Post No. 11, What I want in an EV.
We don't always get what we want. But we get very little unless we ask.
And, hey, an auto-manufacturer exec or two just might read this.
We don't always get what we want. But we get very little unless we ask.
And, hey, an auto-manufacturer exec or two just might read this.
I want a plug-in all-electric travel van with seats for 7 or 8 that I can remove/replace quickly and easily. Unless I was hauling nieces/nephews to the mountains or coast, it might be empty, to haul cargo, or it might contain my minimalist camping gear. Mid-size, please, something between a Ford Transit and a Transit-Connect; and a cargo van (with windows) not a "minivan," please.
It is no use to me unless it is 4 WD, good on sand, snow and ice, and able to creep up very rough and very, very steep. Raised or variable suspension, please. A motor on each wheel might be the easiest way to do 4x4, and would improve steering and traction, as well.
I need it to tow two tons, or enough power to maintain 65 mph up a 6 percent grade. Canoo, Tesla, I don’t need 600 BHP, or 550 foot pounds of torque. I want it as light as will hold the road in a stiff crosswind; 3500 Lbs.? 4,000 max? Something between 240 and 300 HP, I think.
A small electric motor working at around 75 percent capacity is more efficient that a bigger motor that's loafing. (Is that still true of axial flux motors?) Cruising down level freeway at 65 or 70--wind resistance starts to get serious beyond about 70 mph--only takes a small fraction of the power needed to accelerate or climb hills. Maybe 30 HP, for the vehicle I want? If the rear were powered by two motors, each say 40 HP, 20 percent of the vehicle's total power, only one would be pushing, when one was enough. Any time you needed both, when you were "locked" into rear wheel drive, and you told the vehicle so with the accelerator, both would be energized and you'd have up to 80 HP.
Flip a switch on the dash, from rear wheel drive to front wheel drive, and now you have 60 percent of the vehicle's total power, and the traction characteristics of front wheel drive. Flip the switch to 4 WD, or punch the accelerator past a hesitation point in any mode, and now you have all of the vehicle's power available, and the traction and steering benefits of four wheel drive.
It would also steer a little better, especially on ice, sand, gravel, if the front wheels each had their own motor: differential steering. But three motors would do. Two will be less efficient, less efficient robs you of range, and at 200 miles (600 HP two motor version) the otherwise interesting Canoo, for example, doesn't have enough range for me. Give it (approximately) 80 HP at the rear "axle," and 160 up front, and let me choose when to drive for economy, or for traction, or for power.
Tesla uses an induction motor up front, and a permanent magnet motor on the rear axle, of the Cybertruck . I need to research why, and if that still works with super lightweight, powerful axial flux motors.
Are hub motors here now, or still pie in the sky?
I do not want it with unsustainable lithium-ion batteries. Better batteries, like solid state, are supposed to be right around the corner; but Brisbane, Australia company Graphene Manufacturing Group claims that their graphene-aluminum-ion-aluminum-chloride coin cells can fully recharge in less than ten seconds, should last through three times as many charge-discharge cycles as lithium-ion batteries, and hold three times the charge.
GMG's proprietary plasma graphene (made from natural gas; biomethane should work) manufacturing technique, they say, gives their batteries three times the energy density of the next-best cell, the Al-ion being developed at Stanford University, and lets them charge 70 times as fast as Li-ions. Their coin cells using this tech went to market in 2021; they expect to be making automotive cells by 2024. Those would do. And as aluminum is 8 percent of Earth’s crust, Al-ion batteries should be much less expensive; lithium is 0.002–0.006 percent, much harder to find and mine, and takes several times as much energy to process as aluminum. And we recycle aluminum. No one is recycling lithium batteries, yet. We're going to need lots of lithium for several fusion and fission schemes. We can't afford to waste it.
I need a bare minimum of 400 miles plug-in range, so I have at least 300, for a while, as the batteries fade. That shouldn’t be a problem with Al-ions; they should weigh 1/3 as much for the same energy, and GMG is talking 600 miles range with less weight. That will do.
I want something of a crush section in front of my tender old body. Under the hood is where the Aluminum-air range extender battery goes. When there isn’t an Al-air in place, it could be a good place to haul groceries, luggage … . I want Al-airs with the oil-flood feature developed at MIT, which prevents the battery discharging between uses, please. Unless Al-ions give me 900 miles plug-in range, in which case I won’t need the range extender.
All right. 600 miles. But I still might want a range extender for cross country trips, or for knocking around Oregon's empty quarter for a week or two without worrying about running dry in the middle of nowhere. Been there done that. Not fun. If I carried a simple, inexpensive no-oil-flood, 100-mile Al-air in the "boot," dry--don't add electrolyte until I needed the battery--I could self-rescue anytime anywhere.
In addition to a fast charger, I'd like to be able to charge my EV on any 240 VAC 20- to 50-amp circuit, or on a 120 VAC 15 or 20 amp circuit with any standard three-prong extension cord. I want the option to limit the current to perhaps 10 amps, and charge to 80 percent capacity, or whatever is easiest on the electric utility and battery life. I want the body covered with photovoltaics, but I'd also like to be able to plug it into a gang of roll-up thin-film PV panels anytime I'm camped in the middle of nowhere for a while.
I want it quiet. My sister’s Toyota Camry hybrid is ridiculous with the road noise.
If it were on a skateboard frame, you could attach a variety of roll cages and bodies to one frame. Access batteries through trapdoors in the top of the floor, the bottom layer of which is watertight and joined watertight to the body: no one ever need drown again because they drove into a pond. Keep individual batteries small and light enough to lift in and out without back injury, and plug them into a central bus bar. If 60 or 80 miles range is enough for an around-town delivery van, sell it with one or two batteries. Sell a customer who wants to travel in it 10 or 12, or rent extra batteries for travel.
A tailgate would extend the cargo bed, and is all the camp kitchen I need, though a Nomex curtain between interior and kitchen would be nice. A lift gate over that would be a roof, if I’m cooking in a drizzle. Close the lift gate and stand on the tailgate to reach the very sturdy roof rack I need, over the 5-foot ceiling; much more useful than swinging doors. Cover roof, hood, and at least one side with photocells, and the van might pick up enough charge sitting in the sun all week for the minimal running around town I do, or for your short commute, if you gotta commute. Yeah, it might look funny. I don't care.
I’d like it built of carbon-free steel, being developed right now by Boston Metal, and carbon-free aluminum, being developed by Alcoa, Rio Tinto, and Canada. Unfortunately those aren’t on line yet, and I might be too old to enjoy the thing by the time they are. Get busy, Guyz!
So that’s what I want in an EV.
And I will be--literally--a happy camper.
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