When mentioning “alternative vehicles,” the electric car is nearly always the first thing to come to mind.  In the realm of fuel alternatives, electricity is top dog.  For good or ill, modern humans tend to think of electricity as the purest form of energy.  Electric cars run the gamut and include everything from the all electric car (battery electric or BEV) to the plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) to the hybrid-electric (HEV) to the hydrogen fuel-cell (FCEV).  An electric vehicle is simple a vehicle that uses electricity as it primary power source to turn the wheels.  The options of BEV, PHEV, or FCEV are just power sources, but all of these vehicles ultimately use electricity as their fuel alternatives.

Basic Layout for An Electric Vehicle

No matter the vehicle’s power source, the basic layout for any type of electric vehicle is like this:

Energy is stored in batteries, hydrogen tanks, super-capacitors, etc.  When it’s released as electricity, it goes through a controller, which decides how much to ultimately send to the motor.  The electric motor then propels the vehicle, in this case through a drive shaft to the rear axles.

Because electric motors put out the same amount of torque from zero rotations per minute (RPM) through to their maximum, electric vehicles generally have more power output per horsepower (torque) than internal combustion engines (ICE) do.  The power is steady from start to finish rather than in a curved gradient as with an ICE.

Some alternative vehicles feature this basic configuration with additional components such as more than one motor, more than one controller, electronics for differential control, both internal combustion engines and electric motors (hybrids), etc.  In the end, the above schematic is the basis for their operation.

The potential range of the electric vehicle is determined by several factors including vehicle weight, power storage, motor capacity, etc.  Differing types of power storage mediums have different advantages and disadvantages compared to others.  Most of the electric car technology research is being put into various forms of storage for electricity.

History of Electric Cars

Although it seems that EV cars have only recently taken the limelight, they have been around for a very long time.  In the 1890s, a handful of new models of electrically-propelled cars were introduced by various inventors.  In fact, at the turn of the century into 1900, there were more electric vehicles on the road than there were gasoline powered.

Electric street cars were commonplace in the early cities of the world for decades and were only replaced relatively recently by diesel-powered buses and commuter trains.  New York City’s famous Subway still runs on electric power.

Limitations in battery power, available horsepower from electric motors, and electronic control of power components were all holding all electric car back.  Those are things that only recently have been overcome by technology improvements.

For cars, the introduction of the electric starter in 1913 (by Chrysler) and the extreme low cost of the gasoline combustion engine, thanks to Ford and his Model T, basically did in the mass market for electrics.  The widespread adoption of alternating current (AC) as the primary means of delivering power meant that electric vehicles required (and still require) converters to be charged, lowering their efficiency and raising costs even more.

Electric Vehicles Now, Today

The most common electric vehicles on the road today, in terms of alternative cars, are gasoline-electric hybrids.  Toyota introduced the Prius hybrid about a decade ago and they have become the car most-associated with electrics.  The Tesla Roadster, an all-electric sports car, has become the most-often mentioned all electric car, though barely a thousand of them have been sold to-date.

Most of the technology problems holding back EV cars center on energy storage, as mentioned.  The current avenues of research being most heavily researched are batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, and improved hybrid gasoline and diesel electric hybrid efficiency improvements.

The Future of Electrics in Transportation

As we slowly move away from petroleum sources for energy, emerging technologies in electric vehicles are likely to dominate the transportation landscape.  Hybrids will likely dominate in the near-term, as they continue to gain popularity.  The all electric car or BEV will likely find its place in shorter-range applications that fit a large number of drivers world wide.

Many major automakers are also exploring hydrogen fuel cells as range-extension devices for EV cars.  Most have plans to release their first production models of FCEVs in or around 2015.  It’s possible that many of the current uses for longer-range, ICE-based vehicles can be replaced by using HFC technology as a storage medium for power. Especially in larger, more weighty vehicles like semi-trucks and trains.

The internal combustion engine itself is not likely to disappear soon either.  These engines will likely become more and more efficient and less polluting and many fuel alternatives currently being explored will probably replace petroleum-based fuels in the ICE.

Other fringe technologies gaining momentum include other hybrid storage systems such as hydraulics, compressed air, etc.

Using current market and research trends, however, it’s plainly obvious that electrics will dominate the foreseeable future in alternative vehicles.

This article adapted from the author’s similar article appearing on Green Big Truck.

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