[dropcap]O[/dropcap]nly a 100 kilowatt-hour battery pack is in the luxury Vision EQS concept car of Mercedes yet it will deliver increased 700 kilometers range, partly because low drag factor is now going to be taken seriously, learning from Tesla. More information on Electric Vehicles research can be found in the IDTechEx reports, “Electric Vehicles 2020-2030” and “Solar Cars, Buses, Trucks and Trains 2020-2030“.
Or to connect with others on this topic, IDTechEx is hosting Electric Vehicles: Everything is Changing on Nov. 20-21, 2019, in Santa Clara, USA.
Range sells electric cars. Long range ones sell in 100 times the numbers and have three times the resale value. Also at the very-expensive end, Lightyear One 5-seat solar cars currently on sale hold the record at around 730 km. The new Porsche Taycan seriously rivals Teslas in range but not at Lightyear distances because they have scorching performance.
Promises are easy compared to that actual rubber on the road, but Elon Musk promises his next Roadster will achieve 1000 km, presumably without solar because “solar is not very helpful”. His sports car will have little suitable area.
The challenge will be to achieve 750-1000 km without massive 120 kWh batteries compounding issues of safety, cost, space, weight, ride, supply shortages and toxicity. Lightyear manages with only 60 kWh achieved with help from spartan interior, lowest drag factor and in-wheel axial-flux motors of highest kW/kg. Range extends battery life.
Meanwhile, Hyundai and sister company Kia have hit the button with affordable pure-electric cars with good range. Hyundai has a small high-efficiency solar roof on its affordable Sonata hybrid. It adds 10% to range for light users. Hyundai promises two more types of advanced solar roof that will increase range on its pure-electric cars.
The race is on for 1000 km range for most pure electric road vehicles, often exceeding the range of increasingly-illegal, unloved internal-combustion vehicles. The big picture is given in the IDTechEx reports, “Electric Vehicles 2020-2030” and “Solar Cars, Buses, Trucks and Trains 2020-2030”.
Smart materials and structural electronics are now key enabling technologies for EVs and the leading show revealing the future of these is Electric Vehicles: Everything is Changing, part of the IDTechEx Show! In Santa Clara 20-21 November with Porsche, Hyundai, GM, Aston Martin, BMW, Geely (Volvo to Volocopter), Airbus and the world’s leading smart material companies such as Asahi Kasei, SABIC, DuPont, ZEON, Arkema presenting and/or exhibiting. So are the research centres of the US Army, US Navy and United Technologies. Expect 3500+ paying delegates, 270+ exhibitors, 250+ speakers.
Hear Bye Aerospace on its long-range pure-electric aircraft with optional solar body adding 100 km to its already record range and its huge orderbook. Range sells as does rock-bottom cost of ownership.
