Could Semantics Kill the Electric Car?

In many communities, there is a debate raging around the admissibility of "Electric Cars" on public roadways. Many people mistakenly refer to electric powered Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs) as "Electric Cars". This is at least a misnomer and at worst a barrier to acceptance of the electrification of transportation. First, an electric car has to be a car. 

Without question, we must get the North American personal vehicle fleet off oil, and the sooner the better. Low Speed Vehicles (LSVs) or Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) are not the answer. It is a mistake to think that car makers can, or should inspire motorists to embrace these "green" machines for everyday use in street traffic among more powerful, and more robust cars, until they meet current standards.

Fully capable Electric Cars exist; the Tesla Roadster, Toyota RAV4 EV, Ford Ranger EV, Solectria Force, and several new EVs are about to launch. These are "Electric Cars" and they aren't easily distinguished from petroleum powered cars using visual or performance criteria. They look and feel like cars and happen to run on electric power. They meet, and in many cases exceed, consumer expectations of the term "CAR". 

Maybe it's a matter of semantics, but words are powerful and should be used carefully in matters that have such far reaching, long term consequences. The noun "car" conjures a specific set of sensory experiences, expectations and benefits in the mind of a motorist. LSVs don't have the structure or power to meet those expectations, regardless of the type of energy they run on.

All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), golf carts, lawn tractors, and mobility scooters also move people under power of mechanical drive, and have obvious utility value. Some of these even use clean electric drive. None of these have been accepted on public roads. They don't have the performance capabilities, or crashworthiness to offer safety to the user in traffic among existing highway capable vehicles. 

Consumers have fought long and hard to get automakers to build strong, safe "Cars" and we shouldn't give LSVs a free pass onto public highways just because they run on clean electric power. LSV makers need to finish their design and engineering work, to build vehicles that meet current safety standards and consumers' understanding of the term CAR, electric or otherwise. That's their part of the social contract in the car culture in which they operate.

Some argue that motorcycles, scooters and bicycles are inherently unsafe compared to modern cars. Yes. And the user is more aware of the risks. We have no doubt about the vulnerability of a person on a motorcycle. There is no pretense of body structure or equipment that might protect the user. LSVs, that resemble cars, though they lack real crash protection and mechanical robustness, will certainly mislead some users into believing that they are as safe in their shiny little vehicle as they would be in a fully tested car, sometimes with fatal results.

In summary; Four wheels and a shell do not a car make! Electric powered or otherwise.

The Hydrogen Hype-way: Are filling stations full of it?

Hydrogen proponents have to be aware of the shortcomings of the element as an energy medium, since they are so well documented. First, hydrogen has to be "extracted" from natural gas, water or other compounds so it can be used in a fuel cell and that takes costly energy. Elemental hydrogen does not exist on it's own it is hard to contain and store and even if you can contain it briefly, it takes up much more space than combustion fuels for a given amount of usable energy. Unlike other clean options to oil as a transportation energy source, there is no global hydrogen delivery network to supply the, as yet non-existent automotive-hydrogen consumer.

So why are we still hearing the chatter about "the Hydrogen Economy"? Well here's my theory; 

It seems that the profitability of the energy business springs from distribution. Oil companies don't sell oil, they sell fuel distribution. 

The fact that Hydrogen-Hypesters are clinging to a "fuel delivery" model, indicates either desperation or a lack of imagination. They seem stuck in the last century and the assumption that their customers are too. When people see the real cost of hydrogen for motive power, and the meagre miles of travel it provides, (i.e. a poor value proposition for hydrogen powered cars compared to battery electric drive) I expect a collapse of the hydrogen fuel cell car myth, along with the stock value of businesses that ride on it. 

In stationary applications, hydrogen fuel cells may be useful for storing "surplus" solar power, but I think the existing power grid is a better place to store/manage the flow of solar energy.

Meanwhile good electric cars built using even mediocre battery technology can drive circles around the $million Hype-drogen prototypes with which hydrogen proponents occasionally tease the motoring public. The people behind hydrogen are probably the same kind of people who see a viable business model in the tar sands and clean coal and other combustion fuels that rob us of the clean air, water and soil we need to survive on this planet. If you wonder why they are ramping up the Hype about hydrogen, I suggest that they see their "fuel delivery" business becoming obsolete. To paraphrase a wise person who once commented on the demise of the oil industry; (The fossil fuel age is ending, not because we're running out of fossil fuels, any more than the stone age ended because we ran out of stones.) It's ending because the real social and environmental costs are making fossil fuels irrelevant, and we now have better ways to get things done. Consider that five year old automaker, Tesla Motors, has captured the hearts and minds of millions of auto enthusiasts with a battery electric sports car, based on AC Propulsion's high performance "t-Zero" electric drive technology that has had more than a decade to mature. Now here's a car that never needs to pull into a "filling station" because it can recharge anywhere there is an electric outlet! Fill'er up where you live or work! Most importantly, electric drive both enables and benefits from mature clean renewable energy systems such as hydro electric, solar electric (photovoltaic) and wind power. Now that's a delivery system.

Looking at this "Hydrogen economy" idea, with several oil funded millionaires jockeying for position in a new energy trading game, they seem to lack a full understanding of how things have changed. I'm reminded of the expression: "To a man who only has a hammer, everything looks like a nail." 

They must justify their ubiquitous toxic real estate holdings (thousands of gas stations) or their gig is up. No wonder they're ramping up the hype on hydrogen. 

I like to say, "Internal combustion is so last century!" and so is the myth of the hydrogen highway. I think hydrogen filling stations are irrelevant in the evolution of transportation, except that they suck up investment capital and waste valuable transition time.

EarthDay 2009; A carbon copy of the past 20 years!

Well, it's Earth Day again and we're still burning stuff to make stuff move. Back in the late 80s, I was hopeful that finally we would start seeing distributed clean solar energy production on millions of roof tops in North America. Twenty years later PV is still a novelty in most neighbourhoods. In the early nineties, I thought we'd see electric commuter cars, powered at least partially by renewable energy, in most driveways within a decade, replacing the stupid SUVs that proliferated during those years of greed. Yet, in 2009, Virtually nobody (only hundreds of motorists out of billions of humans) has even driven, much less owned an electric vehicle.

Sadly we are slow learners. I suggest we shouldn't sit back and feel good about the little progress we've made while the well-to-do cling to their blue chip stocks in big oil, big auto, big boxes, big banks and other big lies. Let's get off our asses and do something real about the problem, or we'll face the judgement of the next generation for our complacency and complicity. So what are you supposed to do in the context of your "busy life"? First, get over yourself, then,..

Volunteer with a local business that sells renewable energy products or zero emissions vehicles. Support an action group like the Electric Auto Association or Plug-in America or an environmental initiative in your area!

Invest in the innovative entrepreneurs who have traded plush careers in "the economy of the status quo" for the pursuit of a worthy (even if not yet profitable) cause! Start-up ventures need wise investors and patient money, not greedy self interested dragons who just want to suck the life out of the next big idea.

Get a Plug-in electric car! Step away from the luxury "self parking" sedan and buy a car that can run on electric power. Can't find one at the dealership? Buy a used Prius then have it converted to a Plug-in Hybrid! or,..

Convert your existing car to electric drive. Have the internal combustion engine of your car replaced with an electric motor! (If you can make it work for you; drive less, take public transit and cycle. This will take your impact out of the equation but not everyone can make those choices without great daily hardship. Other choices need to be pushed forward too.)

Buy and promote renewable energy systems. Put a solar thermal water heater and/or solar electric system on the roof of your home and/or business! Put up a wind turbine, heck put up several and form a clean energy coop with your rural neighbours!

If you have done some of these things, thanks, (we aren't talking to you) and keep up the great work.

The core of our environmental problems is our own thoughtless, wasteful use of energy and materials. Changing your light bulbs and recycling your newspapers is good but not nearly enough. Speak up, show up and green up!! (or shut up and don't block the light by which others work to make the shift for us.) The time for bickering, grandstanding, gold bricking, plagiarizing and competing for the big prize in the green rush is over. That's the old school way. Time to move on to collaboration. Don't just ask; "How can I look good and save my money?". Ask how you can help others save a planet! This one. If you think we have lots of time to sit around and discuss this, you're wrong. If you think this is important, you have more to offer than you may realize and someone could use your help. Tell us about 3 "green" businesses or groups that you think deserve grass roots support. Maybe we can put up a blogsite to match these enviro-champs with support from enviro-activists.

The lease is nearly up and Mother Earth wants her stuff back. Don't risk losing your children's security deposit.

Hydrogen fuel cells for PV storage; energy storage or energy "scalpers" ?

I received an email telling me about a Hydrogen fuel cell based PV storage system being developed at MIT. 

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html 

While I think we need ongoing research in the area of energy capture and storage devices, this system seems more like incremental progress not a breakthrough. I say this because, as with any other hydrogen fuel cell system, it too seems plagued by the inherent multiple conversion steps which reduce efficiency. We have good affordable energy storage options that are still underutilized. I remain skeptical about the value of fuel cells as a substitute for the existing electric power supply grid and reliable mature battery technologies for storing PV energy. These are simple and immediately scaleable answers unlike hydrogen-based technologies. Electricity is an energy currency, let's use it wisely.

A metaphore; imagine you want to buy a pizza with your $20 cnd bill, you're a block east of the pizza shop, so you walk 5 minutes west to a bank to exchange the "20" for $16 US, (80 cents on the 82 cent dollar) then walk 5 minutes back to the pizza shop and order your pizza. Huh! they give you 78 cents cnd. on your US dollars and now you only have $19.52 CND with which to buy the $20 pizza! Oh wait there's another 2 bucks in your wallet. So you get the pizza but now you don't have enough for a coffee afterwards, and now you're 10 minutes late. 

(actual exchange rates may vary)

There's no free lunch at the electric cafe, but why should you have to wait longer and pay more than the others, for the same bowl of electrons, just so you can sit in the hydrogen section.  

In other terms: PV rocks! Why pay more for your tickets from a scalper when tickets are still available at the box office?

The grid is a great storage facility for PV. Couldn't hydrogen R&D grants be better spent on PV deployment grants, NOW? I think so.

RECONNECTING WITH ALFONZO D'CREDENZA (NICE KARMA MISTER)

Huh! Today I received a call from a guy about the beautiful 1970 Alfa Romeo 1750GTV that he bought in October 2008. Turns out, it's "Alfonzo"! This is the car that lived with me for the most interesting (Chinese curse interesting) decade of my life. 

To make a long story not so long,  a very respectful fellow car nut named Mark called me to touch base and get a few details about the history of a car that I spent nearly 10 years restoring. A car I sold 11 years ago, a week after hauling it out to British Columbia, the Canadian west coast, from London, Ontario. I loved that car but most of all I'm grateful to it for the astonishing therapeutic value it brought to my life during those outrageously trying years. 

The restoration of "Alfonzo d' Credenza" (so-called because for the better part of 10 years he resided, in boxes of parts and service manuals, on the credenza in my home-office) gave me the gift of patience; patience for the world outside and the diverse people living there, and patience for myself as I learned to craft a classic italian sports coupe out of a pile of pieces. I also learned that there are people who share my appreciation for beauty in the details as well as the whole. (the gestalt of the thing)  

Rebuilding a not-so-common, and even less understood "ferin"car such as the Alfa Giulia (pronounced Jewl-yah) series GTV will put you at odds with those who prefer a path well trodden. You will have to reach deep down inside yourself to find your real strengths and learn to tolerate their pettiness and ridicule. It shocked me how often I had to defend my sanity and good name against dismissive and derogatory criticism, as I visited vendors and auto specialists to buy parts and refinishing services during the restoration of "that EYE-TAL-YUN piece of crap!" as the red necks called it. (their punishment is going through the rest of their lives as them.) In the end, I won the right to drive off into the sunset (I literally arrived on the west coast at sunset eleven years ago) with a jewel of a car in tow. Poetry in motion and art when it's parked! The Alfa GTV is a remarkably well proportioned sculpture whose form is best appreciated in person,.. inside and out.

Two important lessons came to me after selling the car; diligence and authenticity bring long term gratification that allow us to move on to what ever opportunity comes next, and there are many others who appreciate things of intrinsic beauty way beyond their commercial value.

Mark, the third owner of Alfonzo since I brought him out of the shadow cast by Detroit, is one of those who can see intrinsic beauty.

Upon settling in BC in 1998, I agonized over how to shelter my rambunctious red sports car from the elements in my garageless sea-side home. I conceded that the best place for him was with someone who could give him a safe stable. The manager of a local high-end European car dealership had been hounding me for the car and I did what I thought was best for Alfonzo. With surprisingly little reluctance I sent him off to live the life of luxury with several other sheltered '50s and '60s era sports cars. His new friends were of equal pedigree and well turned out, but none of the others was Alfa Romeo 501 Red. Alfonzo was clearly the Alfa of the group.

After a couple of years of the pampered life ( only going out for a romp often enough to stay limber and fit) Alfonzo was invited to move to California to live with a Hollywood professional named Ben, another die-hard Alfista. When Ben moved to New Mexico of course Alfonzo went too. Ben often called to update me on their adventures and to tell me of his car show acknowledgements. Those frequent calls made letting him go feel like the best choice I could have made. Alfonzo was getting to see some nice places and living the life I had intended for him.

Well, today, 11 years almost to the day since I sold the car, I learned that he is now hanging out with new friends in a quiet northern California town that I passed through in 1993. At that time I was on my way home with Alfonzo's new windshield, in a box fresh from  Alfa Parts in Berkeley. I always said that if I ever moved south, I would move to the area where Alfonzo lives now. It gets more freaky! 

Prior to meeting Ben and Alfonzo, Mark sold his Beck 550 Spyder to someone near Albequerque New Mexico, and set out to find a GTV. The 550 Spyder is, in my mind, THE DEFINITIVE SPORTS CAR. Fast, fun and agile and you can use every ounce of its power, if you're careful. The year I finally got Alfonzo's body work done, I saw my first "Beck Spyder" replica of the 550 and that was it. I've lusted after one ever since. That was the beginning of a new chapter. "pursuit of the Spyder". I went to California and met Chuck Beck and drove a beautiful example of his work, with the master himself coaxing me on from the passenger's side, encouraging me to let it go. (I was already going almost 80). What a car!! 

So in effect, Mark traded in my favourite car that I've never owned for my favourite car that I've ever owned. With luck we will meet at the annual Pebble Beach Concourse d' Elegance this summer, and I will get to say hello to some new friends, Mark, his wife and his son, and my dear old friend Alfonzo. To Mark; thanks for your kind words, thanks for caring enough to hold out for a really special car and thanks for giving Alfonzo a nice place to live. I'm glad to hear your 2 year old son has an affinity for him. By the way, my son was 2 when Alfonzo came to live with us. There's some strange Good Karma with that car. Enjoy!!

Distributed Energy Generating Distributed Benefits

A robust electric power grid supported by distributed generation and electric vehicles will provide distributed benefits and opportunities, and shared responsibilities. A power grid that empowers customers as producers will inspire better energy use habits. Granted, there will always be greed and dishonesty in any social or economic model created by humans, but we can deal with those problems as they arise. Greed and dishonesty are fed by concentration of power and result in reduced democratic influence and the absence of accountability. Continued concentration of power, i.e. adopting the distribution network created by the oil industry, is a recipe for disaster. Converting gas stations to battery stations isn't a viable long term solution.

With the current slow down of the world economy, we have a brilliant opportunity to launch a fresh approach to how we use and trade energy. I may be misinterpreting the Project Better Place business model, and please correct me if I am, but I don't see it distributing anything but batteries. It's not reasonable to expect such a "money funnel" to empower and inspire consumers to rethink the cost / benefits of the energy we use every day. We really need to rethink how we capture and use energy. We're trashing the planet to energize our lives, and we need to stop.

"Drive it like a rental"!? You may not do this yourself, but others do. A battery pack that is owned by the user and can be recharged anywhere including at home, not just at "the company store" (BetterPlace stations/ franchises) will be used more responsibly and efficiently. Putting the power in the motorists hands, so to speak, will break the petroleum induced trance we all live in, and give meaning to the real value and costs of the energy and appliances we use, inspiring better habits.

Distributed energy capture/ power generation is vital to strengthening  the existing grid, and it will help support the electrification of transportation. We can't afford to let a shiny new energy revenue model, swappable batteries, derail the growth and benefits of distributed power generation (residential solar, geothermal, and wind etc.)  EVs will benefit more from investment in R&D for faster charging batteries, and accelerated proliferation of user-friendly high power public charge ports, than from the installation of "battery swapping stations". Maybe some form replaceable pack concept will eventually serve certain niche markets, but right now, we can't count on a wholesale conversion of the vehicle fleet to electric based on the pack swapping concept. 

We need more V2G capable cars that can be recharged where people actually live; at home and at work. I fear the grand nature of Better Place will soak up more than its share of the publicity and investment capital that could be used to popularize renewable energy and electric drive technology, leaving these more immediate, feasible and practicable ideas unfunded.

Better Place: game changer or energy monopoly 2.0?

Monopolies tend to disempower and disenfranchise customers. I think there is a problem with choosing one dominant IP-based solution to solve any problem. Monopolies discourage innovation. They reward mindless (customer) behavior, foster disengagement from consequences and reduce personal freedom and accountability. I submit that commercial and political monopolies created our current global problems related to energy, the economy and climate change. (absolute power corrupts absolutely) Don't get me wrong. I don't advocate anarchy! That's not the opposite of concentration of power.

Our road vehicle fleet needs an overhaul. We need to get our vehicles off oil. Some business pundits think we should just replace gas stations with battery packs stations (a la Project Better Place). I don't. This just plugs the new energy currency into the old dysfunctional distribution model. We need to rethink the role played by energy producers and users and allow them to collaborate in a new form of "symbiotic commerce". We need a culture of participation not salvation. I don't think Mr. Agassi believes Better Place alone will power the transition to EVs, and I hope he has some innovative ideas about how to prevent his idea from becoming the next automotive energy monopoly.