Test drive electric cars: this time forever
From Camilla Genasi through GM EV1 to Tesla Model X, or the history of electric vehicles
The story about electric cars can be described as a three-act performance. The main storyline to this day remains in the area of demand for an appropriate electrochemical device, ensuring sufficient power for the requirements of an electric vehicle.
Five years before Karl Benz introduced his self-propelled tricycle in 1886, Frenchman Gustav Trouv drove his electric car with the same number of wheels through the Exposition D'Electricite in Paris. However, Americans would be reminded that their compatriot Thomas Davenport created such a thing 47 years earlier. And this would be almost true, because indeed in 1837 the blacksmith Davenport created an electric car and “driven” it along the rails, but this fact is accompanied by one small detail - there is no battery in the car. Thus, strictly speaking, historically, this car could be considered the forerunner of the tram, and not the electric car.
Another Frenchman, physicist Gaston Plante, made a significant contribution to the birth of the classic electric car: he created the lead-acid battery and introduced it in 1859, the same year that commercial oil production began in the United States. Seven years later, among the golden names that gave impetus to the development of electrical machines, the name of the German Werner von Siemens was recorded. It was his entrepreneurial activity that led to the success of the electric motor, which, together with the battery, became a powerful impetus for the development of the electric vehicle. In 1882, an electric car could be seen on the streets of Berlin, and this event marked the beginning of the rapid development of electric cars in Europe and the United States, where more and more new models began to appear. Thus, the curtain was raised on the first action of electromobility, the future of which seemed bright at the time. Everything important and necessary for this has already been invented, and the prospects for a noisy and smelly internal combustion engine are becoming increasingly bleak. Although by the end of the century the power density of lead-acid batteries was only nine watts per kilogram (almost 20 times less than the latest generation of lithium-ion batteries), electric vehicles have a satisfactory range of up to 80 kilometers. This is a huge distance in a time when day trips are measured by walking, and can be covered thanks to the very low power of electric motors. In fact, only a few heavy electric vehicles can reach speeds above 30 km/h.
Against this backdrop, the story of a temperamental Belgian named Camilla Genazi brings tension to the humble daily life of an electric car. In 1898, the "red devil" challenged the French Count Gaston de Chasseloup-Laub and his car, Jeanto, to a high-speed duel. Genasi's electric car bears a much more eloquent name "La jamais contente", that is, "Always dissatisfied." After numerous dramatic and sometimes curious races, in 1899 a cigar-like car, whose rotor rotates at 900 rpm, raced towards the end of the next race, recording a speed of over 100 km / h (exactly 105,88 km / h). Only then is Genasi and his car happy ...
Thus, by 1900, the electric car, although it did not yet have fully developed equipment, should have established superiority over gasoline-powered cars. At that time, for example, in America, the number of electric vehicles was twice as much as gasoline. There are also attempts to combine the best of both worlds - for example, a model created by the young Austrian designer Ferdinand Porsche, still unknown to the general public. It was he who first connected hub motors with internal combustion engines, creating the first hybrid car.
The electric motor as the enemy of the electric car
But then something interesting and even paradoxical happens, because it is electricity that destroys its own children. In 1912, Charles Kettering invented the electric starter that rendered the crank mechanism useless, breaking the bones of many drivers. Thus, one of the biggest shortcomings of the car at that time was in the past. Low fuel prices and World War I weakened the electric car, and in 1931 the last production electric model, the Typ 99, rolled off the assembly line in Detroit.
Only half a century later began the second period and renaissance in the development of electric vehicles. The Iran-Iraq war for the first time demonstrates the vulnerability of oil supplies, cities with a million inhabitants are drowning in smog, and the topic of protecting the environment is becoming increasingly relevant. California has passed a law requiring 2003 percent of cars to be emission-free by 1602. Automakers, for their part, are shocked by all this, as the electric car has received very little attention for decades. Its continued presence in development projects is more of an exotic game than a necessity, and the few real models, such as those used to transport film crews during the Olympic marathons (BMW 1972 in 10 in Munich), have gone almost unnoticed. A striking example of the exoticism of these technologies is a moon-crossing lunar rover with hub-mounted engines costing more than $XNUMX million.
Despite the fact that almost nothing has been done to develop battery technology, and lead-acid batteries remain the benchmark in this area, the development departments of companies are starting to produce various electric vehicles again. GM is at the forefront of this offensive, with the experimental Sunraycer achieving the longest solar mileage record, and 1000 units of the later iconic GM EV1 avant-garde with a turnover ratio of 0,19 were leased to a select group of buyers. . Initially equipped with lead batteries and since 1999 with nickel-metal hydride batteries, it achieves an incredible range of 100 kilometers. Thanks to Conecta Ford studio's sodium-sulphur batteries, it can travel up to 320 km.
Europe is also electrifying. German companies are turning the Baltic Sea island of Rügen into an experimental base for their electric vehicles and models such as the VW Golf Citystromer, Mercedes 190E and Opel Astra Impuls (equipped with a 270-degree Zebra battery) run a total of 1,3 million test kilometers. New technological solutions are emerging that are just a quick glimpse of the electric sky, similar to that of the sodium-sulfur battery that ignited with the BMW E1.
At that time, the greatest hopes for separation from heavy lead-acid batteries were placed on nickel-metal hydride batteries. However, in 1991, Sony opened up a completely new direction in this area by releasing the first lithium-ion battery. All of a sudden, electric fever is on the rise again—for example, German politicians are predicting a 2000 percent market share for electric vehicles by the year 10, and California-based Calstart predicts 825 all-electric cars by the end of the century.
However, this electric firework burns out pretty quickly. It is clear that batteries still cannot achieve satisfactory performance levels, and the miracle will not happen, and California is forced to adjust its exhaust emission targets. GM takes all of its EV1s and destroys them mercilessly. Ironically, it was then that Toyota engineers managed to successfully complete the hard-working Prius hybrid model. Thus, technological development is taking a new path.
Act 3: No Turning Back
In 2006, the last act of the electric show began. Increasingly worrisome signals about climate change and rapidly rising oil prices are giving a powerful boost to a fresh start in the electric saga. This time, Asians are leading the way in technological development, supplying lithium-ion batteries, and the Mitsubishi iMiEV and Nissan Leaf are pioneering the new era.
Germany is still waking up from electric sleep, in the United States, GM is dusting EV1 documentation, and California-based Tesla rocked the old automotive world with its 6831bhp roadster commonly used for laptops. Forecasts are beginning to take on euphoric proportions again.
By this time, Tesla was already hard at work on the design of the Model S, which not only provided a powerful boost to the electrification of cars, but also created an iconic status for the brand, making it a leader in the field.
Subsequently, every major car company will start introducing electric models into its lineup, and after the scandals associated with the diesel engine, their plans are now quite fast-paced. Renault electric models are at the forefront - Nissan and BMW i models, VW is focusing heavily on this range with the MEB platform, the Mercedes EQ sub-brand, and hybrid pioneers Toyota and Honda to begin active development in the purely electric field. However, the active and successful development of lithium-ion cell companies, and especially Samsung SDI, is creating sustainable 37 Ah battery cells earlier than expected, and this has enabled some manufacturers to increase significant mileage of their EVs over the past two years. This time around, Chinese companies are also stepping into the game, and much of the growth curve for electric models is getting so steep.
Unfortunately, the problem with the batteries remained. Despite the fact that they have undergone significant changes, even modern lithium-ion batteries are still heavy, too expensive and insufficient in capacity.
More than 100 years ago, the French automotive journalist Baudrillard de Saunier opined: “A silent electric motor is the cleanest and most resilient one could wish for, and its efficiency reaches 90 percent. But batteries need a big revolution.”
Even today we cannot add anything about this. Only this time, the designers are approaching electrification with more moderate, but confident steps, gradually moving through different hybrid systems. Thus, evolution is much more real and sustainable.
Text: Georgy Kolev, Alexander Blokh
