As we know the price of electric cars is higher than normal
cars. The reason for me to choose this article to post is that this blog talked
about how to lower the price of electric car, which is very important to those
who want to buy a electric vehicle.
Cutting the cost of the battery out of the cost of owning an
electric vehicle could be a key way to push electric vehicle into the mass market.
That’s according to a report (“Changing the Game”) released Thursday from
consulting giant Accenture, which studied EV pilot projects from the Netherlands
to the U.K. to Japan.
The report found that amidst the many technical, regulatory
and market challenges that remain between today’s nascent industry and
President Barack Obama’s call for 1 million electric cars on U.S. roads by
2015, the main barrier is cost of EVs — and not surprisingly it’s the batteries’
fault.
“Until the cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh) [of a battery]
dramatically decreases (to reach approximately $300/kWh), consumer uptake is
likely to be limited to a dedicated and niche consumer market segment,” the
report states. The problem is, most EV batteries nowadays cost at least
$450 per kWh — and that’s after decades of researchers making significant
efforts to lower the cost. The limits of today’s battery chemistries just might
have mostly been reached.
The solution, Accenture suggests, is “disaggregating”
battery costs from the car, usually via leasing either the car or the battery
itself. Not only would that bring down vehicle costs, but it would help deal
with thorny warranty issues, given EV batteries will likely end up having a
lifespan of 10 years or less.
Automakers would have to arrange those battery financing
terms on their own, or they could partner with a player like Better Place, a
Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup with plans for developing battery-swapping stations
around the world. Changing out car batteries every 100 miles or so will require
working with the EV manufacturers on warranties, and Better Place will have to
figure out ways to pay for all those standby batteries.
Beyond the key battery-leasing concept, Accenture dived into
how geographical differences will play into EV charging pilots. For example,
BMW’s tests of its Mini-E plug-ins in key U.S. cities found range wasn’t as big
an issue in New York and New Jersey, but all its drivers tended to have more
than one car in the garage. BMW’s ongoing Mini-E tests in the U.K. and Germany may well yield
different results. No doubt EV “roaming” (charging EVs across various service
providers) will have to be worked out between utilities and charging
infrastructure or automotive partners.
Utilities around the world are prepping for plug-in cars via
pilot projects, and tools like PG&E’s new EV power pricing website are
coming online to help consumers make sense of it all. Companies are partnering
up to serve this new market, including Cisco’s link-up with car charging
company ECOTality (c csco), Siemens’ co-marketing deal with Coulomb
Technologies and General Electric’s pilots with Better Place.
Jie Ji
No comments:
Post a Comment