Excellent Video on why gas engines are far from dead

I think this video will particularly resonate with our community.
I recommend this video highly.

 

Saw this earlier today. Makes a good point. The EE videos are generally well done. My only other comment is he needs to learn how to pronounce pamplemousse (grapefruit in French)

 

Haha, I have been butchering that word too!

 

One thing I never understand is why nobody mentions the dirty coal and fossil fuel burning power plants that provide electricity to the grid and your home to charge a Tesla. What comes out of the tail pipe of a modern car is much cleaner then what comes out of the smoke stack of any fossil fuel based power plant.

Unless your home is strictly powered by solar or wind, the EV isnt really cleaner.

Not to mention the polution issue of what to do with millions of tons of Lithium-ion batteries is EV's are wrecked and head to the scrap yard over the coming decades.

And most of the raw materials for the Lithium Ion batteries are being mined in China. Has anybody seen the images of the environmental disaster being created at most of these mining sites?

 

Those are good points. There are studies however that take all of that into account. EV's are still greener over their lifespan (including production and recycling) than ICU cars by approx 50%. In my country our electricity production is hydro. Basically zero emissions and an EV here is 80% greener over it's lifespan. There is still the mess of mining and the human exploitation issues that go with it to consider... I don't have one because I can't make a financial case for one. For daily drivers I pay 10k and sell for 3k 5 years later. An EV can't match that even factoring in fuel savings. Electricity costs money and here the tax on petrol is about to be applied to EV's. About $70 every 600 miles. There is a lot to the picture.

 

I would like to see such a study! If the processess for making the cars are dirtier then current IC, the process of disposing of the cars is dirtier then current IC, and what comes out of the tail pipe of current IC cars is cleaner then what comes out of the average power plant, then I dont see how any conclusion could result in a net cleaner vehicle for an EV. At least based on current power plants in the US, the largest car market. One day if alternative energy becomes the norm rather than the exception, I could see this changing entirely!

 

The energy density comparison calculations must be flawed: The ranges on EV vs. Gas are pretty much the same. If what he is saying is correct, you would need a busload of batteries to get the same range as 15 gallons of gas.

 

It's correct on a pure energy basis. It ignores the differences in efficiencies between the combustion engine (~30% efficient) and the electric motor (which is pretty close to 100% efficient). In addition the EV can recoup alot of the energy expended during braking, which helps significantly extend its range.

 

I dont know why he wouldn't mention this.
It seems obvious especially to someone deep into numbers.

PS my 70's geeky high school automotive shop teacher said combustion engines were less than 10 % efficient .
So 30% would be a huge improvement.
He also said big improvements can be made in thermal efficiency but at the cost of increased NOX emissions.
IE no free lunch.