Are we ultimately ending up electric?

Infrastructure

We’re at a difficult stage in the transition to EVs, with a lot of legacy (old) tech still out there that can’t handle modern charging needs. This has to be fixed, but it is. There are hundreds of new fast chargers, rapid chargers and ultra-quick chargers going into the ground at sites across the country every week thanks to the billions of pounds of investment from the public and private sectors. So they’re improving, but it’s understandable that EV owners (who are increasing by the day) are dissatisfied because many chargers are broken in crucial spots.

Fast, plentiful, dependable chargers are crucial to EV adoption and the future of EV design. Manufacturers are releasing large, hefty electric SUVs with substantial batteries. The public has been convinced they need SUVs, so manufacturers make them. It’s easier to fit huge battery packs in a taller SUV body while creating a new EV. More weight implies less range, so they add more battery, which increases range but weighs more, etc.  Population wants long-range cars, therefore SUVs now have 110kWh battery packs.

They demand a huge range because they don’t trust public charging and think they need 450 KM per charge, which is 99% false. Manufacturers need to get as many people in EVs as possible so they can see for themselves and the infrastructure can develop. Nobody needs a car with over 300 KM’s of range if you can fast charge it in 15 minutes for a fair fee. Once that happens, I anticipate manufacturers will start providing smaller battery packs in the same size, so people can select between a 250-mile or 500KM range, but the shorter range is cheaper, with less wear on tyres, etc. And it’ll cost less. Range and infrastructure are linked and can work together to improve EVs’ future.

Next: hydrogen and synthetic fuels

People should give up hydrogen – for normal cars. It will have a place, but not in passenger cars. Hydrogen production and storage are too expensive. Still electric vehicles, you merely carry your power source and a power plant. It’s no match for a battery-powered EV. It’s well-suited to medium and heavy commercial vehicles since they can carry large hydrogen tanks and travel long distances, and there’s a lot of work in that area. There’s also the not minor problem that every major manufacturer is currently investing tens of billions into putting out new EVs – this is VHS vs Betamax all over again and EV has won for daily passenger cars.

Synthetic fuels are interesting since those being produced are marketed as ‘carbon neutral to the exhaust’ I’m all for them, but they’ll only have niche utility. This is for two reasons: expense and complexity. Second, these fuels still emit tailpipe emissions. They’re less than traditional fossil fuels, but most cities and towns will be zero-emission in the future, so they won’t be allowed. Synthetic fuel will only be for the wealthy and those who like to operate their ICE sports and supercars on the weekend.