Battery vehicle ‘now viable for very long distances’

The Tesla 3 gets nearly double the range of the Nissan Leaf by using nearly double the amount of battery but engineers are using a multitude of work rounds to do better: aerodynamics, light-weighting even including structural electronics where dumb structure is replaced by supercapacitors or solid state batteries. Add more efficient motors and powertrain, says Dr Peter Harrop, chairman of IDTechEx Research in its report Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles on Land 2016-2026. He goes on to say that
June 23, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Tesla 3 gets nearly double the range of the 838 Nissan Leaf by using nearly double the amount of battery but engineers are using a multitude of work rounds to do better: aerodynamics, light-weighting even including structural electronics where dumb structure is replaced by supercapacitors or solid state batteries. Add more efficient motors and powertrain, says Dr Peter Harrop, chairman of 6582 IDTechEx Research in its report Industrial and Commercial Electric Vehicles on Land 2016-2026.

He goes on to say that fuel cell hybrids retain the cachet of most expensive solution with a long on-road charging time if you factor in the time to find that rarity, the hydrogen charger. Very long distance with large hydrogen tanks is impracticable.

However, IDTechEx believes that there is an excellent solution being proved for the long distance battery vehicle, starting with trucks. The battery does not expand to an unwieldy 400kWh.

A new dynamic charging approach was presented at EVS29 Canada by Patrik Akerman of 189 Siemens. Dynamic charging is a term most often applied to coils in the road that charge the vehicle as it goes along but, as he pointed out, this has severe difficulties with roads wearing out early, safety and damage from vehicles and roadworks. Height variations, snow, dirt, cost and other problems have been cited by others. Following a study, Siemens has decided not to work on this. Akerman favours the elegant, affordable solution of intermittent overhead catenary at a mere Euros 2.2 million per kilometre for charging trucks on the move which means that they can still overtake (the old trolley buses could not).

The whole of Germany could be served in this way with only 400 km of catenary. The German authorities find it feasible and desirable. There are trials now in several other countries. Cost is a fraction of fuel cell and other alternatives: installation is easy. IDTechEx finds that inductive charging is great for the car at home and premium cars are adopting it.

IDTechEx believes that fuel cell vehicles will succeed in niche markets when attractive unique selling propositions are identified.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Do satellites provide a heavenly view of tolling’s future?
    December 16, 2014
    Satellite-based tolling opens up new options for authorities and can be integrated with DSRC systems as David Crawford discovers. As the proud custodian of the European Union (EU)’s longest road network covered by a single (truck) charging scheme – and the only one to include all major roads - Slovakia has become the continent’s poster-nation for the virtues of GNSS/CN (Global Navigation Satellite System/Cellular Network)-based tolling. It is also proved to be a very fast implementer. Speaking at the 2014 I
    Read More
  • Authorities switch on to all electric buses as costs tumble
    January 9, 2018
    Alan Dron looks at changes in bus propulsion as cities look to improve air quality and seek to reduce maintenance costs. Despite the ending of various incentives to adopt alternative fuels, the introduction of electric buses by US transit authorities is picking up speed as performance improves, costs drop and air quality considerations become increasingly significant. More US bus manufacturers are introducing zero-emission models and some recent contracts will see many more passengers getting their first
    Read More
  • 1,000 Nissan Leaf EVs sold in Norway in just six months
    April 30, 2012
    Nissan in Norway has announced that it has sold 1,000 of its electric Leaf cars in just six months, taking almost two per cent of the total car market in February this year demonstrating the impact of comprehensive incentives and developed charging infrastructure. The government support and charging infrastructure have helped the Nissan Leaf become the second best-selling Nissan in Norway and the ninth best-selling passenger car overall in February. Norway has the highest level of support in Europe for elec
    Read More
  • Keeping electric vehicle batteries cool
    August 15, 2012
    Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Environmental, Safety and Energy Technology UMSICHT in Oberhausen, Germany, have developed CryoSolplus, an innovative new coolant that conducts heat away from an electric vehicle battery much more effectively than water, keeping the battery temperature within an acceptable range even in extreme driving situations.
    Read More

Highlighted Content