2. History of the Electric Vehicle
1891 William Morrison of Iowa built the first
American electric vehicle
1899 New York City taxi companies start using
electric vehicles
1900 about 1/3 of the vehicles on American roads
were electric, the others consisted of gasoline
powered and steam powered vehicles
3. By the 1920's electric cars began to fade due to
the abundance of cheap gasoline, and a need to
travel longer distances among other things
Thomas Edison with an early electric vehicle.
4. The Rise of the Electric Vehicle
Because of the fuel crisis in the 70's many began
to attempt to develop electric vehicles once again
Among these were the Bradley GT, as well as the
Citicar
While both used lead acid batteries, and
consisted of short range and relatively slower
speeds they were a step in the right direction
6. In the early 90's legislation such as the Clean Air
Act, among others pushed the Big 3 to produce
more electric vehicles
Some of these included the electric s-10, Ranger,
Ford Ecostar, as well as the EV1
Many were capable of anywhere between 50-70
mph, and about 80-100 miles per charge'
7. Current Government
Incentives/Goals
Secretary of energy wants a vehicles capable of a
350 mile range by 2017
He also stated that he is expecting the vehicles to
be in the $20,000-$25,000 price range by that
time as well
They government is currently offering a $7500
incentive to help offset the costs of the vehicles
8. Current Problems
Consumers are worried about battery life, and the
cost of replacing a battery
Length of charging time is a problem
Cost of production is high
Battery technology is still being developed
Charging infrastructure
9. Solutions
Hyundai is offering a life time warranty for their
current Hybrid batteries for the original owners,
other companies are likely to follow suit
IBM is developing a Lithium Air battery that they
say may be capable of up to a 500 mile range
Eaton has developed a charging station that can
charge a battery to 80% in 20-30 minutes
10. Lithium-Air Battery
Lithium-air batteries offers a theoretical energy
storage about 1,000 times more than lithium ion
batteries
Lithium-air batteries are not currently used due to
the short lifespan of the battery
IBM is currently attempting to develop an
electrolyte that will increase the lifespan of the
battery to a useable range
IBM plans to introduce a prototype by 2013, and
could be available in vehicles as soon as 2020
12. Eaton DC Quick Charger
Capable of charging a vehicles battery up to 80%
in 20-30 minutes
Would allow quick charging for longer road trips
13. Conclusion
With the development of these technologies it is
likely we will see and extended range electric
vehicle in the future
How soon the will appear on the market to
consumers is yet to be determined
The price point that the government set is unlikely
at first
The infrastructure needs to be improved
enormously before the average consumer would
consider purchasing one
