Is the Future of Electric Cars in China?

[daimengrui]

I can't imagine staying even a half hour at a charging station to wait for my drained electric car to fully recharge itself. That won't work for most motorists.

The more practical solution is to buy substitute power packs that can be installed in minutes, maybe for the same duration it takes to fully load up on gas. Not an easy task with hundreds of kilograms weight per battery

The electric cars made by BYD uses a battery that charges fast. The key here is storage capacity. If a single car can hold charge that can run for say 1000 km, you may never even notice the charging time. After all how many drivers use their vehicle for 1000kms in a single drive?

The BYD E6 claims to charge 50% capacity in 10 minutes. And current range is 320kilometers (That's about more than enough to go to Baguio City)

And they're not stopping there. The car can be part of a power storage grid connected to a home network, making it a source of renewable energy. Think if you're home is equipped with Solar panel cells. The car would be your main storage unit of electricity that can power your appliance while it is in idle mode.

Google pioneered this concept of the Power Grid. There's a 2 part docu-series by NHK that tackled this technology.

[daimengrui]

Here's a fascinating article about how electric cars can be a source of stored renewable energy

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10...romoUnitHolder

[ghosthunter]

Electric cars that have a maximum range of 320 km per charge would not fare that well in more tropical countries like ours where air conditioning is almost a requirement by most people who drive.

Typical current "affordable" electric cars get about 80 to 120 km per charge.

That doesn't yet include extra electrical loads like headlight (when driving at night) and air blowers (for basic human comfort while driving). Can you imagine how much power a typical pair of 55 watt headlight bulbs consume? And how much less driving range you will have when driving at night...

[daimengrui]

Well, they're not quite there yet GH. We are at the very early stages of this technology. BUT at the pace of how technology is being developed it won't be long before batteries can hold up to 20k km worth of battery life.

[daimengrui]

BTW battery life loses more power in COLD climates than in tropical weather. That's especially true of Lithium Ion batteries.

[ghosthunter]

Well, they're not quite there yet GH. We are at the very early stages of this technology. BUT at the pace of how technology is being developed it won't be long before batteries can hold up to 20k km worth of battery life.

Unless there is a major breakthrough with battery technology, we will only see incremental improvements with battery capacity in the next foreseeable years.

It is long been a problem with electronics manufacturers that battery technology has not been able to keep up with the devices being pumped out by electronics companies like mobile phones and mobile computers. Any increase in the such devices battery time is simply because of more efficient electronics that use less power than before. Example is the Intel Atom CPU which have given us portable PCs with battery time of 8 hours or even longer.

So don't take it against me if I don't believe your prediction of 20K km range on a single charge for an electric car.

[ghosthunter]

BTW battery life loses more power in COLD climates than in tropical weather. That's especially true of Lithium Ion batteries.

... and so what does this have in connection with the topic?

[uls]

LA housing authority to use BYD electric cars

http://www.auto-mobi.info/index.php?...96663&Itemid=1

Wednesday, 15 December 2010
The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and BYD Motors Inc. announced the launch of a break-through electric vehicle fleet today. The agreement was signed and BYD vehicles were put into service at HACLA Offices, 2600 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles. “We are ecstatic to partner with BYD to test this fantastic EV fleet technology – not only will these electric vehicles reduce fuel costs significantly, but it will reduce direct-emissions by almost 37 lbs of CO2 per car, traveling less than 40 miles per day!” said HACLA President and CEO, Rudolf C. Montiel. “With BYD’s technology, I believe we will accomplish great things for the environment and demonstrate the lowest-cost fleet program in the United States.”

The F3DM (Dual Mode) sedans used in HACLA fleets can travel by electricity for 40 to 60 miles. An important attribute of the Dual-Mode vehicle is that the users have the ability to manually switch the vehicle to stay in all-electric vehicle or “EV mode” just like a conventional battery-electric vehicles (BEV) throughout the life of the car. However, if there is a requirement to go farther than 60 miles in a given day, the vehicle can be manually switched to plug-in-hybrid electric or “PHEV mode”, where a 1.0L gasoline engine can be engaged to extend the range another 300+ miles while charging the batteries. “The BYD ‘Dual-Mode’ vehicles resolve any ‘range anxiety’ that consumers might have driving an all-electric vehicle. The F3DM can be treated as an all-electric because gasoline is never required – users can drive all-electric all the time,” stated Micheal Austin, Vice President of BYD America.

“As a leader in the affordable housing industry, HACLA continues to implement innovative technology to reduce cost as a sustainable solution to helping the environment,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “I commend HACLA and hope that its example will lead others to make environmentally conscious decisions.”

The F3DM comes with an onboard overnight-charger which charges vehicles in less than 7 hours, allowing HACLA to simply install standard 220VAC outlets as you would for a home clothes dryer in their EV fleet parking areas. “Part of the appeal of this EV is the fact that we don’t need any special EV charging pedestals or equipment to charge, its all standard – that kept our initial launch costs in control and shortened our pay-back times,” said Mr. Montiel. BYD is also in discussions with HACLA to integrate solar power to charge an Energy Storage Station (ESS) during the day that could then discharge later during the EV fleet charging hours.

“BYD is pleased to partner with HACLA and Rudolf Montiel to integrate EVs and potentially renewable energy to charge them – he is a visionary leader and a great friend to City of LA and to the environment,” said Mr. Austin.

“The HACLA is the second largest authority of its kind in the United States, serving more than 100,000 residents, and takes seriously its obligation of leadership both environmentally and fiscally” said Mr. Montiel. "This test partnership demonstrates our strong commitment to reducing the City's carbon footprint and HACLA’s cost.”

[ghosthunter]

Nakuh! ... paano na yung plans nila Romski, et al na gagawin Philippines yung e-car hub of asia? Talo na tayo sa China?

Yung pang laban natin yung "world-famous" e-jeep pa din.

[uls]

haha

nakagawa lang ng ejeepney naging electric car hub of Asia na

while China has already entered the US market