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Number of Electric Vehicles on Roads Reaches Three Million: IEA (reuters.com)
The number of electric vehicles on roads worldwide rose to a record high of 3.1 million in 2017, but more research, policies and incentives are needed to drive further uptake, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. From a report: The number of electric cars, including battery-electric, plug-in hybrid electric and fuel cell electric passenger light-duty vehicles, increased by 57 percent compared with 2016, the IEA said in a report. China accounted for 40 percent of the global total last year. Research and development, policy support, charging infrastructure investment and production improvements are resulting in lower battery costs and higher electric vehicle (EV) uptake.
A vehicle where the fuel is nearly free, goes the same distance, and has 5x the horsepower along with a nearly immortal lifetime due to nearly no moving parts.
What boggles my mind is that this is only happening because of elon musk, they spent decades and millions of dollars holding back electric vehicles for stupid reasons. This revolution should have happened a long time ago.
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So I don't really know if there is any science on this. If you have some more knowledge please correct me.
The way I see it, we have a pretty serious energy density problem with our current battery tech. (L-Ion tech was invented in the 70's)
The current EV sales climate seems to be focused on changing driver/consumer behavior, and adapting infrastructure around current battery technology.
My proposition is this.
I think we jumped the gun on EVs. I don't think we have the service life, or energy density we need in energy storage technology right now.
So on one hand, the early adopters are funding the advancement of the tech, and I'm fine with that. That's how it should be.
I'm just a little worried about all of the infrastructure decisions being made when i think it's quite clear that we are going to need the next big jump in battery tech before EVs are able to complete with ICEs on any metrics of sustainability.
What it looks like right now is the wealthy are essentially "leasing" green tech for bragging rights, being subsidized by taxpayers (charging stations), and letting the common folk deal with the cleanup after they are done with them.
And those things are NOT easy to get rid of safely.
The question is:
Where is the rest of /. on this?
Will the market resolve the winners and losers of this race on it's own or have we propped up one side of this beyond the market's control?
Is there even room for another player in the game with all of the "enthusiasm" behind tesla?
Actually a large percentage of electric vehicles are coal powered. Electric is only good for the environment if your electric power comes from non-fossil fuel sources.
It's still more efficient and uses less fossil fuels to produce energy at a centralized location at big plants than it is on-site in tiny little car engines. Sure, electric cars powered from solar power are responsible for less pollution than one's powered by coal plants... but both are less polluting than your average internal combustion engine.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
It makes tons of sense if you have a place to charge your car at home. Many do not, causing EVs to be more inconvenience than their benefits are worth.
Electric vehicles won't work for everybody (yet); but they would work for most people. The choice for society at this moment in time isn't everyone has to have ICE or everyone has to have EV. There is room for both on the road.
Eventually, especially as technology improves for things like batteries, it would be nice if all vehicles were EV... and with that change charging becomes easier- but for now it's ok that some people who can't get by with today's EVs don't have them. They aren't appropriate for everyone yet.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
Actually a large percentage of electric vehicles are coal powered. Electric is only good for the environment if your electric power comes from non-fossil fuel sources.
It's 2018. If you still believe that disproven meme you're either a complete moron or a paid shill. There's is no longer any other justifiable way to describe a post such as yours.
What if you want to haul 12 foot sheets of drywall in your vehicle and be able to drive 6 kids to football practice when it's your family's turn to drive? Or what if you want a vehicle that gets 50+ mpg and 90% of the time, you're the only one in it?
The answer for a family is probably to have two different types of vehicles, each well suited for certain types of trips while being less suited for others. One vehicle could be a small EV and the other a more traditional gas powered vehicle. Maybe a minivan or SUV. And maybe for certain kinds of things (12 foot sheets of drywall), they'll just rent or pay to have the stuff delivered.
That's what we do. For years we've had a small economy car for the bulk of the trips and a larger vehicle to be used when you need a bigger vehicle.
In your example, most families probably aren't going to "suddenly" go camping in a remote area without electricity anyway. That takes a little bit of planning and if they've got time to plan and are an all EV family, they probably have some disposable income and can find a cheap rental car or borrow one from a friend.