Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 said:

Hiya CW, some news is just worth repeating? You'll be as bad as me soon.

Ah! Another senior moment. Think I might be well ahead in that area!

In terms of water bourne vessels and haulage it subsequently occured to me that ballast placed deep in the hold is a requirement for providing stability, perhaps more so for ocean going vessels, but an ideal spot for battery's assuming there's no water ingress that is.

Apparently in past century's red bricks were carried across the Atlantic to the carribean islands for this purpose prior to vessels being loaded with produce for the return journey home.

Don't think I've mentioned that before.

Grumpy_chap

Coastalwatch said:

Apparently in past century's red bricks were carried across the Atlantic to the carribean islands for this purpose prior to vessels being loaded with produce for the return journey home.

Weren't the bricks removed and swapped for stuff to come back to Europe?

How will the EV ship make the return journey if the batteries are swapped for desirable goods?  

What will the overseas port do with the inevitable battery stockpile?

Where did all the bricks go in the Caribbean?

I also understand that modern ships use flexible ballast that is part of the stabilization.  It is all cleverly controlled by computers that pumps seawater in and out and move it around to constantly optimise the ship stability and lowest weight to transport for any given sea and weather conditions.  It is really rather complex. 

Adding, moving and disposing of sea water is easier than dumping batteries at sea and hoping there are someone else's dumped batteries to load on when needed.  I think dumping batteries at sea would be really bad 

Grumpy_chap

Here is some more information about ballast bricks, for anyone that is interested.

https://loopbarbados.com/loop-blog/ballast-bricks

https://historymyths.wordpress.com/tag/bricks-as-ballast/

Lots of the ballast bricks used in construction in Barbados, apparently.  Not so many taken to America.

It still seems as though the battery could not replace the ballast bricks by virtue of needing to be left at the port of origin to make space for the goods that are to be transported.

Coastalwatch

Grumpy_chap said:

Coastalwatch said:

Apparently in past century's red bricks were carried across the Atlantic to the carribean islands for this purpose prior to vessels being loaded with produce for the return journey home.

Weren't the bricks removed and swapped for stuff to come back to Europe?

How will the EV ship make the return journey if the batteries are swapped for desirable goods?  

What will the overseas port do with the inevitable battery stockpile?

Where did all the bricks go in the Caribbean?

I also understand that modern ships use flexible ballast that is part of the stabilization.  It is all cleverly controlled by computers that pumps seawater in and out and move it around to constantly optimise the ship stability and lowest weight to transport for any given sea and weather conditions.  It is really rather complex. 

Adding, moving and disposing of sea water is easier than dumping batteries at sea and hoping there are someone else's dumped batteries to load on when needed.  I think dumping batteries at sea would be really bad 

Hi GC, 

Please find some answers below.

Weren't the bricks removed and swapped for stuff to come back to Europe?

Yes.

How will the EV ship make the return journey if the batteries are swapped for desirable goods?

In the case of these ferries are inland waterway based and making round trips there is no return journey. I believe it says this in the short article linked to it.

.What will the overseas port do with the inevitable battery stockpile?

The batteries will be permanently in place so no stockpile arising.

Where did all the bricks go in the Caribbean?

During a tour of Barbados when visiting Nelson's Dock houses of red brick were clearly visible enroute to it, As pointed out by the tour guide..

Martyn1981

Partial repetition (nothing new for me then .... nor CW    ), as I recently mentioned BEV tuk tuks, but here we have some shiny new cargo tuk tuks for use in Kenya.

I find these stories very interesting as they relate not just to a shift from ICEV to BEV, but often the potential to leapfrog ICE's altogether in areas that are still developing and growing.

Kiri EV Assembles First Batch Of Electric Cargo 3-Wheelers For Last Mile Deliveries In Refugee Camp

Kiri has been quite active in the Kenyan 2-wheeler space. Kiri EV has now completed the assembly of the first batch of electric cargo tuk tuks. The company imported them as knocked-down kits from China and assembled them in Nairobi. The electric cargo tuk tuks come in two variants, one with a 1,500 W motor and the other with a 3,000 W motor. The tuk tuks weigh 133 kg excluding the battery. The maximum load is 530 kg. They have a  top speed limited to 50km/h, and their range is 70km. Charging the 8.64 kWh battery takes approximately 6 hrs. Kiri EV has used 72v30ah x 4 lithium packs for the tuk tuk.

Pilot programs such as this one by Kiri EV and Tryke are the perfect platforms to get real usage data and also to get people in the 3-wheeler sector acquainted with electric 3-wheelers. These electric 3-wheelers, coupled with solar powered charging and battery swap stations, will have a transformational effect in rural and peri-urban areas. These areas are still severely underserved when it comes to transport services. These tuk tuks enable people in these remote areas to maneuver comfortably in environments where larger vehicles such as cars and trucks would not be quite applicable due to the lack of adequate road infrastructure. These areas are also far from petrol stations; therefore, it would be a hassle to get fuel to ICE vehicles. Distributed solar systems such as rural mini grids which are now coming up in these areas more than before will also help increase the number of areas in these off-grid environments where electric tuk tuks can be integrated.

Coastalwatch

Nice one Mart, whether repeated or not.

I'm still repeating, just had lunch!

Martyn1981

A tale of two companies?

As we start to see evidence that Toyota is to pivot faster on BEV's, as they start to 'get it'. Also a comment suggesting they now realise that they need a dedicated BEV platform, rather than trying to modify an ICE derived platform, such as the BZ4X:

Tesla Model Y teardown forces Toyota to see an inconvenient truth: report

For some time now, it appeared that Toyota would be left behind in the electric vehicle transition. The company did not seem very serious about EVs, and the electric cars that it does release seem half-hearted at best. But as per a recent report, Toyota appears to have changed its stance on electric cars somewhat. They just needed to tear down a Tesla Model Y first. 

Another executive reportedly noted that what Toyota needs at this point is something different from what the veteran automaker has been doing so far. “We need a new platform designed as a blank-sheet EV,” the executive said. 

But Renault are moving the other way. In November their CEO in their Now Revolution press release claimed that:

Power: innovative low emissions ICE & hybrid vehicles

ICE & hybrid vehicles will still represent up to 50% of passenger cars sales worldwide even by 2040. Developing efficient technologies in that field remains key for the future of any global OEM. 

and it looks like they are sticking with that as per recent Australian news reports confirming that (insane!) 50% figure.

They seem to believe that there will remain significant demand in parts of Asia, China(?) and Africa. They may be right, but personally I find it baffling given the choice of very cheap, and admittedly 'frail' small BEV's that are already available at the extremely cheap end of the market. These would seem to be an ideal starting point for poorer and developing areas with little current ICE transportation, since PV generation is getting ever cheaper, and can be rolled out in mini grids providing cheap fuel for these growing vehicle markets.

I suspect the devil is in the detail, and crucially the 'up to' in Renault's suggested 50% figure. After all, less than 1% is still upto 50%?

Renault still investing in internal combustion engines

French manufacturer Renault is set to continue its investment in the internal combustion engine (ICE) beyond the forced shift to electrification in European markets later this decade.

“The reason we want to keep ICE as well as develop EVs, is that mobility is still available, for a person that lives in a small unit and can’t charge their EV and can only afford 35 grand… are they going to walk to work? They need mobility else they are forced into really old used cars.”

The internal combustion vehicles will also suit developing markets in Africa, China and the Middle East.

Martyn1981

An yet another story on Australia's Janus Electric company, who continue to roll out their BEV conversions of old diesel trucks, with swappable batts.

This 720 hp electric truck conversion uses battery swaps to trial clean logging in Australia

Fennell Forestry has commissioned an all-electric logging truck conversion from Janus Electric to trial the technology through the Green Triangle region of South Australia. The 720 horsepower electric truck conversion kicks off a two year testing period to analyze performance and maintenance costs as the Australian government looks on before potentially investing in a future overhaul of the segment.

ABC News south-east South Australia was on the scene as the Janus Electric logging truck conversion transported its first loads for Fennell Forestry today. Managing Director Wendy Fennell offered a walkthrough of the heavy-duty truck, explaining that she wondered if today would ever come.

Fenell stated the electric logging truck has already exceeded her expectations, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding the trucks performance and longevity that will be assessed over the course of the two year program:

Martyn1981

I doubt that delaying EU dates on phasing out ICE's will actually have much of an effect now on the transition to BEV's, but throwing out some false hope, could be devastating to legacy auto if (big IF) they fall for it. Audi don't seem stupid enough.

EU countries delay vote on landmark law to end sales of CO2-emitting cars

European Union countries have delayed a planned vote next week on the bloc’s landmark law to end sales of new CO2-emitting cars in 2035 after Germany questioned its support for the rules.

Transport accounts for nearly a quarter of EU emissions and has bucked the EU’s overall trend of falling CO2 output over the past three decades, threatening to thwart the bloc’s targets to slash planet-warming emissions.

But the country’s environment ministry, led by the Greens, has said Germany should stick to the deal and not back away at the last minute.

“Audi has made a clear decision: we are phasing out the internal combustion engine in 2033 because the battery-electric vehicle is the most efficient method for individual mobility,” Duesmann said in an interview published on Friday.

If Germany’s coalition government cannot agree a position, it would have to abstain. Such an outcome, along with some resistance from Italy and some eastern European countries, could throw the whole EU ban into question.

Audi AG chief executive, Markus Duesmann, backed that position, saying turning away from the phase-out risked leaving the industry in limbo. “And that would be fatal for the car industry,” he told Der Spiegel magazine.

My bold - Only the legal ban, the transition is now unstoppable, and will unfold now largely based on supply and cost improvements, not legislation.

CKhalvashi

Just to update on the charging situation for long distance travel.

We managed to get 891 miles, starting with a full battery, on 5 rapid charging stops (including a quick 18-68% 'splash and dash' in Germany). Total charging time about 3h, total journey time around 16 hours (with 2 drivers). If the charge time is too long for anyone, there is a Kona with a larger battery pack than my Ioniq available for not a lot more that doesn't suffer much of a loss in efficiency.

I'm willing to take a bet that in real driving conditions it wouldn't actually be any slower than a non-BEV, especially once having a coffee and toilet use are taken into account, plus the rapid chargers when using the Eurotunnel when it's necessary to wait around anyway.

Total cost each way was about €160, mainly on the Ionity network, which still works out at a fair amount less than the 20p/mile it would cost to use an equivalent petrol/diesel car. The €0,49/kWh charging point in Belgium we used (which is limited to 50kW) brought this cost down, as I couldn't see this availability in Germany at all.