Electric Vehicles on the horizon? Do your homework

[markba633csi]

I'd love to have a little electric mini car to go to the store with. For those short little trips they are great.
It does bother me all the pollution generated by processing all the rare earth elements. I just heard that steelmaking generates almost 10% of all the greenhouse gasses in the world- didn't know that
-M

 

[macardoso]

I'd love to have a little electric mini car to go to the store with. For those short little trips they are great.
It does bother me all the pollution generated by processing all the rare earth elements. I just heard that steelmaking generates almost 10% of all the greenhouse gasses in the world- didn't know that
-M

The two numbers that surprised me are 1) that the cement industry produces 8% of the global CO2 (both from the furnace to produce the cement, and later from the chemical reaction during hardening) and 2) water pumping (fresh water, waste water, geological, etc.) accounts for >20% of the world's energy consumption. We, as a species, like to move water where it is not meant to be.

 

[Janderso]

ttabbal and ericc,
Some very good information!!
ttabbal, you would trade in your car before the warranty is up I assume? Or you just drive them until the battery no longer serves your needs?
I don't think I would own one past the warranty period. Knowing the cost of a replacement renders the vehicle cost prohibitive to me.
I keep my vehicles a long time, 250,000 miles at least.

 

[Janderso]

I'd love to have a little electric mini car to go to the store with. For those short little trips they are great.
It does bother me all the pollution generated by processing all the rare earth elements. I just heard that steelmaking generates almost 10% of all the greenhouse gasses in the world- didn't know that
-M

I found this doing a quick search

The greenhouse gas of most relevance to the world steel industry is carbon dioxide (CO2). On average, 1.9 tonnes of CO2 are emitted for every tonne of steel produced. According to the International Energy Agency, the iron and steel industry accounts for approximately 4-5% of total world CO2 emissions.

 

[markba633csi]

Maybe the road warrior is not too far away- the precious petroleum juice will someday be so expensive and scarce it almost seems like personal IC vehicles will be a thing of the past- except for the very rich, living in their own antigravity city high in the clouds
-M

 

[randyjaco]

This brings up some interesting points
Reality is often the enemy of our greatest theories.

 

[Ulma Doctor]

I found this doing a quick search

The greenhouse gas of most relevance to the world steel industry is carbon dioxide (CO2). On average, 1.9 tonnes of CO2 are emitted for every tonne of steel produced. According to the International Energy Agency, the iron and steel industry accounts for approximately 4-5% of total world CO2 emissions.

unfortunately, statistics can be made to prove anything

 

[ErichKeane]

I find it amusing that the loudest critics of EVs, are people who have never owned one.

I suspect there is a bit of a selection bias at play there... But yes, there is a TON of FUD on EVs that I found completely unfounded when we bought ours. There were great choices of cars you don't have to make consessions on vs ICE.

ttabbal and ericc,
Some very good information!!
ttabbal, you would trade in your car before the warranty is up I assume? Or you just drive them until the battery no longer serves your needs?
I don't think I would own one past the warranty period. Knowing the cost of a replacement renders the vehicle cost prohibitive to me.
I keep my vehicles a long time, 250,000 miles at least.

I strongly suspect that the replacement/refurb battery industry is going to bring that cost way down before any current new-car needs a battery. The tech is coming along quickly! Currently you can get refurbished batteries for a Prius (the whole set) for less than 1k. It's a much smaller battery, but way better than the 10k Toyota charges.

Additionally I suspect that Ford number is particularly unfair, using dealer costs are going to be biased really high compared to the aftermarket.

The current cell-cost for batteries is under $100/kWh, do that would be 6800 for a replacement battery (similar in fact to the cost of a new ICE motor). Tesla and GM have both said they can hit $60/kWh in the next 2-3 years, so that is like 4k for a new battery.

Also note "end of warranty " is NOT EOL, same as with gas engines. That 250k gas engine was only warrantied for 60k I'm guessing

 

[Superburban]

This brings up some interesting points
Reality is often the enemy of our greatest theories.

They do have heaters. They even have to warm up the batteries on a cold day. As far as what happens when you run out of battery, the same for gas on a winter road.

One down fall, is the electric would need to be towed to a charging station, while the gas could be added, and the engine jumped if needed. I do not think all electric is the way to go yet. Hybrid done right can be a great boost for the gas engine, and cut out tons of idling time, and wasted gas.

 

[randyjaco]

Generating heat in an EV is going to create a major battery drain. If you are the only EV in that snow storm traffic jam, no big deal. If all the vehicles are EVs, it is a big deal. Every vehicle will have to be towed in. What if the Tow trucks are all EVs too?
Is there any data on summer mileage vs hard winter mileage for EVs?