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The Electric Car Revolution is on

241K views 836 replies 154 participants last post by  lawdefender 
#1 ·
Whatever you think of electric cars doesn't matter, the fact of the matter is that 2010 marks the year of the beginning of the Electric Car Revolution. Every major and minor car manufacturing company is releasing an electric car this and next year, with a hundred more models becoming a reality in just two years. Charging stations are popping up in every country and their numbers will rise exponentially. Battery capacity is expected to rise by 1000% thanks to nanotech breakthroughs.

Let us monitor and discuss this inevitable and overall positive revolution.

Some existing problems to overcome:
* Average range of a single charge is at 110 miles or 177 km.
* A single charge from your regular home outlet will take as much as 6 to 9 hours. Although a new boosted charging stations does the job in 30 minutes. These numbers are expected to drop substantially in the coming years.
* In the next few years electric cars will only be convenient for those that have their own garage or a large parking lot equipped with electric charges. The latter is unlikely now but will change in just a few years, France is planning to enact a law that starting 2012 all residential complex parking lots are to be equipped with electric charging stations.
* Electric cars don't solve environmental problems just yet, because much of electricity is generated by coal power plants. However, this is easily remedied by building more Nuclear and Solar power plants. Fusion power reactors will soon be tested, in the future easily providing most of our energy needs.

To kick start the thread here's Aptera, the weird electric car that offers the least resistance to air. About 5000 of these have been pre-ordered in the United States :




NOTE: Most electric cars look like regular cars, not futuristic space ships.

Post anything related to electric cars here. Hopefully I'm not the only one excited ;)
 
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#46 ·
There's danger in everything but the repeat of Chernobyl is unlikely, the tragedy has been studied extensively over the course of the last 24 years, there are so many safety measures now in place that it's considered to be, overall, very safe. The main concern with them is actually the nuclear waste which needs to be stored somewhere. The way of the not-so-distant-but-not-around-the-corner-future-either, however, is Fusion, Solar and Wind power.
 
#58 ·
There's danger in everything but the repeat of Chernobyl is unlikely, the tragedy has been studied extensively over the course of the last 24 years, there are so many safety measures now in place that it's considered to be, overall, very safe. The main concern with them is actually the nuclear waste which needs to be stored somewhere. The way of the not-so-distant-but-not-around-the-corner-future-either, however, is Fusion, Solar and Wind power.
Put it on a rocket and shoot it into the Sun or Jupiter. Or, if you don't want to bother aiming the rocket, just shoot it off into space.

IMO wind is best - newer varieties of wind turbines look like spinning radio towers, no giant spinning blades. I got a picture of one next to the National Botanical Gardens in Washington, but Photobucket is blocked at work so I can't link to my own pic - here's one from Popular Mechanics:
 
#57 ·
Range Rover goes electric



The electric Liberty E-Range has a claimed top speed of 85mph and range of 200 miles

What is billed as the world's first pure electric 4x4 has made its debut, before going on sale in the UK before any other country.

Oxford-based Liberty Electric Cars has completed extensive testing on its E-Range, which it claims will fill a significant gap in the family-size and luxury vehicle market.

It accelerates from 0-60mph in about seven seconds

The company has also commenced development on other large, luxury 4x4s, SUVs, and MPVs.

Mass production starts at the end of 2010
 
#59 · (Edited)
Some INdian electric cars...launched or to be launched
REVA
(world's largest specifically electric car company)
Reva NXG(2012)


Reva NXR


Very popular
RevaI






TATA Motors
very famous Indica EV


companise here are simply going mad on EV...some have introduced EV version of their major products....and newbie companies like Tara EV ,Ajanta EVand Hero EV are creating some exciting new products...
tara tiny


tata has gone one step ahead to create electric commercial vehicles and air compressed small cars

TATA ACE ELEKTRO(Chrysler will sell these in US)







...while some bike companies have introduced electric bikes...shown here ultra popular Yo!bikes


 
#61 ·
^^ The Europe electricity network is one network these days - if Denmark has a peak in demand, trough Germany it buys electricity from the Netherlands. Apart from that, electric charging will mostly be done at night at home (it's most convenient and cheap), in the hours of low power demand, and can be programmed. I don't think the electricity production will be the bottle neck
 
#62 ·
^^ Of course it is a integrated net but still it can't support e sudden peak of demand in just a few years. And the time of re-charge is irrelevant when we're talking about the overall requirements from the net.

Keep in mind that the rush to introduce electric vehicles by the EU manufacturers is MOSTLY to meet the stringer (combined) fleet emission standarts to enter in force in 2012. Why do you think Aston Martin is planning to introduce it's version of the Toyota IQ?
 
#65 · (Edited)
I'm not too worried about electricity supplies, there's really no reason why new Nuclear Power Plants can't be built. In fact, Ukraine is building two new nuclear reactors right now, in addition to 15 existing ones. 22 more will be built by 2030, according to an adopted state program. Once again, there's no danger anymore, not more than other power plants, anyhow.

It's simple, everyone has to start building more Nuclear Power Plants and start investing heavily into Wind and Solar energy, which will compliment and ease the transition. Both Wind and Solar Energy can produce all the energy we will ever need, alone by each other. Advances in Solar Energy batteries are also now rising increasingly fast.
 
#66 ·
Thing is will electric motors have the power to move autos or trucks up steep hills.

Found a UK. inventor who is trying to perfect a steam engine for autos. It is called the Barrett Steam Engine. It produces PSI of over 1500 at temperatures of over 900 F. They say Steam Engines are better then other types of engines or motors when it comes to power.


Video of the Barrett Steam Engine in an auto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOsEYpIQomE&NR=1

Video of it the engine actually moving the auto - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aywIVjUyIFc&NR=1
 
#67 ·
^^ That's actually very interesting. It's taking something from history and touching it up for the future. After all, there are cars from the start of the 20th Century that run on steam. Jay Leno has some in his massive car collection.
 
#70 ·
Electric trucks are coming out around 2012-2013
 
#72 ·
I assume so :) batteries from three years into the future are going to be far more efficient
 
#74 ·
Why not? About 10% of all trucks are going to be fully electric by 2020, if not more. The rest hybrids of various kinds. Even today electric trucks are starting to rapidly become a reality
 
#75 ·
Freightliner Taps Tesla To Build an Electric Truck



The technology underpinning the sexy Tesla Roadster is showing up in the last place you’d expect to find it — a truck.

The Silicon Valley automaker is providing the batteries Freightliner Custom Chassis is putting in the electric trucks it will have on the road next year. Freightliner has offered CNG and hybrid electric trucks for years and it’s about to start selling a hydraulic hybrid. It says electrics are the logical next step.

“We’re trying to drive some of the revolution within the commercial sector,” says Jonathan Randall, director of sales and marketing. “The is one more arrow in our quiver to make sure we’re following the technology and providing what our customers want.”

We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating — fleets are a perfect application for electric vehicles. The vehicles follow set routes, so range isn’t a problem. They’re kept at centralized depots, making recharging a breeze. Yes, EVs cost more up front, but they’re cheaper to operate — Freightliner says its electric rig will save $15,000 a year in fuel and maintenance costs. Ford recognizes this as well, which is one reason it’s rolling out the light-duty Transit Connect Electric van at the end of the year.

Freightliner already builds a lot of the delivery trucks — called walk-in vans — you see trundling around town. It essentially took the chassis from one of those trucks, the MT-45, and swapped the engine and transmission for a motor and a really big battery.

Enova provided the motor, which produces 120 kilowatts peak power (about 160 horsepower) and 45 kilowatts (about 60 horsepower) continuous. The controller and charger also came from Enova. The juice comes from batteries made by Tesla Motors.

The pack is comprised of three 18.5 kilowatt-hour modules for a total of 55.5 kilowatt hours. That’s good for “somewhere north of 100 miles range,” says Mike Stark, who leads Freightliner’s alt fuel efforts. He says “somewhere north” because the truck is still being tested. Need more range? Add more modules to the pack. Stark says the truck can handle as many as five, which would provide a staggering 92.5 kilowatts.

“We can add and deduct packs to suit the customers needs and budget,” Stark said.

The battery is essentially the same as the Roadster’s 53 kilowatt-hour pack. Each module contains 2,000 cells and weighs 300 pounds. The cells are the same kind you’ll find in your laptop — 18650 lithium cobalt oxide. Plug the truck into a 220-volt line and it’s good to go in six to eight hours.

All of the components fit between the frame rails and what would be the engine compartment in a conventional truck, so there’s no loss in cargo space or capacity. The electric van will have a 2,500-pound payload. Although the battery pack weighs 900 pounds, Stark says the electric drivetrain is lighter than the engine and transmission it replaced.

Freightliner Custom Chassis is a subsidiary of Daimler, which bought a stake in Tesla Motors almost a year ago, so you might this was a sweetheart deal for Tesla. Not so, says Stark. Tesla’s pack ran the testing gauntlet alongside those of several other manfacturers and came out on top fair and square.

“We talked to Tesla because of the relationship with Daimler,” Stark said. “But we also found they offered the best energy density for the price and the packaging. We believe they provide the best product for our application.”

No one’s discussing terms of the deal — Tesla didn’t return a call seeking comment — but whatever they are, Tesla’s gotta be happy because it brings in additional revenue. The company also is providing the batteries Daimler is using in its electric Smart ForTwo.

Freightliner plans to wrap up testing soon and have the truck rolling off an assembly line by the middle of next year. No one’s saying how many it might build — “Whatever the market will bear” is all Randall would say. But, he said, Freightliner has already booked its first order.

Photo: Freightliner Custom Chassis

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/03/freightliner-taps-tesla-to-build-an-electric-truck/
 
#77 ·
:D

I understand, but can we really judge the near-future potential of electric trucks by comparing the very first electric trucks at the very beginning of a true electric car revolution? No, we can only look at them as indicators that there's nothing that's impossible.
 
#78 ·
I'm just saying that electrically powered motors will be used in private vehicles and not commercial ones, commercial ones will continue to use petroleum based fuels, only after electrical motors are advanced enough will they replace conventional engines in commercial vehicles.
 
#79 ·
Actually... we may be closer to that target than I thought

All-Electric Drayage Truck (Balqon)

The heavy-duty electric short-haul drayage truck -- the first of its kind at any port worldwide -- can pull a 60,000-pound cargo container.

Already operational in San-Francisco port.



 
#81 ·
#82 ·
The SCiB™ – or Super Charge ion Battery – is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that boasts minimal capacity loss even after 6,000 charge-discharge cycles, high levels of safety and rapid charging capability with the ability to charge to 90 percent of capacity in as fast as 5 minutes

Electric vehicles face a road block in the form of battery technology and we can expect to see lots of news in this space in coming years as huge companies throw resources into finding a solution to battery range and recharging times. One of the promising candidates for improving battery performance is Toshiba's SCiB technology. The company has now announced that it's working with Mitsubishi Motors to fast track the development of these batteries for EV applications.

The SCiB™ – or Super Charge ion Battery – is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery that boasts minimal capacity loss even after 6,000 charge-discharge cycles, high levels of safety and rapid charging capability with the ability to charge to 90 percent of capacity in as fast as 5 minutes.

For EV applications Toshiba has developed a new anode material and a new electrolyte to improve safety and rapid recharging. According to Toshiba, the long life will promote reduction in the waste that results from battery replacement, reducing the impact on the environment.

The SCiB will also be used for electric bicycles, electric motorcycles and for power storage in a microgrid system.

Toshiba will begin production next year at Kashiwazaki Operations, a new facility in Niigata prefecture.

More info at Toshiba's SCiB website.


http://www.gizmag.com/toshiba-fast-tracks-scib-battery-technology/15667/picture/117526/
 
#83 ·
Fisker Karma, they are taking orders in the US this November, with deliveries beginning March/April 2011. It has a 80km electric range and costs $90,000.


Convertible version, not available yet.


Aqua, a recently-built residential tower in Chicago that has charging station for electric cars, the first in the Midwestern US.
回回;51053131 said:
image hosted on flickr
 
#98 ·
Investing in fossil fuels is now is insane no matter how you look at it. Battery technology has already caught up, in fact it did so 10, 15 years ago, it's just a matter of scale economy for them to be cheap, since production is limited. Adopting battery cars right now is the only way to do this.
 
#85 ·
I think China is the biggest player in this field as they are the ones who are going to manufacture thousands of these and so reducing the cost. Also in China pebble ed nuclear technology is being developed and this is incredibly safe and takes a very long time for a meltdown to occur and is estimated to be commercially viable within 5 years or so.
 
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