19/07/2022
Sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be prohibited in the UK from 2030. Will electric vehicle (EV) technology be ready in time? What problems need to be overcome? To get the latest information, my colleague Gavin and I attended the recent Battery Cells & Systems/Vehicle Electrification expo at the NEC. While we were there, we managed to take in some fascinating panel discussions, meet with clients and old friends, and engage in the obligatory wander around the trade stands. We talked to lots of friendly people, all focussed on providing us with functional EV technology as soon as possible. Engineers, unlike many in politics or the media, are candid about the issues facing us in making the transition to EVs, and often the problems are as interesting as the solutions. Based on the conference sessions and conversations we had, I left the expo with the following thoughts and questions.
1 – EVs aren’t that green (yet)
It makes sense when you think about it – EVs are less environmentally friendly to manufacture than gas-guzzlers. More electronics are required, which means there are a greater number of energy intensive computer chips. EVs use many specialised components that are only produced by specialist factories and often need to be flown around the world. EVs need a large battery, formed from exotic grades of carbon, heavy metals such as copper, and lots of lithium, the mining of which brings its own environmental issues. So even if your EV is powered by the cleanest of electricity, it still needs to run for tens of thousands of miles before it reaches a breakeven point with an equivalent sized combustion engine powered car. One of the speakers we listened to praised Polestar as the only EV manufacturer to try and provide a genuine cradle to grave breakdown of the carbon footprint of their vehicles. It is a fascinating study, which seems to say as much about the importance of developing green sources of electricity to power EVs as it does about the need to improve the carbon footprint of EVs.
Polestar are aiming for a net-zero carbon EV by 2030.
2 – Reliance on Lithium could have major implications on design of EVs and charging infrastructure
Lithium-ion batteries will be the power source for EVs for the near future. The only technology that can provide the energy density required for large EVs, at present, is lithium based; partly because people have been working on lithium for longer. Lithium is not easy to come by, however. Commercial lithium deposits are scarce, and historic investment in lithium mining has been lower than required to produce the large amounts of lithium required today. There is also a certain amount of geo-political risk associated with lithium supplies.
The commitment to lithium provides some technical issues. Battery size needs to be limited due to lack of lithium supply. A small battery size means a lower range, which in turn requires a greater support network of chargers and faster chargers for EVs to be practical. Lower range will translate to a low take up of EV technology. Faster charging leads to lower battery life… which means those batteries may not reach their breakeven point.
Fortunately, engineers from industry and academia are working hard to solve those problems.
3 – Is sodium technology the future?
The use of sodium ion batteries would solve some of the problems inherent with lithium batteries. Sodium is readily available, extraction of sodium may not have as many environmental issues as current lithium mining, and we can avoid too many geo-political issues in the supply chain. Sodium cells do not, however, provide the power density required for powering a car. Fans of lithium seemed to suggest that sodium would never make the grade for large EVs, whereas those with an interest in sodium seemed to suggest that there was no inherent reason why sodium cells could not be a viable alternative to lithium. At the least, it seems likely that sodium will supplant lithium for lower power density applications (there were Na-ion powered scooters at the show), which may assist with lithium supply chains.
4 – Range extenders vs ideological purity
Lack of range and the fear of running out of juice will be a major hurdle in take-up of EVs among the general population. However, a majority of journeys made by car would fall within the range of an EV, so how will the fears be overcome. One practical solution I heard suggested was the use of range extenders… small petrol tanks and motor that could be used to top up charge enough to take on the occasional longer journey. I’m a fan of practical solutions. So, will we see a first generation of EVs with range extenders as standard, or will we need to learn to cope with range anxiety?
5 – Why don’t we go for fungible swappable batteries?
If I imagine my future EV, what I want is the ability to drive a decent distance, and then “re-fuel” with the same expenditure of effort and time that a visit to a petrol station takes now. In my, non-specialist, mind’s eye, I see a fungible swappable battery. Such a battery (or more likely batteries) could be swapped in moments, and the existing network of fuelling stations could be modified to provide the service. Customers could get a credit on unused energy on the swapped-out batteries, all batteries could be charged at an optimum rate to maximise life, and suppliers could even provide different energy sources at different price levels (cheapest, wind only, nuclear!).
I did listen to a session in which the question of swappable batteries was raised. The consensus answer from the panel was “Some Chinese companies are trying swappable, but nah!” (You will realise that I have paraphrased a little). The solution, according to this panel was a super network of fast chargers, focused on motorways. I never really understood the problems they saw with swappable. Is it technologically too difficult? Vested interests? Is the politics too difficult? I’d welcome feedback from someone more informed than I.
This article is for general information only. Its content is not a statement of the law on any subject and does not constitute advice. Please contact Reddie & Grose LLP for advice before taking any action in reliance on it.
