.

-30-

Source: Wireless charging of moving electric vehicles overcomes major hurdle in new Stanford research

Nissan Exec Expects Next-Gen EVs Will Boast 310-Mile Electric Range

Nissan LEAFs and e-NV200 at V2G station in the UK

According to Nissan, based on information from the company's commercial vehicle division, the next-generation of EVs will surpass a 310-mile range for cars.

Nissan's e-NV200 light-commercial panel van was released in 2013. It has garnered a decent amount of success for the company, with its hauling capacity of 1,697 pounds and 106-mile range.

Ponz Pandikuthira, vice president for product planning for Nissan Europe, and one of the motivators for moving electrification to Nissan's LCV division, sees positive demands for the improved technology. He recently spoke to the U.K.'s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. He shared:

Nissan e-NV200

"We have more experience with EVs than any other manufacturer, and we've seen a huge uptake in the sales of the e-NV200, especially with delivery companies."

"The threshold for the next generation of EVs is going to be significantly larger than those on the market right now. We're expecting the step-up in range to take us to 250, 350 and 500 kilometers (300 miles) in range for cars."

"Thankfully it's very easy to pass that on to vans, because you can fit the powertrain and batteries to the platform because you have the space. The timing (for launching in the U.K. market) is still to be confirmed, but in the future an electric vehicle will be able to reach 500 kilometers in real-world conditions. Not just during the laboratory-testing process."

"Electrifying commercial vehicles for short haul has its obvious benefits."Something like the NT400 (flatbed truck), for example, is perfect and there are already companies retrofitting electric powertrains to garbage-collection vehicles."

"For the long haul, it's just a case of getting the battery costs down and also working out how to generate the charge."

At the moment, Pandikuthira admits that many consumers still have range anxiety, and tend to prefer hybrids over fully-electric vehicles. He says that this is just a "stepping stone" as EV technology continues to develop and improve. He also believes that plug-in hybrids can be a bridge to all-electric vehicles, but it's only a short-term solution, due to the configuration's excessive weight.

"When we see hybrids, we see a pathway to full electrification. Nissan is obviously working towards zero-emission future, but there are several ways to get there. We're already quite advanced in terms of mild- and microhybrid technology."

"For example, the Note (mini-MPV) with E-Power is the best-selling vehicle in Japan. It works with a range extender, which uses a small combustion engine to charge the battery. This is something that could work with a compact commercial vehicle."

"Then there is plug-in hybrid technology. At the moment, this gives a driver 100 miles (161 km) of electric range and lower emissions for urban driving. Obviously, there are challenges with this technology, because when you add a plug-in system you add a huge amount of mass to the vehicle, sometimes up to 400 kg (881 lbs). That's why we see it as a short-term solution. Plug-in hybrids are a bridge to full-term electrification."

For these reasons, Pandikuthira asserts that the time has come to build vehicles as all-electric models from the beginning. This is more cost-effective than dealing with hybrids and plug-in hybrids, and then working on a transition at a later date. While this may not be entirely possible quite yet, it's the company's target.

"Going forward, we'd like to define vehicles as EVs from the start. That makes it more cost-efficient from a development point of view, but over the next five years we don't think that will be the case for all vehicles. That's why we design them with a sense of interchangeability."

Source: WardsAuto

Source: Nissan Exec Expects Next-Gen EVs Will Boast 310-Mile Electric Range

New law promotes electric car infrastructure in Nevada

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval recently signed into law Senate Bill 145 during the 2017 legislative session. The act created the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration Program with objectives to enable policies that expand the use of electric vehicles and support the growth of EV infrastructure throughout the state.

During the Great Recession, a worldwide financial crash devastated the U.S. automotive industry and forced the federal government to intervene to save American jobs. U.S. taxpayers temporarily acquired General Motors during bankruptcy restructuring, guaranteed private-sector loans to Ford Motor Co. and backed the acquisition of Chrysler by Fiat, after Chrysler had split from a merger agreement with Daimler.

The Obama administration also negotiated Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards that were accepted by the automotive industry. The CAFE program set target thresholds for fuel efficiency over the following decade and drove the development of innovative automotive technologies.

In response, automotive manufacturers delivered more fuel-efficient power train technologies that included two categories of plug-in electric cars.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Fusion Energi and Prius Prime can be driven by an electric motor but also employ a gasoline engine for extended range.

Battery-powered electric cars, such as the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus EV, BMW i3, Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X rely solely on the availability of electricity for fuel and an onboard storage battery to determine traveling distance for its electric motor.

During February 2011, an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Readiness Task Force was first formed in Nevada as a partnership of the NV Energy electric utility, the Nevada Department of Transportation, the Nevada State Office of Energy and REA250.org, a nonprofit organization that was tasked with administering the task force goals.

Participants were recruited from state, county and municipal governments, as well as from the business community, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations, to focus on four objectives that would prepare the state for electric car technologies: educational outreach, infrastructure development, legal code standardization and fleet development.

During 2012, the task force was renamed the Nevada Electric Vehicle Accelerator program, and an informational website was developed at nevadaeva.org.

While gasoline and diesel fuel have been imported into Nevada from other states, electricity has the potential to be generated locally to provide storable power for electric cars. Photovoltaic solar panels, solar thermal generators, geothermal turbines, wind power turbines, hydroelectric dams and other sustainable electric power resources can be harnessed throughout the state.

Electric cars are normally refueled by plugging a charging cable into any electric outlet overnight in order to draw electrons from the utility grid. However, when traveling away from a home base during the day, "range anxiety" was perceived as a deterrent for potential electric car buyers.

Most early battery-powered electric car models, introduced just five years ago, only had a range of 60 to 100 miles initially. Tesla Motors vehicles were an exception, with battery pack ranges exceeding 200 miles of travel, but Tesla electric cars, such as the Model S and Model X, also cost at least twice as much for potential buyers.

During 2012 and 2013, NV Energy formed partnerships with strategic host sites to place public recharging stations for electric cars in strategic areas around urban metropolitan areas in the state, especially the Las Vegas valley in the south and the Reno-Sparks-Carson City region in the north.

Each of the stations in the network employed a standard universal plug connector adopted by the worldwide automotive industry and SAE International, known as SAE J1772. The mating plug and socket connectors had five pins arranged in a star configuration, including three big pins for transferring electric power and two small pins for transferring data signals between the recharging station and the electric car's onboard battery management system.

Each ChargePoint station included a wireless modem that could communicate its operating status to an internet network that was constantly monitored by ChargePoint service technicians, as well as a supervising manager at NV Energy. The NV Energy manager could then contact local host sites to perform maintenance and repairs, if needed.

A foundational network of electric vehicle supply equipment was established throughout the state by NV Energy and its partners, while other supporting organizations also installed EVSE charging stations independently.

"Through our shared investment program, we've partnered with more than 50 companies in Reno and Las Vegas to install EV charging stations at airports, casinos, shopping centers, universities and more. Since 2013, these systems have recorded nearly 106,000 charging sessions, saved over 98,000 gallons of gas and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in Nevada by 364 tons," said Pat Egan, senior vice president of renewable energy and smart infrastructure for NV Energy.

There are now more than 200 public charging station sites throughout Nevada, and the infrastructure continues to grow. To find the location of a local electric car recharging site, visit PlugShare.com.

Tesla has also maintained its own proprietary network of Supercharger stations throughout the country to enable long-distance travel for its electric car models at intervals of 200 miles. The Supercharger systems provide high-voltage DC power that can recharge the larger Tesla model electric car battery packs within about one hour at each stop.

A Supercharger site on Bridger Street in downtown Las Vegas became the first installation outside of California and drew electric car drivers from Los Angeles to the Las Vegas Strip. There are now 11 Tesla Supercharger sites in Nevada at Primm, Las Vegas, Beatty, Tonopah, Hawthorne, Gardnerville, Reno, Winnemucca, Elko, Lovelock and West Wendover.

However, the plug connectors and electronic circuitry inside Tesla Superchargers can only recharge Tesla model vehicles at this fast rate of speed, because of the company's proprietary battery technology and electronic management system.

Other worldwide automotive manufacturers have not adopted the Tesla standard for DC fast charging systems, but have split into two competing standards camps.

Tokyo Power Co. developed the early CHAdeMO connector standard accepted by automotive manufacturers in Japan and South Korea for DC fast charge systems. CHAdeMO-equipped connectors were upgrade options for production models of the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Kia Soul EV. However, the option required two charging ports and separate circuitry for each car, one for the universal SAE J1772 standard and a second for the CHAdeMO connector standard.

SAE International developed a follow-up standard that combined three different levels of AC and DC charging protocols into one connector standard known as the SAE Combo.

European and US automotive manufacturers have begun employing the SAE Combo standard for the BMW i3 and Chevrolet Bolt EV.

During 2015, NRG EVgo partnered with Terrible Herbst Oil Co. in Las Vegas to provide a dozen DC fast charge stations that utilized both CHAdeMO and SAE Combo plugs. The companies installed them at strategic host sites within Terrible Herbst gasoline service stations around the Las Vegas Valley.

Although there is a connection fee and consumption fee that totals about $10 for each charging session for a range of 100 miles, each DC fast charge station can recharge a Nissan Leaf or BMW i3 battery pack in less than 30 minutes. Nissan also offers a "No Charge to Charge" program that provides free access to the NRG EVgo charging stations along US highways for two years when purchasing a new Nissan Leaf.

Most 2017 and 2018 models of battery-powered electric cars have a range of at least 120 miles. Many automotive manufacturers are planning to upgrade existing models to at least a 200-mile range within the next three years as lithium-ion battery costs decline.

The Chevrolet Bolt EV has a battery pack range of 238 miles and should be available in local Nevada dealerships by the fourth quarter of this year.

Tesla will also begin manufacturing its lower-cost Model 3 electric car this year with an estimated range of at least 215 miles but with optional battery pack upgrades to 259, 294 and 315 miles, accompanied by incremental price increases.

Battery pack modules and power train components for the Model 3 will be manufactured at the Tesla Gigafactory, located east of Reno in Storey County.

Stan Hanel is an outreach coordinator for the Nevada Electric Vehicle Accelerator program administered by REA250.org, a nonprofit organization, and serves on the board of directors for the Las Vegas Electric Vehicle Association.

Source: New law promotes electric car infrastructure in Nevada

Electric Car Owners in Minnesota to Face $75 Annual Fee

The fee is expected to generate about $40,000 the first two years, but revenue estimates more than double in the two years after that.

The surcharge applies to what are called "all-electric vehicles," which are able to draw power solely from rechargeable batteries, fuel cells or other electrical currents. Plug-in hybrids that require some gasoline to run wouldn't be subject to the fee.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Source: Electric Car Owners in Minnesota to Face $75 Annual Fee

Electric car subsidies may do more harm than good

Globally, from China and Germany to the United States, electric vehicle (EV) subsidies have been championed as an effective strategy to boost production of renewable technology and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

But a new study by Concordia economics professor Ian Irvine shows that subsidizing EVs in the North American context will not reduce GHG emissions in the short-term, and may even increase them -- at a cost to taxpayers.

Recently published in Canadian Public Policy, Irvine's study compared the incentives for producing EVs that are found in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, North America's fuel-efficiency regulations, with new EV subsidy policies in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.

He found that, while the subsidies encourage the production of more EVs, they undermine the efficiency requirements of existing incentives for conventional vehicles. This results in a zero or negative near-term GHG benefit.

"Sometimes you have more than one policy aimed at a particular goal, and usually those policies are complementary," Irvine notes. "But in this case, they work at cross purposes."

In 2012, CAFE was amended to require manufacturers to continuously reduce the average carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of their fleets by five per cent a year between 2017 and 2025.

Typically, the amount of CO2 each vehicle is allowed to emit is related to its footprint, defined as the area between its wheels. However, Irvine says, because the annual GHG reduction targets are organized on an average fleet-wide basis, manufacturers are allowed some flexibility in how they distribute the annual efficiency improvements within and across different vehicle categories.

'This is what we call a regressive policy'

Under CAFE's rules, an electric car is considered to have a zero emissions footprint. As an incentive designed to stimulate investment in EVs, a manufacturer that produces an EV is given a carbon credit that can be sold to another manufacturer, applied to a future year or applied to other vehicles in the manufacturer's fleet.

As a further incentive, the manufacturer is granted a bonus carbon credit over and above the equivalent of CO2 that the sale of the EV removes from the atmosphere. For EVs, this bonus credit, or multiplier, started at 2.5 in 2016 and declines to 1.5 in 2025.

As Irvine illustrates, if a vehicle with a footprint of 50 square feet is allowed to emit 150 grams of CO2/kilometre, then a manufacturer who sold an EV with the same footprint in 2016 is given an emission credit of 375 grams of CO2/kilometre.

"These carbon credit offsets can be used by a manufacturer to moderate the GHG-related efficiency improvements in the more conventional vehicles that they sell," Irvine says. "So, putting more EVs on the road with subsidies does not translate into fewer GHG emissions."

What's more, the subsidy policies apply to all potential buyers, not just those who wouldn't otherwise have the means to purchase EVs. According to Irvine, this is an inefficient and wasteful use of taxpayer money.

"Research shows that subsidies for vehicle purchases typically benefit the top ten percentile of income distribution," says Irvine. "This is what we call a regressive policy."

All told, Irvine sees the prime lesson of his study to be caution.

"In developing these types of policies, we need to look before we leap," he says. "In Ontario, we're giving grants of up to $14,000 to EV purchases. That's a lot of taxpayer money. And if people think it's going toward reducing GHG emissions, we should confront that misunderstanding."

Source: Electric car subsidies may do more harm than good

Discounts, Rebates Making Some Electric Cars More Affordable

Minnesota Power customers can get a Nissan Leaf for around $13,000 through the month of June

DULUTH, Minn. – Minnesota Power is hoping to get Duluthians to start thinking green when it comes to driving.

Representatives with the company were out at Whole Foods Co–op on Wednesday to promote electric vehicle technology.

Through the month of June, Minnesota Power is offering a $10,000 discount to customers who buy a Nissan Leaf electric car.

Along with a $7,500 dollar federal tax credit, they say right now you can get one of these for just $13,000.

"A question we commonly get is 'how does it handle in winter driving?' The vehicles are actually heavier than a regular internal combustion engine car because of that battery pack, so they typically get a lot better traction as well," says Pam Schmidtt, a customer solutions analyst with Minnesota Power.

Minnesota Power also just finished up construction on a brand new electric vehicle charging station in Canal Park.

The Nissan Leaf gets just over 100 miles on a full charge.

Source: Discounts, Rebates Making Some Electric Cars More Affordable