Battery Electric Vehicle News / Enjoying the Transportation Revolution

JKenH

ABrass said:

Hydrogen trains are losing out in the green Revolution competition.

The state-owned public transport company responsible for introducing the world’s first hydrogen-only railway line last year has effectively ruled out using any more H2 trains, saying that battery-electric models “are cheaper to operate”.

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/no-more-hydrogen-trains-rail-company-that-launched-worlds-first-h2-line-last-year-opts-for-all-electric-future/2-1-1495801

Edit: I have deleted my recent post to maintain harmony on this thread

Grumpy_chap

ABrass said:

Hydrogen trains are losing out in the green Revolution competition.

On the subject of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, did anyone else catch the entirely biased BBC documentary on hydrogen being better than electric that was aired earlier in the week.  It was really quite shocking how the programme got aired without being fact-checked and totally relying on the gas company to say how great the hydrogen was as it had all the carbons removed from the hydrocarbons they normally sell. 

Martyn1981

ABrass said:

Hydrogen trains are losing out in the green Revolution competition.

The state-owned public transport company responsible for introducing the world’s first hydrogen-only railway line last year has effectively ruled out using any more H2 trains, saying that battery-electric models “are cheaper to operate”.

https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/transport/no-more-hydrogen-trains-rail-company-that-launched-worlds-first-h2-line-last-year-opts-for-all-electric-future/2-1-1495801

Yes, looks like the market is streamlining towards batts over H2, for the main transport roles, here's a similar story, also from Germany, about H2 trials for buses:

German city to retire its one-year-old hydrogen fuel-cell buses after €2.3m filling station breaks down

And an article I was reading recently, looking at World EV numbers, mentioned that sales of fuel cell electric vehicles are down 25% year over year. That surprised me, as I assumed their sales, albeit very low would tick along, maybe even with some small growth, for a few more years. Could be that the SH market is also having an impact. In California, for several years, Toyota have been offering $15k of free hydrogen, to persuade Californian buyers to pay $20k for a secondhand Mirai (HFCV). 

Fingers crossed this will be a positive, and focus attantion on the need to move away from ICEV's, rather than distractions about future fuel sources. Or should I say, short/medium term future fuel sources, as I still hope for the Mr Fusion option, if I live long enough. 

Looks like the agricultural and heavy plant side is still undecided, but leaning (I'd suggest) towards BEV's.

The good news, is that less demand on green H2, for roles that leccy can do better directly, will allow for a faster decarbonization of industries where H2 has great potential, such as steel and cement production, or long duration energy storage. Edit - I missed out the most important industry for green H2, and that's fertilizer production.

But of course, we are still actually in the early days of the BEVolution.

Martyn1981

UK registrations are out for July, looks like a big uplift on 2022, but I suspect it has a lot to do with Tesla deliveries smoothing out a little bit, across the quarter(s).

SMMT Car Registrations July

Martyn1981

Not a lot of praise for The UK Government's policies. But one thing that is promising (so long as policies and progress don't change), is the 35% annual growth rate in charger deployment. I've said a few times that we seem to be well behind the curve, but the cumulative growth curve looks promising around 8x as many in 2030, as today ....... so long as it continues.  Now, there's the rub!

“Dither & Delay” Of UK Government On Electric Vehicles Risks Investment Essential To Transport Decarbonisation

The “dither and delay” manoeuvres of the UK government concerning the zero emissions car and van mandate could risk billions of pounds worth of private investment going into the UK charging network which could endanger the whole decarbonisation of transport, Europe’s leading clean transport NGO, Transport & Environment, has said.

Currently the UK charging infrastructure is on track to deliver the government’s targets of 300,000 chargers by 2030, with a year-on-year growth rate of 35% on average over the past three years. If any watering down of the ZEV mandate were to happen, as rumoured, £6bn worth investment would be put at risk. If the ZEV mandate was watered down to make 2024 non-binding for the industry, this would result in 3.8Mt more CO2 being released into the atmosphere — roughly 3% of UK transport emissions in 2022.

The government’s own research has shown that the faster the ZEV mandate accelerates the transition to electric vehicles the higher the cost benefits.

The government is subsidising the Tata gigafactory with estimates suggesting this is worth £500m but any uncertainty around the UK’s transition to EVs will spook investors meaning the government will likely have to stump up more subsidies at a time when there is severe pressure on public finances. T&E warns that the UK is sacrificing its long-term industrial and decarbonisation strategy to appease a few climate sceptic MPs and parts of the media that are hostile to the transition.

Richard Hebditch, UK director of Transport & Environment, said: “It’s frankly ludicrous that some in government are even considering watering down the zero emissions car and van mandate. The mandate is designed to aid the industry to smoothly transition to electric vehicles at every stage of the process — manufacturing, charging infrastructure, battery production.

ABrass

The Tesla Semi is in active use by Pepsi. Some interesting bits in the article.

They've installed four chargers of 750kW under Tesla guidance, backed up with solar and batteries.

O'Connell said that a 425-mile (684-km) trip carrying Frito-Lay products brings the Semi's battery down to roughly 20%, and recharging it takes around 35 to 45 minutes.

https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/pepsico-roll-out-100-tesla-semis-2023-exec-2022-12-16/

Martyn1981

thevilla said:

At some point the cost of doing nothing will far outstrip the savings in watering down green policies.  The general public need education.  People have to realise they are dooming themselves and future generations for the sake a feeling less impoverished today. 

The medical profession appears to strongly agree with you.

Doctors urge politicians to stand firm on schemes to tackle air pollution

Hundreds of doctors have urged politicians to stand firm on initiatives to tackle air pollution, warning that they see its “devastating health consequences” in patients on a daily basis.

Air pollution is the single largest environmental risk to public health, linked to between 28,000 and 36,000 UK deaths a year. The estimated cost to the NHS and social care of air pollutants is estimated to be £1.6bn between 2017 and 2025.

Keir Starmer and other senior Labour figures have prompted alarm among health professionals after they called on the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, to reflect on the expansion of the capital’s ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) after the Uxbridge byelection defeat.

The doctors said they recognised that less affluent people would struggle to either change their vehicle or pay the Ulez charge, calling for it to be expanded in tandem with “a commitment to a much more affordable, frequent and reliable public transport system”.

They wrote: “You cannot allow a vocal minority, who ignore the science to suit their own ends, to intimidate you into watering down or pausing the scheme. Doing so may buy you some votes from those people, but at what cost?”

Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with chronic conditions such as heart disease, asthma and lung cancer, reducing life expectancy, the doctors said. Short-term exposure to high pollution levels can cause coughing, wheezing and asthma attacks, and is leading to increased hospital and GP attendances, they added.

“We implore you not to ignore the needs of the majority, particularly those in the most deprived areas,” the doctors wrote. “Ella Kissi-Debrah had no choice about the air she breathed, with devastating consequences.”

The doctors also told Starmer and Khan they risked losing votes, not gaining them, if they backed away from initiatives to promote better air quality.

They wrote: “To kowtow to those who shout loudest is a dangerous precedent, and risks alienating hundreds of thousands of others who may feel that there is no point in voting for Labour if you can’t stick to any of the promises you have made on public health policies.”

JKenH

Something to celebrate.

Nissan EV sales top a million 

Most of Nissan's electric vehicles were sold in Europe (320,000 units), followed by China and Japan (230,000 units each), North America (210,000 units) and other regions (10,000 units).

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/motoring/2624783/. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.

Martyn1981

Not quite sure what I was expecting, but this article on H2/BEV shipping solutions is quite brief and informative at the same.

I was surprised that H2 solutions can cope with almost half of long routes already.

Jumping the gun, but as BEV's develop and take on shorter routes/needs, H2 may tackle the longer 'stuff', and around 40% of international shipping (by mass) is for FF's, then potential is high.

Full clean ahead: can shipping finally steer away from fossil fuels?

The potential benefits of cleaner shipping to the oceans and the climate emergency are stark. Shipping accounts for nearly 3% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study published in 2020 by the International Maritime Organization. Conventional engines also emit particulates that pollute the air and water, while shipping noise disrupts marine wildlife – inducing chronic stress in North Atlantic right whales, for example.

Nearly half (43%) of all voyages made along the longest shipping corridor between China and the US could be powered by hydrogen without adding any fuel capacity or extra port calls, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation. What’s more, 99% of voyages on the route could be hydrogen-fuelled with some adaptations – either by replacing 5% of cargo space where possible with more hydrogen fuel, or by adding one port call to refuel en route.

Norled, a ferry operator in Norway, launched the first battery-operated, propeller-driven passenger vessel in 2015 and now operates about 80 electric ferries. “Norway [has] an excellent political landscape [for adopting electric vessels] … They’re on their way to decarbonising the majority of their [ferry] fleet in the next 10 years,” says Armstrong.

The goal of 2050 is “definitely realistic” for rolling out clean shipping globally, according to Armstrong, who explains that Europe is driving the transition. “Once the EU as a region goes first, then we’ll see South Korea, America, Japan going next and there’ll be a domino effect.”

Near-term solutions will entail various combinations of technologies, he adds – for example, a mix of diesel and hydrogen for mid-sized ships. But the potential gains are enormous: “Moving to clean fuels will have a clear, definite benefit on our health and the ocean ecosystem’s health.”

JKenH

CV sales soar as EVs enjoy sharp rise

Meanwhile, demand for zero emission commercial vehicles continued to grow with battery electric vans (BEVs) soaring 94.6% to 1,489 units and a 5.5% market share – up from 4.1% last year. So far in 2023, 10,292 BEVs have been registered, an increase of 16.1% year on year, although market share has decreased marginally from 5.4% to 5.2% in the year to date.

https://www.bodyshopmag.com/2023/news/cv-sales-soar-as-evs-enjoy-sharp-rise/