Extended Range Electric Vehicles

History of the Electric Vehicle

1891 William Morrison of Iowa built the first American electric vehicle

1899 New York City taxi companies start using electric vehicles

1900 about 1/3 of the vehicles on American roads were electric, the others consisted of gasoline powered and steam powered vehicles

By the 1920's electric cars began to fade due to the abundance of cheap gasoline, and a need to travel longer distances among other things

Thomas Edison with an early electric vehicle.

The Rise of the Electric Vehicle

Because of the fuel crisis in the 70's many began to attempt to develop electric vehicles once again

Among these were the Bradley GT, as well as the Citicar

While both used lead acid batteries, and consisted of short range and realativly slower speeds they were a step in the right direction

Bradley GT pictured above

Citicar to the right

In the early 90's legislation such as the Clean Air Act, among others pushed the Big 3 to produce more electric vehicles

Some of these included the electric s-10, Ranger, Ford Ecostar, as well as the EV1

Many were capable of anywhere between 50-70 mph, and about 80-100 miles per charge

Current Government Incentives/Goals

Secretary of energy wants a vehicles capable of a 350 mile range by 2017

He also stated that he is expecting the vehicles to be in the $20,000-$25,000 price range by that time as well

They government is currently offering a $7500 incentive to help offset the costs of the vehicles

Current Problems

Consumers are worried about battery life, and the cost of replacing a battery

Length of charging time is a problem Cost of production is high Battery technology is still being developed Charging infrastructure

Solutions

Hyundai is offering a life time warranty for their current Hybrid batteries for the original owners, other companies are likely to follow suit

IBM is developing a Lithium Air battery that they say may be capable of up to a 500 mile range

Eaton has developed a charging station that can charge a battery to 80% in 20-30 minutes

Lithium-Air Battery

Lithium-air batteries offers a theoretical energy storage about 1,000 times more than lithium ion batteries

Lithium-air batteries are not currently used due to the short lifespan of the battery

IBM is currently attempting to develop an electrolyte that will increase the lifespan of the battery to a useable range

IBM plans to introduce a prototype by 2013, and could be available in vehicles as soon as 2020

How it works

Eaton DC Quick Charger

Capable of charging a vehicles battery up to 80% in 20-30 minutes

Would allow quick charging for longer road trips

Conclusion

With the development of these technologies it is likely we will see and extended range electric vehicle in the future

How soon the will appear on the market to consumers is yet to be determined

The price point that the government set is unlikely at first

The infrastructure needs to be improved enormously before the average consumer would consider purchasing one