Are electric cars a dead end? Just as Ho Chi Minh said when asked about the French Revolution, it’s probably too early to tell. In the meantime, interesting things are happening. Der Spiegel reports that a European consortium of car makers and utilities has agreed on a standard for plugs. That means you’ll soon be able to drive from Lappland to Sicily, or from Lisbon to Moscow (albeit in 50-mile spurts), without worrying about compatibility. The plug will be in a three-phase, 400V configuration. But what about loading stations connected to the plugs? The news here: a consortium including Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW, Ford, General Motors, PSA, Fiat, Toyota, Mitsubishi as well as major western-European utilities are working on a standard electric “filling station.” So much for infrastructure. But what about the cars?
Will anybody be actually driving electric vehicles in the foreseeable future? The UK government wants people to and is willing to put its money where you’d put the plug in. If Gordon Brown’s government is re-elected, as reports Spiegel Online, a £5K ($7,450) incentive will be available to anybody who scraps his gasoline-propelled car and buys an electric. Other European governments are talking of following suit. Oh happy days of industrial policy!
I suspect it is 400 volts, not 400 watts. Why bother with 3 phase for a lousy 400 watts?
I don’t see anything wrong with standardizing plugs, because obviously in the future it will prove very smart.
imagine that you still use today the same charger for the Motorola roadstar 2 series mobile phone (brick) that you used in 1995 for your N96. that would have saved you a lot of chargers, I’m guessing 3 to 8 different chargers if you are not brand faithful.
however, back to cars, i doubt that EV’s will be traveling further stints than their 40-50 mile range to start with. the only EV where such a thing would be conceivable is in an ER-EV. the Volt R.F so graciously likens to a hail Mary pass is the prime suspect. and in case you want to cross country with your Volt in the future (distant), it would be nice to know that the plug you pack under the hood, or boot will fit when you will park for an overnight’s sleep.
just think of it when you leave the US to Europe and you forget your traveler’s adapter at home. it’s a bitch ain’t it… i think it’s about time electric plugs are standardized all over the globe for all applications.
I think this is a straw man issue for EVs. Europe and the US (every country/region I think) already have standardized outlets. EV designers just need to design for them. Most places you would park a car are within a couple hundred feet of a regular old plug socket. There is certainly one in almost every garage in America. I’m sure every gas station has at least one.
The issue does come forward when it comes to rapid charge systems. Most houses in the USA already have 220V capability–already in use for electric dryers, electric ranges/ovens, and for many A/C compressors. Yes, there will be demand for 400V (and possibly higher) connections for very rapid charging.
I remain mystified why the range thing is considered an issue for EVs. Seriously. The ideal application for EVs is for small, in-town runabouts/grocery getters. An EV is an excellent solution for that application. The argument that they have to have the range and ease of charging (refueling) as cars with internal combustion engines makes it sound as if they are supposed to be functional equivalents of ICE cars. Not so. A small EV (sized between say a Smart ForTwo and a Honda Fit/Jazz) that has a range of 30 miles would easily meet all of our requirements for a second car.
Great. Maybe EVs will lead Europe to agree on a standardized plug. Contrary to Findude’s opinion, Europe is awash in incompatible plugs , except for the two pole ungrounded variety, maybe, possibly …..
Even China has a better situation: They have sockets that take pretty much any plug.
“Oh happy days of industrial policy!”
Don’t forget to tell China how horribly it works to have a national industrial policy. China is growing like gangbusters while implementing industrial and economic policies set from the very top. If they ever find out it doesn’t work they might be confused!
“I think this is a straw man issue for EVs. Europe and the US (every country/region I think) already have standardized outlets. EV designers just need to design for them.”
The common wall plugs you refer to do not provide nearly enough capacity for reasonable recharge rates of electric cars. The three-phase 400 volt standard being spoken of here is much more capable of doing that job.
findude I wonder where it is exactly you live that you think 30 miles is perfect. When I lived in NY, my one way commute was 45 miles. I live in ATL now and have a more reasonable commute of 12. Outfitting every parking lot in every work place is NOT going to happen. At least not any time soon. So these cars need to be able to handle at least 30 miles, but realistically 50. I don’t just drive to and from work in my car. I do drive at lunch on occasion. I am not saying the car has to go 250+ miles like every ICE vehicles I have owned before a fillup/recharge. I am saying that 30 miles might be fine for some, but you are only talking about a niche vehicle at that point.
Responding:
Please re-read my post: A small EV (sized between say a Smart ForTwo and a Honda Fit/Jazz) that has a range of 30 miles would easily meet all of our requirements for a second car.
I am not talking about an EV that can meet all my needs all of the time, just one that can meet some of my needs much of the time.
John Horner: The common wall plugs you refer to do not provide nearly enough capacity for reasonable recharge rates of electric cars.
Overnight in my garage is a reasonable recharge rate for me. Remember, this is a second car and I have a regular car available in case I need to go somewhere and the EV is not charged.
AWD-03: . . . where it is exactly you live that you think 30 miles is perfect. . . . you are only talking about a niche vehicle at that point.
I live inside the Washington Beltway, walking distance from work and a metro station. For me 30 miles is two to three times what I could see needing on a regular basis. Long-distance commutes are a poor application for EVs. I am absolutely talking about a niche vehicle–it’s the only way for EVs to make traction. They have to start that way. The SUV also started out as a niche vehicle. So did the hybrid.
Properly designed and marketed, I think EVs can be a successful, niche, second car.
There is another article today on second (or third) cars and how you decide whether to get an additional vehicle and what to get. Much of that discussion applies here as well.
Oh great solution.
They standardize on a 400V plug and socket. Is that to prohibit that joe sixpack recharges his EV at home? because that means a 3 phase network into your home. My electricity company charges lots of money for that. every month
I believe that most European houses are 3 phase though not at every plug. It wouldn’t be too hard to make an adapter for slower overnight charges.
Hi,
Can anyone please inform the name of the standard (for charger) being talked above – 3phase 400V?
Thanks in advance,