Maybe some of us will ask why China want cooperate with the United States to produce electric cars. Simply put this country desperate for change that quickly. Roland Hwang, the Manager of Transportation Program at the Natural Resource Defense Council said, “This country has a major problem and needs a big solution. Their current path is not sustainable.” In 2030 – The issues including air quality bleak and needs to import as much as eighty percent of their oil for a car. Roland Hwang and other China’s experts discussed and electricity in the car the car last week, Electricity 2.0 a cleantech Berkeley-Stanford Conference, in S.F.

Currently, China needs but has to challenges the major to achieve electrical cars goal. It’s talking about 5 or 10 years being the world in automotive quality, safety, and technology. And almost all of Chinese shoppers is not able to pay five thousand dollars or so premium price of electric cars.

The Rewards and Risks

Would United States companies get more opportunity? Jit Bhattacharya, the Mission Motors’ CEO, said that the company’s phone rang from the association with the companies from China who seek help with what is running on electric power, from scooters and cars, to garden and lawn equipment. The produsen of Mission Motors produces $ 68,000- 150-mph electric motorcycle in California, but has shifted much of its attempt to sell the technology of electric-powertrain. “Chinese Company contacted us and said we do not know how we will get this learning curve fast enough to really get a car to market within 3 or 4 years into the future.”

Roland Hwang stuck vehicle market is currently China’s electricity, most electric bike, around 100 million. His said that no one can count or predict on China to be great players in the electric car market. Hwang believe that China will be big part of electric car market, as suppliers, consumers, or battery manufacturers.

United States startup companies have a big opportunity to cooperate with manufacturers from China, the scale of their business, and bring home the technology. Major U.S. and Japanese automakers produce electric cars would also like to penetrate the market of China, while companies from China, such as Geely and BYD, trying to bring their electric cars to the North American market. This is an inter-related market.

Opportunities for companies large and small alike are not w.o risk, according to panelists Marc Gottschalk, at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati’s partner. Investment firm has several clients of electric cars, including the Tesla and Mission Motors. Gottschalk said that there is a struggle but the company wants to get benefit of that huge Chinese’s market. He added that there is also a feeling that they have a desire to do anything you possibly can do to prevent yourself from having the stolen of technology and sold and used it against you in the next time.

General Purpose

According to Roland Hwang, one of the first things the newly appointed U.S. Department of Energy to do is to make a forum for the United States and China to discuss common challenges their electric vehicles. Hwang said that the basic idea is that United States and China, the two of the world’s largest car market, will forge along with the market for electric vehicles. There are many of economies of scale, synergies, and many benefits down the learning curve together.

After you read this article, you may read my other articles such as: Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Hybrid Car Pros and Cons, Audi Q7, Chevy Hybrid Truck, Chevrolet Aveo, BMW X6, Ferrari Hybrid, Honda CR-Z Hybrid, Fuel Economy Standards, Nissan Altima Hybrid, and Electric Car Battery Cost.

Source: HybridCars.com

Editor’s note: Alexandra Paul is an actress best known for her four years starring in the television series “Baywatch”. She has been driving electric vehicles since 1990 and is a founding member of Plug in Americaexternal link. Paul can be seen in the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” in theaters this summer.

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — I drive an electric car. Not a hybrid — a gasoline-powered car that gets some help from an electric motor — but a full electric vehicle. I plug it in at night and can drive 100 miles the next day and go faster than 80 mph on the highway.

So don’t think “golf cart”; these cars have power and pick-up.

While you won’t see many electric cars on the road, they’ve been around longer than you might think.

During 1900, electric cars outsold both gasoline and steam vehicles because electric cars didn’t have the vibration, noise and dirtiness associated with gas vehicles. However soon afterward — with the discovery of Texas crude oil that reduced the cost of gasoline, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 that eliminated the need for a hand crank, and the mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford — the electric vehicle went the way of the horse and buggy.

The energy crisis in the 1960s and 1970s revived attention briefly. There was another push in 1990, when General Motors Corp. unveiled the (ineptly named) Impact, a sporty, aerodynamic electric car prototype.

In 1998 the California Air Resources Board decided that if a car company could make such a car, it should, and mandated that two percent of vehicles sold in the state in 1998 must be emission-free, with that number rising to ten percent in 2003.

Since California is a huge market, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler, Ford and GM started building electric vehicles — about 5,000 were manufactured. But by 2005 the mandate had been eviscerated because of pressure from those same car companies, and 4,000 perfectly good electric vehicles were crushed.

But did car companies really want electric cars to succeed? The success of electric vehicles would have threatened the status quo and core business models of two of the world’s biggest industries — oil and automobile. It is more measure for these companies to give lip service to hydrogen in an attempt to appear “green.” But hydrogen is a technology that experts say is decades away.

Because the small print in California’s mandate allowed for car companies to manufacture only as many cars as there was interest in them, the game became to pretend there was no interest. Almost no advertising money was spent to let you know electric cars existed, and even if you did find out about them salespeople actively dissuaded you from getting one.

As with any new technology, an electric vehicle was more expensive than its gas counterpart. In addition, the limited range scared off customers, although the average American drives only 34 miles a day and every electric car could go at least twice that far on a full charge.

These cars had huge potential, but no media covered their subsequent crushing. It is only with the release this summer of the documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” that the full story comes out. This film chronicles the rise and fall of the General Motors EV1, an electric car I leased on the day it was released in 1996. Zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, a top speed of 140 mph and a range of 120 miles. GM discontinued this car just a few years later. No car company nowadays makes a mass-production electric vehicle.

My current electric vehicle, a Toyota RAV4 EV, also was discontinued a few years ago. This car costs me the equivalent of 60 cents a gallon to run. I never need to get a tune-up, change spark plugs or add water to the batteries or oil to the motor. The only maintenance for the first 150,000 miles is to rotate my tires. This car is quiet, fast and emission free. I plug it in every night at home, and it charges on off-peak energy.

Even if it were getting power solely from electricity derived from coal — a common criticism of electric cars — my vehicle uses fifty percent less carbon dioxide than a 24 mpg gas car. When I have to get new batteries, which I expect I’ll will be when my car is ten years old, the old ones will be over 90 percent recyclable.

The concern I hear most often about electric vehicles is their range. Well, at 100 miles per charge, my electric vehicle fulfills 98 percent of my driving needs, and I live in a city where everything seems to be 40 minutes away.

When I want to go further, I borrow my husband Ian’s Toyota Prius. I don’t like driving it. Am I supposed to be amazed when a car gets 43 miles per gallon? The average fuel economy mandate for cars in 1985: 27.5 mpg. For 2006: 27.5 mpg. No wonder our expectations are so low. Progress in fuel efficiency has been glacial compared to improvements in computers and cell phones.

There is a solution: The plug-in hybrid. This vehicle will run on pure electric power for up to 60 miles, and then automatically switch to gas (or a biofuel) if you drive farther. For the reason that around 85 percent of Americans travel less than 50 miles a day, this means that the majority people who charge their cars at home each night would hardly ever dip into their car’s gasoline tank.

The infrastructure to charge is already in place (electric outlets are everywhere), and the technology (batteries) has been tested in the field and greatly improved upon for over 15 years. National security experts, including former CIA Director James Woolsey, are advocates for these vehicles because they say these vehicles can help break our dependence on foreign oil. Environmentalists support them because plugging in means getting an average of more than 100 mpg. Consumers like them because they will be saving thousands of dollars in gasoline costs.

Once you have known the quiet smooth speed and the clean efficiency of an electric vehicle, you will never think “golf cart” again.

–Who Killed Electric Car—

Another pages you may interest in reading: Hybrid Fuel, Mileage Hybrid, Electric SUV, and Hybrid Vehicle Research. ===Undergoing MyBlogLog Verification===

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Beginning in 2011, a similar number of drivers will lease BMW’s next electric test vehicle, the four-passenger ActiveE—essentially an electric-drive version of the BMW 1-series. This BMW electric car will allow the company to further refine the requirements for a line of large-volume future electric cars, as part of its “Megacity” project. That name, the current working title for its 2013 small electric car, is based on the idea of targeting urban commuters in, well, megacities. Although the ActiveE will cleverly package the power electronics to allow for a decent sized trunk, the Megacity is expected to be a four-seat, three-door hatchback—similar in size to a Honda Fit.

This BMW electric car puts out 125 kilowatts (170 horsepower), a similar amount of power as found on other 1-series Bimmers. The ActiveE’s 32-kilowatt-hour lithium ion battery pack is slightly smaller than the Mini E’s. All of the vehicles apparently are targeting about 100 miles of range on a single charge—although aggressive driving and cold weather conditions have reduced the Mini E’s range by 20 or 30 miles according to multiple reports from drivers. That’s exactly the kind of information that BMW wants to gather from its test drivers. And that’s why this BMW electric car will use liquid cooling to control temperature range, as a strategy to maintain driving range despite cold weather.

BMW appears to be very serious and specific about its electric car program. For example, the company yesterday announced it will use its plant in Lepzig to produce the electric vehicles. The inside story is that BMW executives believe that zero-emission electric cars, and fuel cells for that matter, are a must—that is, if the company is going to meet stricter guidelines for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the world’s major global auto markets.

Source: HybridCars.com

Related articles: BMW Hybrid Cars, BMW X6, BMW Accessories, BMW SUV, BMW Vision, BMW X5, and BMW City

]]> http://1st-in-hybrid.com/bmw-electric-car/feed/ 0 http://1st-in-hybrid.com/huge-advantage-of-electric-vehicles/ http://1st-in-hybrid.com/huge-advantage-of-electric-vehicles/#comments Sun, 06 May 2012 13:16:37 +0000 Admin http://1st-in-hybrid.com/?p=734

By: Johan Young

According to Transport Watch, only about 30% of the energy generated by the power plant in fact reaches the vehicle because of losses in the transmission route. Of the energy delivered to the vehicle, 20% is then lost to the batteries and electric motor. This means that most Electric Vehicles are only about 24% efficient. So, if your electric vehicle is charged with electricity from a coal-fired power plant, then the Carbon dioxide emissions to fuel your Electric Vehicle are about double the amount emitted by a diesel engine, due to the inefficiencies in electrical power generation and transmission.

electric vehicle schematic

As a result they assume that the notion that electric cars will decrease emissions is a fiction unless we hypothecate that the UK electricity generating industry will be de-carbonised.

But if we want to consider this issue carefully, we will find a huge advantage of electric vehicles.

And now, let us consider some definitions:

• Hybrid-electric vehicle: This uses an internal-combustion engine for most of its power, but also has an electric motor run from batteries recharged by the engine. Typically the engine shuts off when the car is stopped. Hybrid Electric Vehicles include the Toyota Prius and the Honda Insight.
• Plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle: An Hybrid Electric Vehicle that can charge its batteries by plugging into a charger, permitting all-electric short trips. The forthcoming Chevrolet Volt is such a car.
• Battery-electric vehicle: an electric car powered solely by batteries.

All three can charge their batteries using regenerative braking, which recaptures energy otherwise lost as heat when bringing the car to a stop. That’s a huge advantage of electric vehicles.

How much energy is lost getting electricity from the power plant to your Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle? Plenty. In the U.S. right now, about 70 percent of the energy used to make electricity – more than four million gigawatt-hours – comes from fossil fuels. About 70 percent of that amount is wasted generating the power and transmitting it to your door. Other energy is lost when charging batteries and operation electric motors. Overall, electric cars use fossil fuel at 20 to 25 percent efficiency, but dismal as that sounds, it beats an internal-combustion car, which typically operates at about 15 percent efficiency. An HEV uses around 0.48-0.74 kilowatt-hours per mile, while PHEVs in electric mode and BEVs use 0.18-0.46 kWh per mile. By contrast, a conventional car getting 25 MPG uses 1.35 kWh/mile. To put the issue in more familiar terms, a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle offers fuel economy equivalent to as much as 188 miles per gallon.

Now let’s talk pollution. A huge advantage of electric vehicles is that their energy can come from renewable sources, such as hydroelectric, wind, or solar. Even if the energy source is fossil fuel, installing state-of-the-art emission controls on a few big power plants is way easier than installing ’em on hundreds of millions of motor vehicles. What’s more, since many electric plants use natural gas, Carbon dioxide emissions from power generation are a modest 1.27 pounds of Carbon dioxide per kWh – 1.9 pounds per productive kWh once we account for losses during battery charging and so on. Evaluate that to gasoline, which produces the equal of 3.9 pounds of CO2 per productive kWh.

Not until there are, the battery electric car is far more environmentally friendly than conventional car batteries. For example, Tesla’s Electric Roadster Battery can make the most of the amount of materials that can be reused, recycled, and minimize energy consumption utilized during the transportation and recycling process

They can divide the elements and re-use what can be re-used (cobalt, aluminum, nickel, and copper, etc). So the battery pack saves thousands of gallons of gasoline/diesel over the life of the vehicle, it is less toxic than the lead-acid batteries that are in regular cars, and at the end of its life it is recycled. That’s a huge advantage of electric vehicles.

Another articles by Johan Young you may interest in reading:

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The reaction is based on a review of the blogosphere is a mixed community of people. Meanwhile, Nissan Leaf to have a stance has made a first performance to the fans who like to be a green car. This car does not bring more amorphous concept. So this car can fight car plug-ins and other hybrids through the features, the look, feel and cost.

All kinds of car Ford Focus comparable EV Nissan Leaf type this. In terms of performance capabilities and size make the two cars is similar. Both have a driving range 100mil.

If the lithium ion batteries on Nissan Leaf capacity 24 kilowatts per hour, the car type EV Focus 23 kilowatt per hour. Both cars have the ability to carry passengers as many as 5 people. Leaf Nissan wheelbase is longer than 3 inches EV Focus.

The first shooting motion has seen in a corporate video shot in Japan. With the normal set, fast charging and walked through the features, this car will be shown on the road. At the end of the year is expected Leaf Nissan could beat the Ford Focus of EV on the market within one year and likely Leaf Nissan car that dominant. Both cars will be available on the market in the same period. The second price this car has not been established but may be about 30,000 dollars.

Another characteristic that distinguishes these two types of cars are on the design, destination Ford Focus cars in contrast to Nissan Leaf. Ford did not tell that the car type EV Focus will be different with the conventional Focus. We will talk something unique, different and thus can be used very up to date an icon when we are in November. Mark Perry is someone who says this. He is a director of Nissan cars. But this argument is refuted by George Jetson, in Blade Runner there are various ways. He said that it is not is not the impression many commenter’s have.

On the site HybridsCars.com, Richard S commented that it is bad enough if the car type EV Focus cars similar to the present. This will make the Nissan will have a difficult time. Anonymous site visitor say that this incident such as cleaning the lab that made her thinks to sell cleaning products.

On other sites also comment and offer unique color descriptions of the descendants of the Dough Boy Pillsburg with Smurf, a descendant of Nissan Murano with catfish, and the descendants of the Mazda 3 with the Toyota Matrix.

In the AutoBlog.com, Sean explained about the Prius that the Prius design a good front but behind part is unique. Don C also post on the site-Volt.com GM. This site is a fan site Chevy Volt plug-in Hybrid. She said that she liked. The design looks pretty nice car. Moreover, the design gives you the character of who you are. It can be said that he was a small man in cold technology fit to drive locally. He believes that there will be a big mistake if it makes a good car.

Articles by Johan Young that you may be interested in reading: BMW X6, Audi Q7, Hybrid Electric Cars, Fuel Efficiency Tips1, Fuel Efficiency Tips2, and The Introduction of Nissan Leaf.

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BYD will come back in Detroit to let somebody see BYD’s e6 car electric and F3DM hybrid plug-in cars. BYD explain that e6 increase the speed from 0-60 every eight seconds. It has 100mph in peak speed. In a one charge, it takes a trip about 250 miles. But for F3DM run by using battery in 60 miles. One liter gasoline used to make longer the array of the car.

As luck would you have it, last year, BYD show two similar car. Offspring is the same pleasure about greenie cars plug-in. It is as good as doubt that cheap cars from Chinese are going to take the automotive globe by means of tempest. The most effort of those failed and shows off.

BYD’s marketing goal can reach until 400,000 units in 2009. In 2010, it reaches the goal in 700,000-800,000 unit’s cars. The conservative F3 types are about 2/3 in 2009. In 2010, Dec 30, BYD is going to launch 5 new types’ cars. Those cars powered by gas.

Gasgoo is a Chinese automotive industry site. BYD’s the most wanted model is cost fewer than one hundred thousand Yuan. It is about 14,500 US dollar. It is cheaper than F3DM which is cost about 22,000 dollar and for the e6 car is cost about 40,000 dollar. This site report that those cars are going to sell in USA on 2010. They are not the expert in selling, handling quality question, paraphernalia and crashworthiness. This situation is discouraging BYD’s goal to dominate the hybrid marketplace in the world in 2025.

A move forward from the Chinese Government

F3DM is notable in the world as the first plug in hybrid cars. However it is so expensive car last year and it is no longer offer to hybrid car for private customers. It only sells not many units. The marketing of BYD say that they are preparing to release the car in following weeks. Why it has been failed last year?

So that is why. Realize it is so luxurious for people of China, the government of China said that the original incentives will help customer in choosing greenie car. They will tell you China government site but in not many in formations. Acquiring repayment is in limited for customer in 5 cities; however the location is still unidentified.

For USA customers, the hybrids car electric and plug-in like Nissan Leaf car and Chevy Volt cost 7,500 dollar with credit. But it will be available in just not many days in 2010. For the moment, in automotive show in 2010 show the EV customer to the faithful of electric cars. Electric Avenue exhibition is show on the heart of Cobo Center in Detroit. It will get 20 display of car from conservative automaker.

Chinese Electric Car Video:

Another articles by Johan Young you may be interested in reading:2009 Green Cars, Car Insurance Rate Quotes, NHTSA Monitors, 2010 Hybrid Cars-1, 2010 Hybrid Cars-2, and 2010 Hybrid Cars-3.

The Mercedes Electric Cars is a version of the SLS, and essentially has no significant changes to the suspension or body. The batteries suit in the spaces vacated by the transmission, exhaust, propshaft, and fuel tank. The Electric Cars’ motor and controllers occupy the underbonnet and space around the rear axle.

Audi’s e-tron Electric Cars- with the body resembles Audi’s supercar-chasing R8, but the changes are more general so as to decrease energy use and ‘lengthen’ range. It’s shorter and lower than an Audi R8 and has reduced aero drag. The body panels are carbonfibre and target weight for production is only 1600kg.

These two Electric Cars will be punishingly high-priced and so will be built in little numbers, but they should go some way to developing technologies and recharging systems that everyday Electric Cars can benefit from.

Another articles by Johan Young you may interest in reading: Mercedes Benz E320 Bluetec, Hybrid Cars 2005, Obama Proposes Rules For Carmakers to Meet 35.5 MPG, and Audi Diesel Expects Big Gains in US Market.

Is it time to cue Kool & the Gang and pop open the champagne? Not quite, say a number of experts—including some leading EV advocates.

Trade Secrets

First, they question how anybody can report a number because the carmakers consider battery cost figures to be top secret. “For the auto companies, it’s the most tightly guarded data. They take their cost information and lock it away in Fort Knox,” said Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute. He was speaking yesterday at Electric Car 2.0, a clean technology conference in San Francisco.

Pinpointing the price is complicated further by the various stages of battery production. “You always have to ask is $375 the cell number or the system number,” Duvall said.

John Gartner, an industry analyst with Pike Research, which has published a number of studies about plug-in electric battery costs, agrees that battery pricing is not an exact science. “Carmakers won’t disclose the installed cost, and it is hard to calculate because in many cases the manufacturers, such as General Motors, Ford and Nissan, are assembling the packs and designing the battery management software themselves.”

According to Gartner, the installed cost of plug-in vehicle batteries includes not only the battery pack, but also the wiring and configuring of battery packs into a battery array, plus the battery management system that monitors and manages the battery performance. “Cells do not include any management software or hardware, and therefore the cell cost is much lower than the pack or installed price,” Gartner said.

Still, What’s the Number?

Based on his extensive research, Gartner estimates the cost at around $900 today, but expects the price to come down by down by 10 to 15 percent per year, reaching $470 per kWh in 2015. In today’s Wall Street Journal, Pacific Crest analyst Ben Schuman pegged today’s cost at about $1,000 per kWh, but believes that the cost “could get down to $600 to $700 fairly quickly,” and optimistically to $350 in three to five years.

One carmaker willing to share a number is Coda Automotive, a small California-based electric car startup. Dan Mosher, the company’s chief financial officer, also spoke at Electric Car 2.0. “The $375 price might be fiction, but it’s a fact that the costs are coming down quite dramatically. Today, we might still be around $1,000 to $1,200 per kilowatt-hour,” Mosher said. He expects the price to reach $375 per kilowatt-hour in the next five to 10 years.

Mosher cited advantages that Coda might have, because the company manufactures offshore (in China)—but that benefit pales to the advantage enjoyed by major carmakers. Nissan, by virtue of its joint venture with Japan’s NEC Corp., has decades of experience in mass-producing lithium ion batteries. The company is projecting first year global production of the Nissan Leaf at 50,000 units.

“Can somebody really build a vehicle where they pay $375 per kilowatt-hour in 2010, I would say that’s pushing it,” Duvall said. “What they may see is forward pricing and they know their 50,000th or 100,000th vehicle will have that pricing. There’s no physical reason, based on materials and price of production, why that can’t happen.”

Source: HybridCars.com

After you read this article, you may read my other articles such as: Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Hybrid Car Pros and Cons, Audi Q7, Chevy Hybrid Truck, Chevrolet Aveo, BMW X6, Nissan Altima Hybrid, Toyota Corolla, Mercedes s400 bluehybrid, and Prius Minivan.

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Why EV fans cannot wait for when things slow down? This is because the process of marketing and the prospects this single well-publicized fatal accidents both in the car plug-in hybrid and electric cars that may be damaging the car system. All the car companies produce cars plug-in is very concerned with this situation. Therefore, in accordance with the attributes of Volvo C30 Electric, a company that produces this car will test it properly, more thorough, hard and long with a plug-in prototype than anyone in the automotive industry.

Electric Volvo C30 was unveiled at the Detroit auto show in 2010 with a conservative approach and the concept of four-seat electric sedan. Statistics do not look impressive at first sight. Volvo Cars has a driving range of about 90 miles, the fastest speed of 80 kilometers per hour, in 11 seconds has accelerated from 0 to 60 mph, and within 8 hours of battery can be recharged at home by 24 kWh and 220 volts at the outlet.

Volvo C30 Electric can be pushed to the market quickly, but this intention cancelled. This is because, the company wants to give the best to customers and their expectations are met. This is not promising driving range, speed of rotation, and fast battery charging, so you will not see a Volvo C30 Electric this year, next year or next year. To ensure the car is present in the community with the test of time and safety, the company will test the car with electric C30s in 50 European countries.

“In order to reduce the effects of a collision, the battery is well protected and separated from the car’s crumple zones. The battery is also sturdily encapsulated. Steel beams and other parts of the structure around the battery are reinforced to help protect it from being affected in a collision. If the battery is damaged, resulting in gas leakage, there are special Evacuation ducts that lead the gas out under the car. In the event of extreme heat, the occupants are shielded by the battery’s encapsulation. At the very moment of impact, crash sensors linked to the battery send information about the collision to the car’s computer, which automatically shuts off the power supply to prevent the risk of a short-circuit. “

Press Release Volvo C30 Electric

Electric Volvo C30 has a lithium ion battery is about 600 pounds. Half of the battery energy will be in C30 gas tank, usually located where the safe place in front of the rear axle. The other half was placed in the middle of the tunnel. However, the battery is not in accordance with the C30 car. There are several batteries that can last long and some are not. So the most important part of the electric Volvo C30 is working on plug-in hybrid and electric cars are really focusing on the battery and electric technology is safe and aerodynamics. The result is a Volvo C30 and V70 types may not be a good in American and European markets. But believe me, Volvo cars focus on plug-in hybrid and electric cars and they are in the process of workmanship. Slow but surely.

Articles by Johan Young that you may be interested in reading: Daimler Hybrid, Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 2011 Mini Cooper, Hybrid Car Pros and Cons, 2011 Lexus CT 200h, Audi Q7, Chevy Hybrid Truck, Chevrolet Aveo, BMW X6, Hybrid Electric Cars, Hybrid Car Insurance, Fuel Efficiency Tips2, The Introduction of Nissan Leaf, Volvo C30 Electric, and Chevrolet Volt-1.

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After 11 years at Honda, German now serves as a senior fellow for the International Council for Clean Transportation. In an interview with HybridCars.com, German said the next wave of lithium ion batteries will not significantly reduce the cost of electric cars, but they could make conventional hybrids ubiquitous.

In German’s view, the chief benefit of new lithium ion batteries is their greatly enhanced power capabilities—the rate at which energy can go in and out of the battery. “But they don’t store any more energy than the current lithium ion batteries do,” said German, “What we are looking at is a battery which is perfect for conventional hybrids.”

HybridCars.com: Why will the new breed of lithium ion batteries be a bigger benefit to conventional hybrids rather than plug-in hybrids and electric cars?

German: The next generation of lithium ion batteries will reduce the cost of the battery pack for conventional hybrids, but they’re not going to reduce the cost of the battery pack for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. In effect, these batteries will increase the cost differential between conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids. That’s going to make it harder for plug-in hybrids to compete with conventional hybrids.

Walk me through the energy and power requirements for the two different categories of vehicles.

For plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles, it’s all about the range. You need a certain amount of energy to drive a certain distance [before needing to recharge]. That’s independent of the battery chemistry. If the new lithium ion chemistry doesn’t store any more energy than your old lithium ion chemistry, then you need just as much battery to drive that distance.

And with conventional hybrids, you don’t need nearly as much energy.

The battery packs in all existing hybrids, up until the new BMW ActiveHybrid 7 are oversized. The reason they’re oversized is that with nickel metal hydride [the technology used in today’s hybrids], you’re limited in how fast you can take energy in and out of a battery without causing significant deterioration. So these batteries are not sized for the energy [storage] requirements. They are sized for the power requirements, so they can deliver enough power without significant deterioration. As a consequence, they hold a lot more energy than they really need to.

With the new high-power lithium ion batteries, they can cut them down to their actual energy requirements and still get all the power they need.

So, with the new lithium ion batteries, the difference in cost between conventional hybrids and gas-powered vehicles could come in line?

In another 10 to 15 years, we should be at the point where the mainstream customer, the average customer, will accept the cost of a hybrid system.

Meaning, maybe a couple of hundred dollars more than a conventional car?

Well, $1,000 to $1,500 more. There’s enough benefit for mainstream customers to accept it.

How rapid will the transition from nickel metal hydride to lithium ion batteries be for conventional hybrids?

It’s a function of sales volume. The current generation of lithium ion batteries is not any cheaper than nickel metal hydride. And they’re not proven. With a lot of the lithium ion chemistries, just sitting and doing nothing in hot weather will degrade the battery pack. The batteries will not last as long in Phoenix as Minneapolis. There’s risk with durability and reliability.

In lower volume applications, new hybrids just coming out, carmakers know they’re not going to be able to capture larger market share right away. So they’re going to be lithium ion batteries starting tomorrow [See Mercedes S400 Hybrid and BMW ActiveHybrid 7]. You don’t have a large volume, so your risk is minimized and you’ve gained experience. It’s going to be cheaper in the long run, and you want to gain experience. So, you’ll see very few new hybrids using nickel metal hydride.

The problem is with high volume existing hybrids. When you’re selling hundreds of thousands of Priuses globally every year, if you encounter something wrong with the lithium ion battery pack, your exposure is enormous. The high volume hybrid applications are going to go to lithium ion last. But even the high volume ones will get there by 2015 or so.

What’s your feeling about the cost per kilowatt-hour of lithium ion batteries? What are they now and where do they need to be?

I thought they were $1,000 per kilowatt-hour, but I’m hearing that it may be more like $700. It’s hard to determine the long-term price potential. They shouldn’t have much trouble getting down to about $320 per kilowatt-hour. It’s going to take a while, but with higher volumes and better production methods, $320 is achievable in the 2018 to 2020 time frame.

The real question is how low can you drive it. I’ve seen some people suggest that the lowest could be $250 to maybe $175.

At $250, doesn’t mean that plug-in cars become affordable?

No. At $250 per kilowatt-hour, the pay back is roughly similar to the hybrid vehicles of about five years ago. So there’s your market, about 3 percent.

If lithium ion batteries bring the plug-in market to 2 or 3 percent, where will conventional hybrids go?

I’ll stick my neck out and say that by sometime around 2025 or 2030, conventional hybrids will be over 70 percent of the market.

And a fairly steady ramp up from now until then?

Yes. It will be a curve. Something like a doubling of hybrid sales every three to five years. There’s no doubt in my mind that by 2030 that hybrids will be in more than half the vehicles sold in the US. I would be astounded if they weren’t. By 2020, I would say we’d be somewhere in the 10 – 15 percent range.

And President Obama’s goal for 1 million plug-in hybrids by 2015?

It’s not likely.

Source: HybridCars.com

Another articles you may be interested in reading: Green Car Insurance, The Advantages of Hybrid Cars, Hybrids in Winter Driving, and The Disadvantage of Hybrid Cars.

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