Tuesday, October 14, 2014
T Boone Pickens Is Wrong Electric Vehicles Can Haul Cargo
T. Boone Pickens supports electric vehicles—as long you dont claim that electric propulsion can work for big-rig trucks, locomotives or cargo ships. The business magnate and corporate raider, who made his fortune in the oil and gas industries, stated that "the battery will not move an 18-wheeler" and that internal combustion engines using natural gas or diesel are the only way to haul cargo. Is he right?While there are a number of companies, like Smith Electric Vehicles or EVI USA, building medium duty all electric trucks, Class 8 18-wheel trucks are much bigger. Class 8 trucks have 80,000 pounds of hauling capacity versus the 20,000-pound capacity of smaller trucks. Yet, there are several companies experimenting with electric Class 8 trucks.
For the most part, these trucks are for around-town use rather than long hauls. The clearest use-case for an all-electric Class 8 truck is hauling containers between a shipping facility, like the Port of Los Angeles, and rail terminals. Thousands of diesel powered Class 8 trucks operate daily in that corridor, and are a major contributor to local air pollution.
In the Electric Drayage Demonstration—a project begun in 2012, and extending to 2015—Class 8 trucks from four companies are in daily use in test fleets operating between the Port of LA and nearby rail terminals. Three of the models are all-electric trucks, built by Balqon, US Hybrid and TransPower. These have battery pack ranging up to a huge 380 kilowatt-hours; high powered charging units up to 160 kilowatts; recharge time as low as 1 hour; and a driving range up to 150 miles.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Wireless Charging Of Electric Vehicles While In Transit
Improvements with the electric transit infrastructure unfold at light speed. Active wireless charging in transit with electric vehicles, in this case electric buses, is taking place. Korea has broken through with accelerated wireless power efficiency with the Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV). This technology from the Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is setting another standard that increases the development of electric vehicles and addresses the (slight) time issue of charging. This breakthrough works for personal or public transportation presently, allowing vehicles to be charged while stationary or while moving. “This is accomplished by solving technological issues that limit the commercialization of electric vehicles such as price, weight, volume, driving distance, and lack of charging infrastructure,” ResearchSEA writes.