Will help in some ways but you still have to use some type of energy, usually fossil fuels, to create the electricity to charge the batteries & the mining & disposal of lithium is very harmful to the environment. So itâs not a completely environmentally friendly tradeoff.
If the transition to a more energy friendly power grid continues, itâll be a better alternative than ICEs.
The more immediate impact though will probably be air quality, not having millions of cars spewing out stuff will make even dense urban centers have fresher air.
We do have too many areas still burning some type of fossil fuels to create electricity. That is a very fair criticism, as is the necessity of beefing up our electrical grid to supply the demand without overwhelming it.
Both are achievable though. The latter is just investment, and there will probably be private/public joint ventures to do that. The former is tougher but there are promising leads in solar and wind, and the coming sparc fusion reactors could be a game changer
Yeah I definitely think electric vehicles are a good thing. Just saying if everyone switches over it will create new environmental issues due to the sheer number of vehicles on the road. Producing enough batteries to replace every internal combustion engine in use would require mining huge quantities of lithium which is a process that is extremely harmful to the environment.
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The solid state toyota batteries will reduce the demand on lithium. And they arenât the only company working on them.
Samsung has developed a solid-state battery using silver-carbon instead of lithium. This prototype battery has the potential for 500 miles of range in a pack half the size of a modern lithium-ion battery.
Japan is allocating around $19 billion as a country to remove ICE tech from their roadways. Itâs investment like that which is going to elinitate some of these roadblocks
Just sucks that I wonât be able to turn wrenches with a grandson some day.
And for the record my motorcycle is way more environmentally friendly than most cars electric or otherwise.
I get all the positives, doesnât mean I have to like it.
Iâll have to accept ICE cars really being just an elitist hobby and reg cars just being soulless means of transportation.
Cars are becoming appliances. Car owners will know how to plug them in, and perhaps look for a reboot button if something doesnât work.
Thatâs exactly whatâs already happening. Cars will be just an appliance for almost everyone and a software hobby for some tech folks. .
I had a colleague at work who is a gear head. He bought a Prius about 10 years ago for some reason. Tried to change the brakes. Big mistake. They were electronic brakes. Shut the whole car down. Had to get a roll back to get it to the dealer 
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Iâm not sure you have much to worry about for a while. Electric cars make up less than 2.5% of total auto sales in the US and have been flat the last 3 years. This year was to be the year with new models and more choices from the big 3 but growth was very modest.
Globally, China was down 40% YOY for the first 6 months of 2020.
Check out the recent Car and Driver article about the gear head who fought for the right to rebuild and repair an wrecked used Tesla. Very interesting story. I think 4 issues ago.
Can they be repaired after wrecking? Any EV? Are they throw away?
The body or the battery pack?
The body is pretty much the same as you are used to.
The battery pack is probably a little tricker. May have to be replaced
Gassman, that was rich rebuilds. I followed him online so I knew the basic story.
I donât think the Apple iphone model is gonna fly with cars. Too much precedent for repair shops
Thanks for sharing that Advocate.
I also worry about manufacturer lock in and planned obsolescence with this new trend towards a car as an appliance. Iâm no gear head but I respect the culture of do it yourself, restoration and modification.
I also value being able to get almost 200k miles out of a car by keeping it in good repair and having the ability to get it repaired at any point in the life of the car and doing so by going to repair facilities not owned by the manufacturer.
Will any of that be possible in the future?
Also I think this rush to EVs is going to go a lot slower than some experts or car manufacturers think. There is no way I can go to an EV until I can pull into a recharge station and fill up in around 5 minutes. I donât have the $ nor time for an impractical car for my needs.
Some counterpoint:
- an electronic car has a far more simple propulsion system than an ICE car. In fact, the electric motors being used in Teslas and other BEV cars are based on a design thatâs as old or older than early ICE vehicles. They have been proven to need a LOT LESS maintenance than an ICE vehicle. Your main maintenance costs will likely be things you are used to like tires and brakes. There are some Tesla owners who tear up their tires very quickly because of all that low end torque.
Other maintenance items are going to be based on the manufacturer build quality. Thatâs why I like seeing the Japanese get invested as they already know how to build cars that last.
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Tesla is already claiming a million miles of reliability on their new batteries. The Solid State Batteries should only improve upon that, as they are essentially simpler, and do not have a liquid anode.
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As I mentioned earlier, Solid State Batteries are promising 10 minute charge times. However, it is more important to realign your thinking about how you âfuelâ your car. You wonât go to a charging station unless you are driving a bunch in a single day. For most people, you will do say 90% of your charging, at home, and at night when energy prices are lower.
If solid state batteries achieve their promised delivery of 500 mile ranges on similar sized battery packs as current lithium ion batteries and even if they fall short of 10 minute recharge times (say it takes up to 20 minutes because there is something less than ideal about the charging station)⌠A) how often are you even driving over 500 miles in one day? B) I donât know about you but after about 4 hours behind the wheel I need a bathroom break, a bite to eat, and to stretch my legs. Or some combo of those. You can realistically recharge your car in that time even if itâs not to 100% (the first 80% is always faster). I just donât see the range anxiety unless you are in a specialty business where you are behind the wheel all day long, and in that case maybe ICE or Hydrogen is a better option (I think those vehicles will switch to Hydrogen from ICE - which can be pumped like gas).
Honestly, I think the biggest issues are the ones I already addressed in my prior post, and the elephant in the room: cost.
If a solid state BEV car is gonna cost $100k, then itâs still not ready for mass adoption.
That said, I have a feeling a number of factors are going to combine to mean cars will cost more going forward⌠Not the least of which will be that they should last longer.
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You really think that if everyone is charging their car at night electricity costs are going to remain lower during that time?
Remember one of the reasons Ford used gasoline was that it was a byproduct of kerosene that was the main source of energy at the time. Gas was being thrown away and was essentially free.
Any maintenance cost savings will be offset by increased energy costs across the board.
Yes because that is still far less demand on the grid than daytime operations.
The energy companies are also regulated. They will try to seek rate increases but do not count on big ones.
Energy companies are regulated by whom? Politicians? They are trustworthy. One or two campaign contributions and you can throw that out the door.
This thought reminds me of the professor on Back to School trying to ascertain the cost of a widget factory.
Energy costs will double once the US goes 40-50% EV. I think that is a very long way down the road but it will happen.
- The average electric vehicle requires 30 kilowatt hours to travel 100 miles â the same amount of electricity an average American home uses each day to run appliances, computers, lights and heating and air conditioning.*
I think eventually, one development on BEVs plateaus, we will get a new MPG type comparison metric which will be focused on charging times. Miles per charging minute, based on an 80% max charge and a standard XXXX KW charger (the XXX being the key).
Then you can start thinking of your range as âI can 300 miles in 10 minutes, or 30 MTMâ or whatever range those #s end up being.