At present, a lot of that seems to be a bit of a pipe dream IMO. Very few EVs can match the longevity of ICEVs. The average mileage for an ICEV lorry is over 100,000 miles a year, or over a million miles in ten years. Some present batteries carry a 150,000 mile / 8 year warranty and there is talk of a Tesla 'million mile' battery that nobody has yet seen -- but even that won't match today's diesels. Notwithstanding that, there just aren't sufficient mineral reserves to convert entirely to lithium-based battery EVs (see post #44), so even with the best will in the World, complete conversion to LiBEVs is impossible. There is also a huge problem about what to do with 'spent' Li batteries -- they still haven't figured out what to do with them (post #30). However, there is a solution (and one that doesn't need motorways to be dug up). Bauxite is one of the most abundant minerals on Earth and hence the raw materials for Al/Air are in plentiful supply. Added to that, the alumina recovered during an anode swap is fully recyclable to recover the aluminium right now (as opposed to maybe some time in the future for lithium), Al/Air is potentially cheaper to run over the expected lifetime of a LiBEV (posts #51 & #52) and has the potential for greater longevity. Charging at home is impossible for a good many people as they don't have off-street parking -- but then charging at home isn't required if you have an Al/Air EV.While this has been an interesting read there are some points that are overlooked. There are many EV’s out there with over half a million miles on the clock, something that ice car generally can’t do. Brakes last much longer because of regeneration. Servicing cost is much cheaper and charging at home is much cheaper. As for long distance the vehicle of the future will charge as it drives down the motorway, this technology is here and being tested now. Sorry to say this means more disruption on the motorways while they lay the lines. This argument was had many years ago between the horseman and the new fangled car and look how that has turned out. Don’t forget the mind is like a parachute, no use when it’s closed.
You can recycle everything about a horse and it’s good for the rosesWhile this has been an interesting read there are some points that are overlooked. There are many EV’s out there with over half a million miles on the clock, something that ice car generally can’t do. Brakes last much longer because of regeneration. Servicing cost is much cheaper and charging at home is much cheaper. As for long distance the vehicle of the future will charge as it drives down the motorway, this technology is here and being tested now. Sorry to say this means more disruption on the motorways while they lay the lines. This argument was had many years ago between the horseman and the new fangled car and look how that has turned out. Don’t forget the mind is like a parachute, no use when it’s closed.
when has the BBC ever reported anything honestly??This is a an interesting piece and reflects my feelings:
BBC News - Why electric cars will take over sooner than you think
Why electric cars will take over sooner than you think
The BBC's Justin Rowlatt explains why we are accelerating towards an electric car future.www.bbc.co.uk
Colin
IMO, the biggest factor that the BBC (and most other EV pundits) left out is that the shift to LiBEVs is massively disadvantageous to the poorest. It's all right the pundits spouting words of "we know best" from their ivory towers with somewhere to charge these things up and enough disposable income to afford the EV premium price. But many of those who live in less salubrious surroundings on modest means with nowhere to plug an EV in won't be able to use them with any reliability and/or won't be able afford the purchase price. There's talk of adding a charging point to each lamp post, but that won't be enough. For example, there is only one lamp post for every 12 houses and an average car ownership of 1.5 cars per household in many terraced streets, and those lamp posts are typically only on one side of the road.
I agree with much of that, but am concerned that if a significant percentage are unable to enjoy personal motoring, they will feel disadvantaged and take out their angst on the property of those who can afford it.
www.warburtons.co.uk
just wondering what a truck with a 20 tonne payload and 400 mile range would weigh ? What would the impact on our roads, compared to a diesel truck be?It's horses for courses, John.
The specification and environmental credentials of an electrically powered lorry satisfy the requirements of this particular application.
And that's clearly something that Warburtons feel a diesel powered lorry wouldn't be able to achieve.
Colin
TBH, it meets very specific criteria in about the only circumstances where it makes any fiscal sense. It's to be used for short distance, 'last leg' deliveries into a city; from Enfield, which is outside the London ULEZ, into inner London, a trip of 12 .. 15 miles into a city with strict emissions legislation. That said, it's a 16 tonner with about the same payload as a 10 tonne diesel truck and that additional mass is going to mean it produces more pollution than the ICEV equivalent.
Unlike LiBEVs, the majority of those were improvements that were adopted by the public on their own merits because they offered clear benefits. LiBEVs are being forced on the public, mostly against their will. At best the move to LiBEVs is step that will go the way of Betamax leaving those who were forced to buy them out in the cold. Worse is that they are impractical for those who have no off-street parking or who have other factors that prevent them charging EVs at home. An enforced change to LiBEVs is thus likely to make personal motoring the exclusive preserve of the privileged, massively to the detriment of the less well off. OTOH, I wouldn't have the same objection to giving people a free choice so that they can choose EVs where they make sense while those for who EV's don't can continue to use something more appropriate to their needs.The enabling technologies for all electricity powered vehicles are in their infancy.
At this stage of the move away from fossil fuel powered vehicles, products will have limitations and will be expensive as development, tooling and distribution costs are recovered. This happens with pretty much all step changes in technology. In the past you've no doubt experienced this effect many times, e.g. corded phones to cordless phones to mobile phones to smart phones. Or filament bulbs to coiled filament bulbs to coiled-coil filament bulbs to fluorescent bulbs to led bulbs. Or 78rpm disc records to 33rpm disc records to spool-to-spool tape to cassette tape to compact disc to solid state storage to streaming. Or the internet......
In 10 or 20 years time we'll be looking back on this transition from fossil to electric powered vehicles and wondering how on earth anyone could have doubted the need or our ability to effect the change.
Colin
are the american trucks you quote under 44 tonnes gvw ?