Why Electric Cars Have Stalled

I personally think ultra-caps are a very long way off, and existing caps lack sufficient capacitance to be useful as the primary storage for an EV. But this thread seemed to have gone off into a criticism of what these as-yet unavailable capacitors will be able to do when and if they are developed.

When I talk about ultra-caps, I'm talking about a dream for the future, which seems that it should be within the realm of possibility (as distinct from the perpetual-motion scams that are so abundant).

I argue with the folks who think ultra-caps are a near-term solution to energy storage, but I also argue with those who believe they are impossible.

 

The biggest kick start that we could give the EV / PHEV industry would be to require government fleets to purchase EVs (US made of course). Postal carriers, meter readers, building inspectors, etc typically drive under 50 miles per day of stop and go driving and do not have huge load requirements. The existing low speed NEV would even work for some of these uses. These uses also work perfectly with our existing "dumb" grid and could easily be programmed to not recharge until after 10:00pm.

A truly progessive, forward thinking "stimulus" bill would include requirements / incentives for government and utility fleets. The huge volume of EV purchases could create the "critical mass" to move battery technology and manufacturing forward. One requirement / incentive needed is pushing for time-of-day metering / pricing. This would be easier to put in place for large government / utility fleets facilities than single family neighborhoods.

The lower fuel costs and maintenance costs would make the higher purchase price pay off. Lower maintenance costs are not something I see discussed much, but this is a critical requirement of fleet users. Also, fleet purchases can be "stripped down" cars to aid in lower costs and getting mass production up and running. BTW, I am not implying EVs work for all gov/utility vehicles, but what if 40-60% of new fleet purchases were EV?

We need to offset the standard arguement ..."EVs will never catch on because they do not work for long trips, heavy loads, lazy drivers, etc...." by focusing on where they do work and creating incentives to get them in use ASAP. What would happen to the EV/PHEV industry if they were guarenteed a market of a million cars per year (total WAG)???

 

converting a large percentage of postal trucks to NEV's can be done and might prevent the postal service from suspending mail delivery on tues or wed (as they have recently proposed) since fuel costs are one of the biggest challenges they face besides the onslaught of email, IM's and text messages as the emerging preferred method of communication

 

Excellent post!!!