The Dirty Little Secret about Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles have gotten a lot of media attention overthe last few years. The United States, with the rest of the developed world,have made a push to reduce emissions and improve air quality in our cities. Weuse things like O2 sensors and Air Fuel Ratio sensors, along with catalyticconverters, in order to reduce the impact that gasoline engines have on theenvironment. Recently, companies have been exploring ways to abandon gasolineconsumption all together and produce “zero emissions” vehicles in the form ofelectric vehicles, like the Nissan Leaf. Although people have thoughtfullyexplored the impact of producing the electricity needed to charge the battery,all of the green-enthusiasts are conveniently looking away from the real issue:the lithium ion battery itself.

Nissan Leaf

 Lithium is a soft, silver-white alkali metal with the symbolLi on the periodic table. It does not occur freely in nature; it only appearsin compounds that are usually ionic. Lithium salts are extracted from the waterof mineral springs, brine pools, and brine deposits. The metal is then producedvia electrolysis from a mixture of fused lithium chloride and potassiumchloride.

The brine is usually pumped to large pools to let the sunevaporate the salts to a high enough concentration. Then this potent solutionis pumped onto trucks and driven to processing facilities. Currently, 61% ofthe world’s lithium production occurs in Chile. Worldwide reserves of lithiumare estimated at about 13 million tonnes. Using the battery efficiency figureof 400 g of lithium per kWh, this gives a total maximum lithium batterycapacity of 52 billion kWh which, assuming it’s used exclusively for carbatteries, is enough for 2 billion cars with the same size battery as a NissanLeaf.

Lithium brine pools

 Problem is, only 25% of the world’s lithium goes into themanufacture of batteries (and that includes batteries for laptops and cellphones).  Lithium is used for processingsilica to make glass, as a major component in high temperature grease, in airpurification systems, in nuclear weapons, and even in pharmaceutical drugs totreat bi-polar disorder. The world’s supply of lithium would be exhaustedrelatively quickly if we tried to run most of the world’s vehicles onlithium-ion batteries.

In response to this claim, many bring up the fact thatLithium batteries can be recycled, and thus diminishing the problem ofdepleting this rare metal. The problem with this is that lithium is rathervolatile at room temperature, so the entire battery has to be cooled down to-345°Fbefore it can be dismantled and recycled. Cooling batteries down to suchextreme temperatures uses a tremendous amount of energy, reducing the favorableenvironmental impact lithium ion batteries are supposed to have.

In reality, with a rapidly expanding population and ballooningconsumption of energy worldwide, there is no magic solution to solve ouremissions problems and save the world. Continuing current habits of everyindividual driving and using inefficient means of transportation, along withthe host of other issues with consumer culture, leaves little doubt that ourcurrent style of living is unsustainable. Save for the unlikely invention ofcold fusion, we are going to have to re-evaluate the way in which we travel.

What is MPGe?

Greater environmental protection measures have led to a pushfor more fuel efficient vehicles. Along with the development of catalyticconverters, air fuel ratio sensors,and O2 sensorsfor standard gasoline engines, automakers have looked for alternative ways to fuel our transportation needs. Most popular today are gasoline-electric hybrids, butmore recently, fully electric vehicles have been in the spotlight as the mostgreen and efficient option available today.

 One challenge for the EPA was how to relate the fuel efficiencyof fully electric vehicles to consumers. We are all used to the standard MPG –or miles per gallon – rating to compare the fuel efficiency of gasoline poweredvehicles, so the solution has been to provide a MPGe, or miles ger gallonequivalent, rating for all electric and hybrid vehicles.

The MPGe metric was introduced in November 2010 by the EPAto label the fuel efficiency of the new Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt electriccars. The ratings are based on the EPA’s formula, in which 33.7 kilowatt hoursof electricity is equivalent to one gallon of gasoline. This is based on theenergy content of gasoline: burning one US gallon of gasoline is 115,000 BTU.The formula for calculating MPGe is shown below.

Two things must be taken into consideration for MPGe of electric vehicles: one  is the energy consumed to generate the electricity necessarycharge the battery; and the other is the transmission efficiency of that electricity from itssource into the battery. This makes the calculations much more difficult, butit is essential for getting an accurate depiction of the fuel efficiency ofelectric vehicles.

2012 Ford Focus Electric

 Even with all those factors taken into consideration, newall electric vehicles have impressive fuel efficiency. The 2012 Ford FocusElectric gets 105 MPGe and has a range of 76 miles. Certainly not capable ofroad trips, but it will get most people to work and back, and perhaps a trip tothe grocery store, with some charge to spare. This satisfies what most peopledo with their cars on a daily basis, and can save a good amount of money in thelong run on gas.

Does MPGe make sense to you?

You Can Brick Your 109k Tesla Roadster

It's always a bummer when your Air Conditioning Parts or AC Compressor quits out on you - you're stuck in the heat for a few days while you order another one and have it installed. It is a decently easy fix though, and (depending on where you shop) a not-so-costly repair. Other repairs are more expensive - as a few Tesla Roadster owners found out when their lithium-ion car batteries died and discovered a replacement runs $40,000.

 Yes, you read that right. After placing a $5000 deposit and then coughing up an additional $104,000 a few hundred people have driven home in a fully electric Tesla Roadster. The batteries that are used to power the Roadster are not unlike the ones used to power your cell phone - rechargeable, and apparently, once flat dead they cannot be revived.

Some technology enthusiasts will recognize the term "bricking" - it means when a piece of technology is rendered completely unusable, making it about as useful as a giant brick. Five Tesla Roadster owners so far have discovered that not only can they brick their Roaster, but the only solution is to purchase an entirely new and un-discounted battery from Tesla for 40k.

Surely, with such dire consequences it must be really difficult to brick a Tesla, right? Unfortunately, the parasitic load from the cars subsystems will render any unplugged Tesla a brick in time. With a full charge, that might take up to six weeks or so, but if the battery was already run down it could take as little as one week. Even plugged in, if the voltage going to the car isn't sufficient it can brick anyway as one unfortunate Tesla owner found out.

Insurance won't cover it, either. Tesla is no better - they specifically state in their terms upon buying the car that they are not responsible for "neglect" of the battery. You would think Tesla would recognize the danger here and go to great lengths to warn customers about this issue, but it is markedly absent from any of the paperwork and manuals given to new Tesla owners.

Given this information, buying a Tesla leaves you open for a huge un-insurable liability. There are those who want to go green while maintaining serious style, but with $40,000 in the balance, is it worth it?

Does this Concept Indicate Wheels of the Future?

The new SIM-LEI prototype brings an entirely new function toboth the front wheel hub and rear wheel hub: powering the vehicle. While I hopethat no car ever looks like this, the concept behind this Japanese vehicle isunique and worth taking a look at. Rather than having one motor in the front ofthe vehicle this electric car has four motors, one in each of the wheels.

We’ve all seen more electric cars around in the past fewyears as gas prices have crept up and people are becoming more concerned aboutthe environment. What makes this car unique is not only the LEI (LeadingEfficiency In-Wheel motor) concept but its performance in speed, power output,and battery life. This prototype can go from 0 to 60 in just 4.8 seconds and eachwheel delivers 65 kilowatts of power (260 kilowatts total). Compare that to theNissan Leaf which only gives a total output of 80 kilowatts. The SIM-LEI cantravel about 207 miles on one charge while the Leaf does about 100.  Having the motors located in each of thewheels also provides new possibilities regarding traction and stabilitycontrol.

I’m not a huge fan of the vehicle’s design, but the in-wheelmotors seem to provide more efficiency and I’m interested to see their future inelectric vehicles. SIM is expecting to begin production of its four-seat sedanin 2013 which will sell for roughly $32,000 a pop. While I can’t see these guyscruising around the streets of U.S. cities anytime soon, maybe they’re ontosomething?

Car Swap for the Holidays

It’s somehow December, and for many Americans that means a lot of driving to visit those family members you don’t see enough during the year (whether intentionally or not). Unfortunately, while on long drives you might start to notice new problems with your car. Some drivers this year may have trouble with their Car Stereo, losing access to all those Christmas-stuffed radio stations. Others may have problems with the Center Console Screen DVD player that keeps the kids from yelling and fighting the entire way. But if you’re one of the lucky 5,000 or so Chevy Volt owners you may have another electrical issue to worry about: your precious gas-saving battery catching fire.

If you drive a Volt, don’t freak out too much. Although three of these batteries have caught fire after going through safety tests, there has never been a “real-world consumer incident”. The situation facing these Volt’s is similar to leaving leaking gasoline in a fuel tank after a crash. Anyone involved in a crash in an electric car is urged to disconnect or drain the power from the battery. The interesting thing about these incidents is that the batteries didn’t catch fire for days, and sometimes weeks, after the crash tests. Whether GM will create a way to automatically shut off battery power after a crash or completely redesign the battery is unknown, but the European version has been put on hold until the issue is resolved.

Now, there does seem to be an upside to this whole ordeal. GM is offering any Volt owner concerned with their safety a “loaner vehicle” to drive during this investigation. Yes, that means all those people concerned with gas mileage and low emissions can head to their local Chevy dealership and drive off in a Corvette for the holidays.