Energy Trends – Exciting New EV Technology Breakthrough?

In this week’s Energy Trends we look at some of the latest developments in electric vehicle (EV) technology.
With the world bursting into fire all around us, and Vancouver and most of beautiful BC wheezing with smoke, the time for political leadership to transition to a cleaner, greener future is upon us.
How can we get people to take the EV option when buying their next car?
There are some huge barriers, including affordability, range, and convenience.
It also doesn’t help when places like Ontario strip back incentives and cancel rebates that would typically reduce the price of a Tesla by up to $10,000.
No wonder Tesla is taking Ontario to court.
Although in that case, it is to do with how the government proposes to extend the grace period for subsidies through applications at dealerships.
Something that Tesla believes unfairly affects them as their buyers typically don’t use dealerships.
So, not a good omen in Canada but are there other reasons to be cheerful in the EV world?
What are some technological breakthroughs to help EVs make greater in-roads into the market?
 
Scientists Create Battery That Refuels Electric Cars in Seconds

This is interesting.
A research team at the University of Glasgow has devised a potentially revolutionary charging system involving a liquid battery that could refuel a car in a similar manner to gasoline.
The system is called a ‘hybrid-electric-hydrogen’ flow battery and is based upon nanoscale battery molecule technology.
This means liquid being taken into a battery, being used, and then being taken out before adding fresh liquid at the pump.
By using nanoscale molecules, the liquid can store, then release up to ten times the energy.
The molecules can be used to release electricity or hydrogen gas making it a potentially good fit for EVs or electric power solutions.
This looks like a potentially giant leap forward.

“If you are going to shift to electric cars, recharge time seems to be an almost unstoppable barrier because you are going to have to plan – even with a super-charger – a half-hour to 45-minute wait.” – Professor Lee Cronin, Regius Chair of Chemistry, University of Glasgow

Read more at BBC and University of Glasgow
 
This Boring Little Box Can Fix the Nightmare of Installing EV Charging Stations in Condos
So, if we can’t get the liquid quite yet that would enable petrol-style refueling of EVs, what is a good workaround in the meantime?
Well, part of a solution would definitely be fitting out your condo parking space with something better than the current market solutions.
Enter this little box from Quebec’s Lilco Électrique.
When fitting your apartment building with EV charging capability for your parking space, there are a number of problems:

1. Most electric panels are limited to 100 amps per condo
2. It’s typically difficult to change the electric capability of one condo’s parking spot and not all of them.
3. Amount of space available to fit a solution.

This “boring little box”, called a DCC (Demand Charge Controller), enables a solution to all three of the above.

The cost is pretty reasonable at $1,100 plus installation costs. It could end up adding quite a bit of value to your condo.

I think this is a smart solution that both solves the hardware problem and facilitates dealing with your condo board. Urban charging is arguably one of the biggest bottlenecks for EV adoption, but I think we are starting to see a lot of different solutions. – Fred Lambert, Editor-in-Chief, Electrek

Read more at Electrek
 
So, if that’s some of the new technology, what are some good news stories or ploys to market and increase sales of EVs?
 
VW’s Electrify America Launches First Ad Campaign… With a Bolt EV

Check out the new ad from Volkswagon as part of their punishment for the Dieselgate scandal.
It will be running from now until June 2019 as VW agreed to spend $2 billion to promote electric cars.
Turning the Flintstones into the Jetsons without a mention of VW in sight.
https://youtu.be/KRgcJusf280
We think this is a good start in terms of messaging to the general public about how EVs are more fun than ICE cars.

With instant acceleration electric vehicles are more fun to drive, and more affordable than ever. Electric cars are here! – Plug in to the Present Commercial

Let’s emphasize this message before we begin preaching?
Read more at CNET and find out about all your EV needs at Plug into the Present
 
2018 Chevy Bolt EV Makes Successful 2,000-mile Road Trip

The star of VW’s US ad above is the Chevy Bolt, and here we see another good news story featuring the awesome electric car from Chevrolet.
Here we see a blog about an enthusiast’s road trip across the East of the US and into Canada.
David Edwards took his family with two kids from Michigan to Pennslyvania to Maryland to New York, New Jersey and then up to Niagara Falls.
They drove between 250-350 miles per day.
In this article, he talks about his daily charging exploits.
It is both a reality check and quite a large dose of optimism for anyone looking into how to cope with charging an EV for long distance trips.

One question that many non-electric-car owners asked is how long it took to charge, but the answer is complex. Unlike gas pumps, electrical outlets are anywhere and everywhere. So, we charged when we stopped most of the time instead of stopping to charge. We always plugged in at night and also used chargers that were available at other destinations during the day. Of the half a dozen times when we did need to stop to charge it took only 20 minutes to an hour. Three times we took the opportunity to eat lunch while at the charger. – Dave Edwards, EV Car Enthusiast

Read more at Green Car Reports
 
Summary
We think the news presented above offers interesting developments into how the market is trying to solve some of the needs of EV owners.
It also points to future developments that will be necessary to bring mass EV adoption.
What’s necessary now is bigger commitments from our politicians to help EVs become the go-to option for car buyers.
We’ve seen how Norway is incentivizing adoption and how Ontario is going backwards.

Related Articles from Nikolas Badminton:

Energy Trends – Electric Cars for Everyone?

The Future of Fuel and Transportation in 2030 and 2050

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