From perspective of electric cars, the efficiency compared to ICE (combustion engine) cars is fantastic. 90%+ energy is used to move the car with electric motors, while only 30% is used in combustion engine, rest is losses in heat and friction.
Modern electric cars can now also use regenerative braking which means brakes last a long time.
The biggest downside of electric cars currently is the batteries. They 100x less gravimetric dense than gasoline/petrol.
Gasoline has volumetric density of 34.2 MJ/L and gravimetric density of 45 MJ/kg. Cost about ~$1/L. A 50L tank has same energy as ~450 kWh battery weighing only ~40kg.
Lithium ion batteries have volumetric density of ~1 MJ/L and gravimetric of 0.5 MJ/kg. A 450 kWh battery would weigh 3,240kg (3 tonnes!).
We are gonna be addicted to gasoline for a while until we solve for an equivalent clean energy dense fuel that can be efficiently converted to electricity.
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In similar perspective, solar panels are now quite cheap (<$1/watt). The big problem is energy storage. Lithium batteries are still quite expensive, bulky and not much energy dense.
Nature on the other hand has solved this problem millions of years ago. Natural solar panels (leaves) store energy in wood (mostly cellulose).
Dry wood is ~20 MJ/kg and ~10MJ/L. Still >10X more dense than Li-ion batteries.
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Long range electric cars use most of the energy to move the heavy battery instead of the payload inside the car.
Humans don't weigh much (~70kg). A tesla model Y has (~770kg) battery. That's 10X the weight of payload.
As Tesla 3 owner with a $4000 bill for a scrape under the passenger door at 1MPH navigating a tight carpark I will tell you there are definitely a few more things they need to get right.
Yes it does as they cannot do any welding to ping the dents without isolating the HV which requires training and certified shops. All EV's have the same issue.
Recharge time is not the problem as much as recharge frequency. I can go on long trips with my Tesla. I don't mind the recharge time -- it's a good chance to get a cup of coffee or take a bio break -- but their frequency is a little irksome (if you're being cautious to protect the battery life). But then, generally I'm traveling with at least one person who needs bio breaks pretty frequently, so it works out fine.
A pail of gas is essentially inert and dead safe until you go out of your way to aerosolize it. Even though it will burn if lit, it doesn't light itself no matter how you abuse it, and, it even evaporates and dissipates itself completely away in a short while. IE, if you spill that pail, there is a short window of time where there is a risk of a fire, but after that the there is no more gas and no more risk.
A lithium (or any other battery for that matter) with the same amount of energy is essentially barely contained and always trying to get out and only held back by great care and no flaws in the materials and careful handling.
It's a totally different prospect or dynamic. It's not just the fires in the accidents.
"I don't mind the recharge time" is meaningless or valueless. It doesn't matter that you can afford to spend an hour getting a partial recharge, the world can not afford for all the bezillion refills to ballon to by such a crazy amount.
The system can absorb a handful of Teslas only because there are only a handful. And a lot of what makes an ev remotely practical is having an overnight charge at home. Many, maybe even most, vehicles do not have a matching garage where it's even possible to install a charger. Some day we might have street-side charging where every parking meter is also a charger, but that day is a far off fantasy. The power grid is not remotely ready for that either, especially when you add the removal of gas heating and cooking from new construction.
EVs are really completely impractical luxury toys that a few people in just the right hot-house environment can get away with, and only as long as it's not too many of them.
Modern electric cars can now also use regenerative braking which means brakes last a long time.
The biggest downside of electric cars currently is the batteries. They 100x less gravimetric dense than gasoline/petrol.
Gasoline has volumetric density of 34.2 MJ/L and gravimetric density of 45 MJ/kg. Cost about ~$1/L. A 50L tank has same energy as ~450 kWh battery weighing only ~40kg.
Lithium ion batteries have volumetric density of ~1 MJ/L and gravimetric of 0.5 MJ/kg. A 450 kWh battery would weigh 3,240kg (3 tonnes!).
We are gonna be addicted to gasoline for a while until we solve for an equivalent clean energy dense fuel that can be efficiently converted to electricity.
--
In similar perspective, solar panels are now quite cheap (<$1/watt). The big problem is energy storage. Lithium batteries are still quite expensive, bulky and not much energy dense.
Nature on the other hand has solved this problem millions of years ago. Natural solar panels (leaves) store energy in wood (mostly cellulose).
Dry wood is ~20 MJ/kg and ~10MJ/L. Still >10X more dense than Li-ion batteries.
--
Long range electric cars use most of the energy to move the heavy battery instead of the payload inside the car.
Humans don't weigh much (~70kg). A tesla model Y has (~770kg) battery. That's 10X the weight of payload.