Electric vehicles: energy consumption and the comparision with other new vehicle technologies

Abstract

In the end of the 19th century the electric vehicle (EV) controlled the market for road transport. But with remarkable improvements in the performance of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), EVs had vanished from the scene by the 1930's. Since then, they have attracted interest from time to time when energy or environmental problems surfaced. Recently, with the increasing interest in environmental problems such as air pollution in urban areas, acid rain, and global warming, there has been more focus on development and extended use of electric vehicles throughout the world. The performance of EVs is gradually being improved through the adoption of technical improvements in batteries, motors, and others. However, the performance of commercial EVs is still not adequate for large scale introduction which has a substantial effect on the environment and energy situation. Legislation initiatives like the California CARB regulation promoting electric vehicles have greatly stimulated the research and development on electric car technolgies in small companies, university labs, and auto manufacturers. There has been a greater advance in control systems, drive components and batteries in the last three years than in the previous two decades. Despite all advancements that are made, the battery improvements appeared to be insufficient to lead to a wider scale introduction of the EV. It is therefore that the purpose of electric vehicles should be found in a niche market where range can easily be specified beforehand, like city distribution or taxi services. But even in these applications it has to compete with vehicle technologies that also have shown remarkable improvements in the last years. In this paper the energy use of an electric vehicle is studied, in order to be able to make a clear comparision between the electric vehicle and conventional or other alternative vehicle technologies. First a survey is presented of the most important battery technologies, being the bottle-neck for the development of the electric vehicle. After this the energy use of an electric vehicle is examined, which forms the bais of a comparision between electric vehicle and other type of vehicles.

Original document

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