Turn on, plug in, drop out

Plug-in hybrids and electric cars: A core climate solution, nationally and globally 10

I have a new article in Salon, "The car of the future is here," about plug-in hybrids. The two central points of the article are:

  1. Plug-in hybrids (and electric cars) are an essential climate strategy, enabling renewable power (even intermittent sources like wind) to become a major low-cost transportation fuel.
  2. Practical, affordable plug-in hybrids will be here in a few years -- even if we don't get a technology breakthrough in batteries.

(I am even more confident of these conclusions given the amazing joint announcement today by Renault-Nissan, Project Better Place, and Israel -- see below.)

If you read the Salon article, you'll know more than billionaire venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, who recently said:

Forget plug-ins. They are nice toys. But they will not be material to climate change.

The subject deserves a far more serious discussion. Transportation is the toughest sector in which to achieve deep carbon emissions reductions. Of the three major alternative fuels that could plausibly provide a low-carbon substitute for a significant amount of petroleum:

I was especially impressed by AFS Trinity's plug-in hybrid design, which I test drove last year:

I am even more heartened about the prospects for pure electric vehicles (EVs) in other countries after seeing the following truly ground-breaking announcement today.

In Jerusalem, Renault-Nissan, Project Better Place, and Israel have committed to a major nationwide EV plan:

• 100% electric vehicles: Renault's vehicles [available 2011] will run on pure electricity for all functions. The objective of zero emissions will be achieved, while at the same time offering driving performances similar to a 1.6 liter gasoline engine. Renault's electric vehicles will be equipped with lithium-ion batteries, ensuring greater driving range and longevity.
• Innovative business model: For the first time in the electric vehicle business, ownership of the car is separated from the requirement to own a battery. Consumers will buy and own their car and subscribe to energy, including the use of the battery, on a basis of kilometers driven. This model is similar to the way mobile phones are sold, with an initial purchase and a monthly subscription for the mobility service.
• Competitive cost of ownership: The Israeli government recently extended a tax incentive on the purchase of any zero-emissions vehicle until 2019, making them more affordable. Combined with the lower cost of electricity as opposed to fuel-based energy, and the vehicle's lifetime guarantee, the total cost of ownership for the customer will be significantly lower than that of a fuel-based car over the life cycle of the vehicle.
• Electric Recharge Grid infrastructure: California-based Project Better Place plans to deploy a massive network of battery charging spots. Driving range will no longer be an obstacle, because customers will be able to plug their cars into charging units in any of the 500,000 charging spots in Israel. An on-board computer system will indicate to the driver the remaining power supply and the nearest charging spot. Nissan, through its joint venture with NEC, has created a battery pack that meets the requirements of the electric vehicle and will mass-produce it. Renault is working on development of exchangeable batteries for continuous mobility. [!] The entire framework will go through a series of tests starting this year.
• Perfect first mass market: In Israel, where 90% of car owners drive less than 70 kilometers per day, and all major urban centers are less than 150 kilometers apart, electric vehicles would be the ideal means of transportation and could therefore cover most of the population's transportation needs.

The private sector is stepping up to the plate with world-class ingenuity, and other countries are forming partnerships to begin deploying electric drive cars. Is the U.S. government going to join the game, or once again abandon the field to more forward-thinking countries?

Joseph Romm is the editor of Climate Progress and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

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  1. Tasermons Partner Posted 8:39 am
    22 Jan 2008

    It'll work best only if......the grid they plug it into gets electricity from renewable sources.  No use in swearin' off gasoline for electricity if it just means the coal plants need to ramp up production to deal with the increased load.

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  2. GreyFlcn Posted 10:42 am
    22 Jan 2008

    Says who?No use in swearin' off gasoline for electricity if it just means the coal plants need to ramp up production to deal with the increased load.
    Except thats not true.
    Even if they were powered exclusively by the dirtiest coal available it would still be greener than a conventional car.

    greyfalcon.net/plugins3.png

    pluginamerica.org/images/EmissionsSummary.pdf

    gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/20/111715/427

    greencarcongress.com/2007/12/argonne-assesse.html

    http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/energystorage/pdfs/42026.pdf

    aceee.org/pubs/t061.htm

    youtube.com/watch?v=J6DnoWbMYMk
    And 84% of the US car fleet could be powered by only existing power plants.

    http://www.pnl.gov/news/release.asp?id=204

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  3. GreyFlcn Posted 10:43 am
    22 Jan 2008

    Now with linksNo use in swearin' off gasoline for electricity if it just means the coal plants need to ramp up production to deal with the increased load.
    Except thats not true.
    Even if they were powered exclusively by the dirtiest coal available it would still be greener than a conventional car.

    http://greyfalcon.net/plugins3.png

    http://pluginamerica.org/images/EmissionsSummary.pdf

    http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2007/7/20/111715/427

    http://greencarcongress.com/2007/12/argonne-assesse.html

    http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/energystorage/pdfs/4 ...

    http://aceee.org/pubs/t061.htm

    http://youtube.com/watch?v=J6DnoWbMYMk
    And 84% of the US car fleet could be powered by only existing power plants.

    http://www.pnl.gov/news/release.asp?id=204

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  4. JohnMashey Posted 4:17 pm
    22 Jan 2008

    Good stuffI was really glad to see the Better Place effort, and many advances encourage me about cars.
    Hybridizing / electrifying cars is clearly long-hanging fruit.
    But please, can't somebody start a serious discussion on Class 8 trucks, combines, bulldozers, the subset of diesel-electric trains that won't get electrified any time soon, and ships.  So far, I have yet to see a serious plan that completely does away with fuel.  I didn't ask about airplanes, as   I assume that if we're having trouble fueling trains, planes are toast.  I really fear pressure for tar sands, shale oil and coal-to-liquid.

    -John Mashey

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  5. Pompey Road Posted 11:08 pm
    22 Jan 2008

    Dead Battery:The mining industry has been using battery powered equipment for years. Even with the old technology lead acid battery's we have been running a piece of heavy equipment called a scoop down here for years. Battery charging station charges the battery bank and in most cases you will get an 8 hour shift out of the charge. If you haul coal in the bucket instead of doing just normal clean up with them you get about 4 Hrs. With advanced technology battery's I could see charge stations at home and battery change out stations on the road if you could get the battery change down to a simple slide in and out procedure. An industry standard would have to be established. I am not going to trade out my new energizer for a used China made rip off.

    The eons of time and nature was good to us down here. It was not until we become civilized that destroying our habitat become fathomable or fashionable.

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  6. JohnMashey Posted 2:42 am
    23 Jan 2008

    Thanks, say some morePompey Road: thanks.

    I'm looking for firsthand experience with the various important fuel uses that aren't cars and light trucks. [Among other things, I used to work for the US Bureau of Mines, but that was 40 years ago.]
    Can you talk about (or give pointers to studies on) the extent to which your part of the mining business is

    a) Already electrified, i.e., what's the balance between:



    electricity

    diesel fuel

    gasoline


    Not just in the mine, but to move material to the consuming entities.
    b) Speculation on what you could do if the two fuels get more expensive?
    [In general, as in short/moderate-distance EV cars, and in electric tractors, machinery that stays within a relatively small radius, is sized for reasonable batteries, and has compatible usage patterns seems the easiest to electrify.]
    If I understand Shai Agassi's views right, I think battery change-out stations are part of the vision for Better Place & related efforts.

    -John Mashey

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  7. enki Posted 2:43 am
    23 Jan 2008

    Cool BeansI have thought that batteries that could be swapped out would be a great feature on electric cars. The advantages would be lower down times at charging stations and the ability to charge one battery at home via solar while you are at work and then swap out batteries when you get home for the next days commute.

    Mike Johnston

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  8. amazingdrx Posted 2:57 am
    23 Jan 2008

    Great news Joe!It would be easy to have a retrofit backup generator that would plug in to the Renault design as well.
    Or for those who want to own their own batteries to simply buy them, rather than subscribing as with the cell phone minute type model.  We all know the problems involved in cell phone billing schemes.
    The battery swapping business might double the cost of plugin driving, but even that premium would put the US cost at 2/3rds of gas powered driving.
    Many of us would prefer a plugin hybrid that we recharge from our own solar panels.  This design would be easily adapted to that mode.
    And we would like to be able to buy a US manufactured plugin hybrid.  Will that ever happen?  Not much talk about it from any of the presidential candidates, except Hillary.
    It's good to have wonkish leadership.  They understand the details down on the ground.  They don't just flyover and wave, like the chimp over katrina aftermath.

    http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog

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  9. rsmith02 Posted 4:22 am
    23 Jan 2008

    Diesel construction equipmentThere is an ability to electrify heavy duty construction equipment which today runs on diesel.  I believe this is the direction Sweeden (one of those countries) is going in.  
    It takes care of the local pollution problem as well, which is a nice bonus.

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  10. dnaleri Posted 11:01 am
    24 Jan 2008

    Current Prius Owners Can Plug InI just read in the January issue of Ode Magazine that there is a company in California that can retrofit your Prius and turn it into a electric-only  plug-in Prius.

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