Plugged In #5 - April 2023

A big month for EVs and a newsletter that got too big.

Imagine: You pull into a service station, but someone has parked across the entrance. You could march in there and get help, but it's self-serve and unstaffed.

Blocking an entire row of chargers is like that.

Public charging is critical infrastructure.

As EV adoption increases, we need answers to these situations. Waka Kotahi says: "To understand... enforcement options... contact the local RCA [Road Controlling Authority]."  Well, that clears it up 🤪

In Australia, fines were introduced  - up to $3,200.

Four charge points blocked ↓

Aspirations from the Ministry of Transport: (link)

• Journey charging hubs every 150-200 km by 2028 (big charging stations that cater for a lot of vehicles at a time).
• One public charger for every 20-40 EVs in urban areas (cities with limited off-street parking).
• Charging stations in all towns with 2000 or more people (by 2025).

Here's a charging hub (render) in Oxford, UK ↓

Consumer NZ tested hybrids and plugin hybrid vehicles (PHEVs): Cars failed to match claimed fuel economy (PHEVs by a considerable margin).

Like most real-world testing, the Consumer one was unscientific: “a run to the supermarket; and a drive over the Remutaka Hill and back”.

A vehicle (EV, petrol, hybrid) will only match claimed fuel economy if you mimic the test procedure (the WLTP). Unsurprisingly, the WLTP does not include a drive over the Remutaka hill.

Summary:

• The Consumer test confirms overseas studies (ICCT).
• PHEVs are difficult to measure. If you have one, plug it in every night to get the best benefit (maximum battery usage).
• The upshot: Hybrids are cheaper to run and use less fuel than combustion-only. But, like ANY vehicle, it depends on the driver and driving conditions.

👍 Record month for BEVs (battery electric vehicles): 3,088 registered (highest ever).

😐 Public charging capacity is falling way behind: So far this year, 7,348 vehicles with a plug were added to our roads. 

At 40 vehicles per public charge point = 184 new charge points needed (admittedly, 25% of these vehicles were plugin hybrids, but... still).

BYD Atto 3: Sold more units across Q1 2023 than any other EV model, now the third best-selling EV ever (behind the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y).

GWM Ora: First shipments of this lower-price EV have been delivered.

Used EV Market: Hyundai IONIQ and Nissan Leaf (2018-) continue to drop (~$25k). Tesla Model 3 holding at just under $50k (lowest).

*From preliminary Waka Kotahi data

*From preliminary Waka Kotahi data
** high numbers of rental / govt / fleet registrations

Battery recycling is doable - US-based Redwood published year-one results of recycling EV batteries.
- Good news: 95% of the minerals were recovered.
- Issues: Logistics (cost of transporting batteries). 

Recycling is more about economics than technology.  IDTechX predicts the second-life EV battery market to reach US$7B by 2033.

Just give it a test drive! (research) 🚗
EV test drives lead to a purchase.  It wasn't about public perception (i.e. virtue signalling - "look at me and my cool eco-car" ) but about private meaning "(I'm willing to early-adopt and progress, and I feel differently about myself").

Self-propelled electric caravan (US) - The Lightship L1 is an aerodynamic caravan with a 40 kWh battery and foldout solar panels. Towing it means no range loss on your vehicle.

Chargers like toilets? (US) - I've always thought a charger could be like a toilet. The cistern 'trickle charges' with water when you're not using it. It drops the water at full speed when you want to use it.

The Freewire Boost Charger (California) has up to 160 kWh battery in the charger. Charge the battery in off-peak. Acts as a buffer during peak.  Great option for companies with lower-range vans.

Actual range: The distance an EV will go from fully charged to empty.

Advertised range: Estimated using a global test called WLTP.

WLTP range is helpful for:

• Comparing EVs with each other.
• Estimating range in summer driving: urban, suburban, and 80 km/h zones and under.

WLTP range is not helpful when:

• Driving on road trips or motorway travel.
• Driving in cold temperatures (EVs are like people - they perform best at about 22°).

If you are doing open-road driving, expect your range to be about 77% of the WLTP range.

Real-world range? Someone drives their EV and carefully notes the distance travelled and energy consumption.

Definitely helpful but not scientific:  What if your 'real-world' was driving up the Bombay hills at 5°, in a headwind, towing a trailer?

What does this mean for you?

Owning an EV may lead to more intentional driving decisions. That's not a bad thing - it's just different from the petrol-driving days.

When I had my petrol car, I only thought about my driving when I filled up.  My stomach would sink when I saw the dollars go up...  🫣.

Curious about EV range? Read the deep dive into WLTP  (If you have insomnia, it might cure you).

Last week the EU watered down planned bans on combustion vehicles - making provision for e-fuels.

E-fuels use clean electricity to combine hydrogen with CO2 from the atmosphere. Existing combustion engines can use the fuel.

Pro: Carbon-neutral fuel.

Con: Expensive to produce and energy inefficient.

Electricity -> Electrolysis -> Hydrogen + CO2 -> Combust -> Move car

Compared to a battery EV:

Electricity -> Battery -> Move car

There are strong opinions on this, and it is very politicised (with German automakers favouring it - as do Japanese carmakers).

 ↑ April 28, 1906 (London - source Findmypast.co.uk)

It's taken over 115 years, but we now have 50 different models of electrically propelled vehicles in NZ.

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