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The shift to electric vehicles - What is in store?.
Recently, it was reported that 650 of the 8,033 Nexons sold in June 2021 were Electric Vehicles (EVs), that is, had electricity-driven engines.
- It has been ascribed to the fact that thanks to a spate of central and state government subsidies, the e-variant now costs only Rs 2 lakh more than the diesel and Rs 3 lakh more than the petrol variant.
- Electric vehicles are saving the climate: Air pollutants from gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles cause asthma, bronchitis, cancer, and premature death.
- The long-term health impacts of localized air pollution last a lifetime, with the effects borne out in asthma attacks, lung damage, and heart conditions.
- EVs are covering entire gamut of vehicles: The Electric vehicles fall into three main categories:
- Battery electric vehicles are powered by electricity stored in a battery pack.
- Plug-in hybrids combine a gasoline or diesel engine with an electric motor and large rechargeable battery.
- Fuel cell vehicles split electrons from hydrogen molecules to produce electricity to run the motor.
- EVs have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline-powered cars: The electricity that charges and fuels battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles comes from power grids, which rely on a range of sources — from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy.
- The electricity across is cleaner and cheaper as a fuel for vehicles because electric vehicles are more efficient in converting energy to power cars and trucks.
- Cheaper to maintain: A Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) has fewer moving parts than a conventional petrol/diesel car and servicing is relatively easy, less frequent and overall cheaper than a petrol/diesel vehicle.
- The Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) also have a petrol or diesel engine that needs servicing, so a PHEV will cost more to maintain than a BEV.
- Better for our energy security: The EVs are easy to power from local and renewable energy sources, reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
- Better for the network: If EV charging is managed effectively, mainly outside peak electricity demand periods, it will help us to create a flatter electricity network demand profile over a typical 24-hour period.
- It will help us to:
- better utilize the electricity network
- help EV owners avoid higher-cost charging periods
- help the entire electricity system work more efficiently
- help support the integration of more small and large-scale renewable energy systems into the electricity grid.
- It will help us to:
- Lack of charging infrastructure: India requires a widespread charging infrastructure to meet the growing adoption of EVs.
- In addition to more charging stations, the lack of space is also a challenge since people need a place to charge their EVs.
- Range anxiety: Potential EV customers are apprehensive when it comes to the range that an EV offers.
- They want to ensure that the vehicle would get them to their destination before the battery runs out.
- Financing challenges: EV customers currently face various financing challenges such as limited financing options, high interest, high insurance cost, and limited loan opportunities.
- Vehicle costs: Electric cars generally have higher sticker prices than their gasoline-fueled counterparts, mostly because of expensive materials and processes used in battery production.
- Zero-carbon fantasy: Sourcing the minerals used for batteries, dismantling batteries which have deteriorated, and building and delivering vehicles to customers worldwide all involve substantial CO2 emissions.
- Hefty subsidies being offered by the government: The government is subsidizing a small affluent section of the car-owning population.
- A complete shift to EVs will therefore transfer Rs 2,770 crore from taxpayers to this fraction every year till the government terminates these incentives.
- Number of security issues: The electric and hybrid vehicles have a number of security issues that are not related to conventional vehicles, and include electric shock, explosion, flood of the electrolyte and fire.
- Uncertainty associated with the state of the battery after mechanical damage: The connectors may be defective and to lose communication with one or all parts of the battery with unknown amount of energy remaining in the system.
- The issues related to the malfunction of the battery after damage will be evidence of leakage, leaking electrolyte (carbon solvents are flammable), thermal hazards (observed battery temperatures exceeding 1200˚C after malfunction) and hazard particles.
- High global warming emission during manufacturing: The electric vehicles will produce more global warming emissions than the average gasoline vehicle, because electric cars’ large lithium-ion batteries require a lot of materials and energy to build.
- Insurance implications and claims complexity: Fire and explosion risks associated with high voltage batteries could give rise to claims for commercial property insurers, in particular if multiple cars are charged in underground car parks.
- Ethanol and methanol as transport fuel: Their superior quality and greater safety has made them the preferred fuels in major motor races since the 1960s.
- They can be produced from any biomass waste from crop residues to municipal solid waste, both of which are available in abundance.
- Production of refuse-derived fuel: The first commercial plant to convert 175,000 tons of refuse-derived fuel into 45 million litres of aviation turbine fuel is being commissioned outside Reno, Nevada.
- Gasification: It holds even greater promise because simple, air-blown gasifiers are already in use in food processing that can convert rice and wheat straw into a lean fuel gas that can generate electricity and provide guaranteed 24-hour power to cold storage in every village.
- A by-product, biochar, is no less valuable because it can replace imported coking coal in blast furnaces or be used as a feedstock for producing transport fuels even more easily than municipal solid waste.
- Standardized location of switches: The manufacturers of electrical vehicles install switches that will stop the energy from the battery case in accident.
- The location of these switches must be standardized for security.
- It is expected in the next 20 years the number of small light electric vehicles (SEVs) to significantly increase and become future solution for urban mobility because of their dimensions.
- The protection of vulnerable road users, compatibility with heavier vehicles and new active safety systems must be taken into account to ensure adequate security of EVs in the future regulations.
- The Government’s vision to touch a 25% registration mark by 2024 is a quite practical approach and will help the city in curbing other concerning factors including generating employment opportunities, pollution levels, etc.
- The states need to start planning for the proliferation of electric vehicle chargers in both public spaces as well as privately owned overnight chargers.
POSTED ON 12-08-2021 BY ADMIN
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