Electric Vehicles: Need for Better Charging Infrastructure
In the last decade, electric vehicles have seen a lot of improvements in terms of improved battery life, better mileage, and lesser costs. Some years ago, only the rich could afford an electric vehicle but now with a vast range of options in different price ranges, they are becoming much more common.
There are many advantages of owning an electric vehicle financially and they are also beneficial for the environment. Electric vehicles are considered zero-emission vehicles as they have zero tailpipe emissions. In contrast, gasoline vehicles burn fuel and thus have emissions in terms of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, etc. In fact, transport emissions are responsible for 29% of the US greenhouse gas emissions. So, the transition to EVs will definitely help in curbing climate change.
You also save on the fuel costs — in fact as per the Department of Energy’s eGallon, it costs half as much to drive an EV as compared to a gasoline car based on a national average. This may vary for individual cars and by the state as different batteries have different efficiency. Another factor to consider is whether you are charging using commercial chargers or charging at home. However, if you want to compare the costs of charging your car with any EV, you can calculate the charging costs using the calculator from the Department of Energy.
Challenges faced by the EV industry
In August, US President Biden announced a target of 50% of all new passenger vehicles sale in the US to be zero-emission vehicles by 2030. This is a huge opportunity for the EV industry but it comes with its own shares of challenges as well. To achieve this ambitious target, there is a dire need for improving charging infrastructure and supply chain for the batteries.
Charging Infrastructure
The foremost challenge is the availability of fast chargers. While charging at home may be most convenient (as it takes a long time to charge with Level 2 chargers so you can leave your car overnight for charging in your garage) and economical, you need the availability of chargers along the way for your road trips. Another issue is you don’t want to stop to charge for long hours while being out on a trip — that’s a disadvantage with the current charging network. With an L2 charger (which is the most common charger at homes and charging stations), you can get only 32 miles per hour of charging! There is a need for fast chargers like Tesla Superchargers. Tesla owners do not face these problems as Tesla has an extensive network of over 25000 Superchargers in over 2500 stations worldwide. These Superchargers recharge up to 200 miles within 15 minutes. The problem is that these cannot be used by EVs from other brands, although Elon Musk did tweet that they are considering opening up their network for other EVs by the end of the year. If this happens, it will be a huge boost for the EV charging infrastructure. General Motors also announced they are installing over 2700 fast chargers in association with EVgo by 2025 which will be open to all EVs.
All charging stations (particularly fast chargers) need to be compatible with all types of EVs for making the charging network more extensive and accessible — just like gas stations.
Battery Capacity and Efficiency
The most common type of batteries used in EVs are lithium-ion batteries — the same energy system used in phones and laptops. With emerging technologies for mining the materials required for batteries, the cost of batteries has reduced by almost 90% between 2010 and 2020. EVs do not require a lot of maintenance, however, batteries still remain the most expensive component of these cars. US government require all EV battery to be covered under warranty for at least 8years or 100,000 miles. Some manufacturers provide an extended warranty as well as experts suggest that the current batteries can last around 15–20 years under normal circumstances. Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, can reduce battery life among other factors depending on usage.
The battery capacity has been increasing over the past years from 21.2kWh and a range to 112 miles for Nissan Leaf in 2010 to 100kWh battery in Tesla Model S with an estimated range of 400 miles in 2020. GM’s new Ultium batteries will have a capacity of up to 200kWh, further improving the battery capacity. The Bloomberg report found that the current reserves for lithium metal will be sufficient for EVs production till mid-century; however, scaling up the production is an issue. Also, mining other metals needed for lithium-ion batteries like cobalt is still a challenge. The bigger problem remains to reduce the amount of material and amount of time required to mine these materials. There is a need to build a strong supply chain for these metals.
With the fast transition to EVs, there is a need to set up strict battery-recycling guidelines. R&D is needed to make recycling of these batteries more economical which will also help in reducing the reliance on mining of lithium and cobalt metals.
Higher Costs and Government Incentives
The costs for EVs have been reduced but they are still more expensive than gasoline vehicles. Government incentives can help in reducing the costs further to make them more affordable for the middle class. In the US, the federal government provides a tax credit of $7500 for electric vehicles and $2500-$750 for plug-in hybrid vehicles based on battery capacity. Some states, like California and Colorado, offer additional rebates which help in incentivizing the buyers.
These government incentives include financial incentives like rebates and tax exemptions on the purchase of EVs, cheaper electricity rates for charging EVs during off-peak hours, rebates on installing chargers at home, parking incentives, among other things. Thirteen states in the US have also adopted low-emission vehicle and zero-emission vehicle standards which require manufacturers to sell a certain number of EVs in these states every year.
The electric vehicles are the future and the transition from gasoline vehicles to EVs is happening all over the world. These government incentives and policies can help in making that transition faster and smoother.
