2023 OCTOBER ISSUE
ALTERNATIVE POWER FOR
VEHICLES
Written by Andrew Sia
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From the Desk of the Publisher
From the Industrial Revolution in our modern history, we have seen the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. These technological changes introduced new ways of working, living and traveling. Without any doubt, we would all agree that the motor vehicles have played an important role.
With this article, we took a view of the evolution of the car industry. We are now heading to cars powered by batteries and it is the trend to go because of the advantages it has brought us. One of those being most important is the reduce of the carbon emissions.
The car industry is going through a revolution and all kinds of power resources have been put under the development. It would be definitely too prudent and early to say that the electric vehicle will be the only way to go. I would like to keep an open mind and see how it will lead us.
All-electrical vehicle is also referring to battery electric vehicle that have an electric motor instead of an internal combustion engine. It uses a large traction battery pack to power the electric motor and must be plugged in to a wall outlet or charging equipment, also known as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). Because it runs on electricity, the vehicle emits no exhaust from a tail pipe and does not contain the typical fuel components, such as the fuel pump, fuel line or fuel tank.
Currently all the electrical vehicles are using batteries that have liquid lithium-ore electrolytes. The electrolyte allows the current to pass through the battery between the two electrodes—the anode and the cathode—generating the power.
But liquid batteries have some shortcomings, they are heavy and take much longer to recharge. They can catch fire when batteries are overheated.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) use battery to power an electric motor and another fuel, such as gasoline, to power an internal combustion engine (ICE), PHEV batteries can be charged using a wall outlet or charging equipment, by the ICE, or through regenerative braking. The vehicle typical runs on electric power unit until the battery is nearly depleted, and then the car automatically switches over to use the ICE.
Battery is considered as auxiliary . Its low voltage auxiliary battery provides electricity to start the car before the traction battery is engaged. It also powers the vehicle’s accessories.
Its charging port allows the vehicle to connect to an external power supply in order to charge the traction battery pack. The electric generator generates electricity from the rotating wheels and transferring the energy back to the traction battery pack. It performs both the drive and regeneration functions.
Its electric traction motor use power from the traction battery pack and drives the vehicle’s wheels. It performs both the drive and regeneration functions.
Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber where it combines with air, and the air/fuel mixture is ignited by the spark from a spark plug.
Its gas from the engine would exhaust through the exhaust system.
Hybrid electric vehicle is powered by an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors, which uses energy stored in batteries. A hybrid electric vehicle cannot be plugged in to charge the battery. Instead, the battery is charged through regenerative braking and by the internal combustion engine. The extra power provided by the electric motor can potentially allow for a smaller engine. The battery can also power auxiliary loads and reduce engine idling when stopped. Together, these features result in better fuel economy with sacrificing performance.
It has everything as the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle except the missing of the charging port. This has compromised the performance of the vehicle.
Like all-electric vehicle, fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) uses electricity to power an electric motor. In contrast to other electric vehicles, FCEV produces electricity using a fuel cell powered by hydrogen, rather than drawing electricity from only a battery. During the vehicle design process, the vehicle manufacturer defines the power of the vehicle by the size of the electric motor that receives electric power from the appropriately sized fuel cell and battery combination. Although automakers could design an FCEV with plug-in capabilities to charge the battery, most FCEVs today use the battery for recapturing braking energy, providing extra power during short acceleration events, and to smooth out the power delivered from the fuel cell with the option to idle or turn off the fuel cell during low power needs. The amount of energy stored onboard is determined by the size of the hydrogen fuel tank. This is different from an all-electric vehicle, where the amount of power and energy available are both closely related to battery’s size.
Gasoline and diesel vehicles are similar. They both use internal combustion engines. A gasoline car typically uses a spark-ignited internal combustion engine, rather than the compression-ignited system in diesel vehicle. In a spark-ignited system, the fuel is injected into the combustion chamber and combined with air. The air-fuel mixture is ignited by a spark from the spark plug. Although gasoline is the most common transportation fuel, there are alternative fuel options that use similar components and engine systems.
Announcement by Toyota Motor
Toyota announced that it is expecting to produce its “solid-state” batteries as early in 2027 and use them on their electric vehicles to make them safer and to allow them to charge faster.
The solid-state battery technology is using a solid electrolyte that can hold more power, making them more compact and can charge faster without getting overheated.
Toyota is expecting its vehicle to have a range of 1,200 kilometers, twice than its current model, and a charging time of 10 minutes only.
Solid-state batteries have long been heralded by industry experts as the most promising technology to solve EV battery problems as aforesaid. It is replacing the liquid electrolyte with a solid one and use lithium metal at the anode instead of graphite. It changed the current standard in lithium-ion batteries. But it is a technology that remains expensive and difficult to produce. To change the battery materials can help to reduce the cost.
Toyota has been reluctant to embrace fully electric vehicles unlike its largest rivals such as Ford and Volkswagen. They commented the full electric vehicles are too expensive for developing markets, charging will be scarce in countries with poor electricity grids. Instead, they are promoting their hybrid electric vehicles to reduce the carbon emissions.
But many car makers are investing in solid-state battery technology. Such as BMW who are pushing for 2025 to announce their findings, and Nissan mentioned in 2028 that they will be ready.
We should also be aware that Toyota is also stepping up for their hydrogen cell vehicles.
