Biden’s New Charge Account

 

California is banning the sale of new combustion-engine vehicles (e.g., gasoline and diesel-powered trucks and cars) in the state starting in 2035. Other states are following suit, backed by a federal policy that is aimed at transitioning the entire nation to all-electric vehicles. Of course, we all know that how the electricity is generated is relevant to determine the impact of this transition on climate change, but by all accounts, the net result is highly positive. However, as manufacturers are upping their electric and hybrid vehicle output and governments push us away from gasoline and diesel-powered cars, are there enough customers for these vehicles?

According to a CBS poll reported on April 19th, Americans have doubled their willingness to consider an electrical car: “Americans' collective thinking on electric cars is a bit ... middle of the road. A third of people say they'd consider buying an electric vehicle (EV), while another third say they might. Just over a third would not. By contrast most would still consider a traditional gasoline-powered one.” The willingness to consider buying an electric car often centers around range, the time needed to charge an electric vehicle and the lack of sufficient charging stations. 

Will new federal infrastructure commitment increase buyer acceptance of EVs? “The Biden administration’s effort to blanket the country in half a million new EV chargers in the next half-decade got $7.5 billion in funding Monday when the president signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law. But while those chargers will be necessary as electric vehicle sales continue to climb, Biden’s plan will require institutional — and personal — patience.

“Not only will it simply take a while to build out that many chargers, but the majority of what gets built will likely be of the ‘Level 2’ variety, which can replenish about 25 miles of battery capacity per hour. That means EV buyers in the US will have to get used to the idea of sipping energy while they’re out and about and doing most of their charging at home.

“‘The use case we think will be the most frequent is you’re doing something else in your life — you’re at the grocery store, or the movies, or church — and you’re just going to plug in there,’ says Joe Britton, the executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association. ‘[That’s] instead of the gas station model, which is like, ‘Oh shoot, I’m on empty, I need to go and get all the way to full immediately.’’” The Verge, November 16th. So perhaps there will be enough charging stations. But there is still one huge catch for those traveling distances that would require a stop to recharge. Time!

“There are three levels of EV charging… The higher the level of charging, the faster the charging process, as more power is delivered to the vehicle. It’s important to note that different EVs charge at different speeds on each level, because each EV can accept different levels of power from the EVSE, industry-speak for electric vehicle supply equipment, the charger… Level 1 charging uses a common 120-volt household outlet. Every electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid can be charged on Level 1 by plugging the charging equipment into a regular wall outlet. Level 1 is the slowest way to charge an EV. It adds between 3 and 5 miles of range per hour…

“Level 2 charging [240 volts] is the most commonly used level for daily EV charging. Level 2 charging equipment can be installed at home, at the workplace, as well as in public locations like shopping plazas, train stations and other destinations. Level 2 charging can replenish between 12 and 80 miles of range per hour, depending on the power output of the Level 2 charger, and the vehicle’s maximum charge rate…

“Level 3 charging [400-900 volts] is the fastest type of charging available and can recharge an EV at a rate of 3 to 20 miles of range per minute. Unlike Level 1 and Level 2 charging that uses alternating current (AC), Level 3 charging uses direct current (DC). The voltage is also much higher than Level 1 & 2 charging, which is why you don’t see level 3 chargers installed at home. Very few residential locations have the high-voltage supply that is required for level 3 charging.

“Additionally, DC Fast Chargers cost tens of thousands of dollars. So even if your residence has 400-volt electricity service, the cost to install the charger would most likely cost more than your EV.” Forbes, October 4th. Some high-end carmakers are creating total battery swap-outs at their customized charging stations as a solution. Not a particular good one for most other drivers.

One of the barriers to level 3 chargers, why they cost so much, is that they generate a lot of heat that requires expensive containment. Mark Wilson, writing for the November 19th FastCompany.com notes that: “to move so much current with today’s technologies would necessitate a relatively inflexible cable that’s so wide in diameter—and so weighed down with pricey copper—that many people would have difficulty plugging it into their cars… 

“However, new research out of Purdue University (funded by an R&D alliance with Ford Motor Co.) proposes a way to change this, by redesigning the charging cable itself. The patent-pending cable technology is capable of recharging an EV in an estimated five minutes. Though just as beneficial is what the new design offers in terms of user experience.

“What’s the breakthrough? The new cable sends more current than the cables we have today—a whopping 4.6 times the current sent through industry-leading Tesla Supercharger cables. The reason we can’t build these cables today is that moving that much electricity generates a lot of heat… How? The technique comes down to liquid cooling, which has already been used successfully in technologies like graphics cards and LED lamps.”

There are other barriers, like the high cost in human rights and environmental damage, of mining the metals, including rare earths, needed to manufacture the required batteries. See my November 14th Two of the Ugly Sides of Countering Climate Change blog for more details. As we find new designs for batteries as well, this may change. And will gun crazy anti-alternative energy radicals and climate change deniers, particularly in oil and gas states, use charging station signs and perhaps charging stations themselves for target practice? This level of potential vandalism merits a special category of criminal punishment. But for the rest of us, this accelerating technology generates hope.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I hope this blog makes understanding the complexity of our transition away from fossil fuel a bit easier to understand.