By Lon Hosford
01/25/2022
These are my notes from the meeting.
This was an engaging presentation. Jim Weichel’s, our presenter, enthusiasm shined through and gave everyone a better perspective on the current state for electric vehicles.
This presentation was the first of our 2022 two part series on Electric Vehicles. The second was 21st Century Revolution in Electric Cars and Manufacturing.
EV Myths Dismissed
Many myths were dismissed. You can see these in Jim’s presentation deck he has graciously provided for viewing and found below in this article.
One myth that caught my attention is that there is enough Lithium in one mine in Nevada to convert all US cars/trucks to EVs. Lithium is a key component to EV batteries. Then once Lithium is harvested for a battery, when the battery life cycle comes to an end and needs to be recycled, the Lithium in the battery can be extracted for new battery.
One other myth that struck a cord for me is that current EV production is limited by the production capacity for the EV batteries. This means EV’s car dealers are selling all the EVs made today.
Time to Charge Myth Dismissed
Many myths were dismissed. He summarized all he covered slide 43 of his presentation deck.
One example is that electric cars take a long time to charge. Jim pointed out it does not matter to most because first most batteries last long enough for a day’s local travel needs.
Second you mostly charge the battery overnight while you sleep. Even apartment complexes are installing electric vehicle charging stations. When you are on a trip with overnight stops, you find hotels now provide charging stations
When it comes to trips the charging overnight is only one aspect. You also have supercharging stations that can charge in 30 to 40 minutes. For example one stop on your trip might be for lunch. Many such places have supercharger stations on the premises or nearby. So once done with lunch you are ready to go.
Another myth is that electric vehicles do not work in cold. However they turn out to be a better choice over internal combustion engine vehicles for cold.
Typical Long Distance Trip
Jim took us on a typical Tesla long distance trip from Naperville to Tulsa. He started with a 90% charged battery. He showed us when he charged during the trip. There were 4 charging stops each with a different recharge level. Two were for breaks lasting 20 minutes more or less. One was for lunch. The other at the hotel overnight. See slides 36 and 37 of his slide deck for the details.
History of Electric Vehicles
The first practical electric vehicle was in 1880. They had a golden age between 1895 and 1920. During this time they were popular for taxis, vans and wealthier women. Society women in particular did not like the dirt and noise of internal combustion engines.
By 1900 30% of all vehicles in NYC were electric. By 1910 NYC had hundreds of charging stations.
Electric cars were priced higher than internal combustion cars. A main reason is that electric vehicles were not made on an assembly line.
