June 25, 2008
Record high gas prices are firing up new research. The goal is to commercialize electric vehicles capable of going long distances before they would need fuel.
Hybrid vehicles that run on both electricity and gasoline are now a reality. If the price of gas remains historically high and with the appropriate government incentives, such transportation could become a lot more pervasive and lead to a possible reduction in carbon emissions. Clearly, soaring energy demand and technological advancements have given the all-electric vehicle added potential.
"The electric vehicle is not dead," says Larry Burns, vice president of research and development for General Motors, at the Edison Electric Institute's annual conference in Toronto. "Engineers are still working on it. The batteries are still expensive. But the fuel savings will eventually pay for it. This is fundamentally a better business proposition."
GM plans to introduce its Chevy Volt by the end of 2010. It will be a plug-in hybrid that is powered by a stack of lithium batteries. The car will able to run 40 miles between juice-ups at which point a built-in generator would kick in and enable the car to run on traditional gasoline. The difference between this version of the electric car and the failed model from a generation ago is that the older one did not have a back-up fuel supply and therefore could only go short distances.
The U.S. Department of Energy is chipping in $30 million over the next three years to help not just GM but also Ford, which is working with Southern California Edison to build a fleet of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota, meanwhile, say they are doing the same. Beyond that, several start-up ventures are working on the same technologies -- vehicles that those risk takers say will not only help wean the nation from oil but ones that will also require far less maintenance than traditional cars.
Admittedly, the cars are expensive at $70,000-$100,000 apiece and the reliability of the battery technology is still an unknown. Researchers are now focused on producing long-lasting and cost-effective batteries. The technology is progressing at a notable rate, as the battery packs unveiled a decade ago were far weightier and bulkier than those around today. At the same time, modern batteries are said to have just as much power as a six-cylinder gas-enabled vehicle.
"The goal is to develop (the technology) that can be mass produced, compete effectively in the marketplace and substantially reduce petroleum consumption by offering fuel flexibility to American consumers," says the Department of Energy, which along with the automakers say that most of the all-electric versions will hit the market by 2011.
Potholes Ahead
The imperative is stronger now than ever before. While only 2 percent of this country's electric power supply comes from oil, about 96 percent of the energy used to run cars comes from petroleum. That's about 20 million barrels a day -- an unsustainable rate given that developing nations are expanding economically and adding greatly to the number of vehicles they have on their roads.
"We are positioning ourselves for this market," says Jim Rogers, CEO of Duke, at the Edison Electric Institute's conference.
To be sure, the pathway to success will be riddled with potholes. It's a big deal to set out to displace the combustion engine. It's no less challenging to try and offset such gasoline replacements as ethanol. And then there's the question of whether the utilities providing the power could deliver. To make matters even tougher, the various venture capitalists involved in the plug-in technology are mired in problematic issues that range from cost overruns to supply chain issues to exaggerated claims.
The fear among investors and stakeholders alike is that the all-electric vehicle will get sidetracked before it ever gets started. To that end, they say that government must become a bigger partner and take such steps as providing far more research funds, offering financial assistance to buyers of hybrid fleets and eliminating the state sales tax on plug-in hybrids.
"We must not let promises to produce electric vehicles vaporize like the distant memory of $2-per-gallon gas," says Linda Nicholes, executive director of Plug in America. "Taking this stand is also boldly patriotic because the money we spend on electricity stays here at home. It strengthens our own economy, not the cold-blooded regimes of rogue terrorists abroad."
Sales of vehicles that run not just on electricity but also on alternative fuels are expected to keep rising. But that type of conservation is likely to be offset by a 2-percent increase in energy demand through 2030. Consumption of both coal and oil are going up, along with the emissions associated with them.
According to GM's Burns, it is within reason to believe that 43 percent of all vehicles on the road in the decades to come could rely on their electric utility for their fuel. Ultimately, though, the aim is to get to hydrogen fuel cells that burn the cleanest of all -- something in which GM is also researching, saying that hydrogen is already produced to clean up gasoline and that the fuel source would be far less expensive than gasoline.
Technology has been the driving force behind global economic advancement. For its part, the automotive industry has evolved but it still relies on the internal combustion engine. It would seem within reason that it, too, could deliver a vehicle that runs on alternative technologies and one that is friendlier to the environment and to consumer pocketbooks. The all-electric vehicle is within sight but it has many miles to travel before it could fulfill its promise.
More information is available from Energy Central:
Respond to the editor.
Ken Silverstein EnergyBiz Insider Editor-in-Chief
Read Ken's Blog
