Plug-in Electrical Vehicles

[Hans De Keulenaer]

Taking the edge off of four classical counter-arguments

All over the years, electrical vehicles have been the object of much scepticism, even outright slander. The battle between believers and non-believers has been intense. Today plug-in electrical vehicles are close to a commercial breakthrough. The all electrical Tesla Roadster is planned for launch on the market later this year. GMs Chevrolet Volt and Toyota's FT-HS (Future Toyota Hybrid Sport), which are both plug-in hybrids, are in development phase.

And suddenly it looks like the edge has been taken off of the four major counter-arguments:

• The power and capacity of the batteries will be too small
• The high voltage battery will present safety problems
• Electrical vehicles only transpose the emissions to power stations
• The electrical network will not be able to meet demand

1) The power and capacity of the batteries will be too small?

The Tesla Roadster is proving the opposite. Its lithium-ion battery delivers up to 200 kW of electrical power and can store about 56 kWh of electrical energy. The electrical driving range of the Tesla Roadster will be about 200 miles without recharging. And as the battery technology gets better, this mileage will almost certainly continue to increase.

2) The high voltage battery will present safety problems?

The battery pack of the Tesla Roadster will work at 375 volts. During its design, particular attention has been spent on the multiple safety systems. Everything has been done to assure safety. It is expected that the Tesla Roadster will easily pass all U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Standards required tests. This involves crashing of complete cars with fully charged battery packs.

3) Electrical vehicles only transpose the emissions to power stations?

Power stations are still far from emission free, but the average power station is much less CO2 intensive than the average internal combustion motor. Two recent studies by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) confirm this fact. They show that widespread use of plug-in electrical vehicles in the U.S. would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Different scenarios for the year 2050 were calculated:

• A high CO2 intensity for the electricity sector (25 per cent increase by 2050), a medium CO2 intensity (4 per cent decrease) and a low CO2 intensity (85 per cent decrease)
• A low penetration of electrical vehicles on the market (20 per cent), a medium penetration (62 per cent) and a high penetration (80 per cent)

The results show that even in the scenario with a low market penetration and a high CO2 intensity of power stations, electrical vehicles would still save 163 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

4) The electrical network will not be able to meet demand?

A recent study by the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium shows that the impact of plug-in electrical vehicles on the electrical grid would not be as large as commonly assumed. A market penetration of about 30 per cent by 2030 would raise electricity demand in Belgium by 5.1 per cent. That is certainly not a negligible figure and it has to be added to other expected increases in demand for electricity. It would require some additional infrastructure. But on the other hand, this figure is certainly not beyond reach of the electrical power sector. The study 'The Consumption of Electrical Energy of Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle in Belgium' was presented at the European Ele-Drive Conference in Brussels (May 30 – June 1, 2007).

References

• Article 'EPRI-NRDC Studies Highlight GHG and Air Quality Benefits of Plug-in Hybrids' on the website of Green Car Congress
• The EPRI report 'Environmental Assessment of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles'
• The Web site of Tesla Motors