Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

Let me say from the outset that I do NOT have an electric car.  

In my view, we are not yet at the tipping point when the price drops considerably, the range is considerably improved, there are plentiful charging points and the batteries do not need expensive materials to be mined. Give it just a few years and petrol and diesel vehicles will look as out of date as CRTs and film cameras.

Having said that, it is noticeable how much more common electric cars have become. Just a few years ago on a trip to Cambridge I might have seen 2. Now to see 8 is quite common. This is probably due to several factors. The energy crisis has caused people to question fossil fuelled vehicles, especially if you can charge at home overnight on a good tariff. Secondly, more recent cars are more likely to include electric cars. My estimate is the ratio of fossil fueled to electric cars is about 100:1.

My next car may well be electric as long as we move away from lithium, the range improves considerably and the price comes well down. For now I shall carry on with my recent diesel car.

By the way, I am fully in favour of a new road tax in which the further you travel, the more you pay. This would seem a fair way of taxing everyone and encourage the use of public transport. Maybe fossil fuels should be discouraged by taxing them more heavily and subsidising electric vehicles?

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

In the end, I suspect many of us will be driving electric cars. In today's Knowledge (it comes every day free by email) was a report in the UK Daily Telegraph. I agree with this.

"The reason people aren’t buying EVs en masse is because “it doesn’t yet make sense”: they’re expensive, their range is too short, and there aren’t enough charging points."

In my view, we will reach a tipping point when battery technology allows prices to drop a lot (bye bye lithium?) and ranges to double or more. This will allow many people to charge at home and infrequently. Like film cameras and cathode ray tubes, fossil fuelled cars will then seem really old. Personally I give it 3-5 years.

Solid state batteries?

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

These provoke strong feelings. 

In my view we will all be driving electric cars, when certain criteria are met. At the moment these are: range (too little) and price (too high) and too long to charge even if you can find a place to charge!  

In my view they will considerably increase range (1000+  miles on a charge) and there will be a big drop in price with a new battery technology perhaps solid state batteries. There is a lot of investment going towards this. 

Remember cathode ray tubes and film cameras?

There is a lot of stupid hype about electric cars at the moment, when the truth is the technology is not quite there. I give it under 5 years. By 2030, fossil fuelled cars will seem so old fashioned and so last century.  

My prediction is the Chinese will be first.

Electric car batteries - NOT amateur radio

Steve G1KQH sent me this cartoon yesterday. 

There is a very serious point though. Until EV batteries are made from far more common materials and have a far greater range, I cannot see EVs being a disruptive technology like flat screen TVs or digital cameras. 

This will come with investment and drive. At the current rate, the Chinese will be the first and we will be way behind.  We need this if our children and grandchildren are to have a planet.

In my view, I suspect this will come before 2035 and we will all be amazed that we used fossil fuels at one time. 

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

Most times when out these days I spot at least 1 electric car. As time goes by I expect these will become more commonplace.

For me, they are still too expensive and the range is too limited for long distances. Even a trip from here to the coast and back would need a charge. They would be fine for short trips.

If people are to be persuaded to adopt these, they need good subsidies and better ranges. With research, I expect the latter will come. The former depends on government policies.

Electric and hybrid cars - NOT amateur radio

Quite a few of my friends have electric or hybrid cars. At the moment these seem too expensive for me and the range is still sub-optimal. Common electrics cars are the Nissan Leaf. On a typical trip I usually see a couple nowadays. In 10 years' time I expect the majority of cars will be electric. Honda is launching an electric car in early 2020.

See www.honda.co.uk/‎  

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

This has been discussed here before, but I was reminded yesterday by an old friend who is hanging on to his petrol car until he expects to buy an electric car in about 3 years' time. His comment was "electric cars are not there yet". I agree with this. Both the range needs to increase and the price has to fall.

Most days I see maybe 2 electric cars on the roads. I suspect these are early adopters or maybe eco warriors. In 10 years' time I expect we will all be driving these, but as my friend said, "they are not there yet".

I want to buy and use an electric car. Maybe in a few years? In the meantime let us stop subsidising fossil fuels and subsidise renewables instead so we are encouraged to switch.

Electric Cars - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned a few days ago, my view is this is still not quite a mature technology. Once ranges are improved, I am still convinced there will be a "tipping point", although we are not there yet. Batteries based on lithium may not be the answer. Maybe we need a new technology that is truly green?

Electric cars, not yet? - NOT amateur radio

As a low power radio enthusiast (they call us QRPers), I want to buy an electric car, but still feel it is a technology that is not quite there. I feel sure there will be a tipping point when prices fall and ranges are much better. This point is still some years away, unless there is a really significant breakthrough in battery technology. At the moment electric cars are expensive and ranges are not good enough. Give it 5-10 years and things could be much different.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_electric_cars_currently_available

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

Like flat screen TVs and digital cameras, I think there will be a sudden "tipping point" when we wonder with amazement at internal combustion powered cars running on petrol or diesel.

Assuming we can achieve genuine ranges of 300 miles or more between charges, then this will remove the charging anxiety that currently goes with electric cars, unless all your driving is on local trips to the shops.

We are not there yet. I do not know how far off this point is. It could be 5 years or 25 years. I guess it depends on battery research and price. I hope it comes in my lifetime.

I know some national radio societies are concerned that induction power transfer could be a source of radio noise pollution. I suspect home charging will help reduce this.