I’ve titled this message “Inevitable” to make clear to anyone who may still doubt that the future of automotive transportation, actually ALL transportation, will be powered by electrons, not fossils. The pace of transformation continues to accelerate exponentially. The issues of range, charging times and cost are rapidly being conquered and after a few initial articles on other topics I will provide you with a plethora of articles that will describe this reality.
First though, I will provide you with information to keep you updated on the status of other themes of which I keep you informed that are critical to the transformation of our economy to one that goes beyond fossil fuels, in other sectors than automotive and transportation.
The first is about the ‘social cost or carbon’. While you might be saying, “who cares?” or “what’s that to me?” I implore you to pay attention. What the social cost of carbon is and how it gets determined will impact pretty much every element of your life. That is because that number is used to pretty much determine how government regulations get enforced in regards to the approval or denial of most industrial development.
You see, government regulations in the Clean Air Act require a cost benefit determination to society for the approval of various projects. So if the cost of a ton of carbon is set high and thus the cost to society of emissions from, let’s say a coal plant, is high, there’s a much higher bar set for the benefit side and thus a greater likelihood that the project will not be approved. How might this be important to you?? Think about the air you breathe, the water you drink, the toxic chemicals in the farmland from which we get our food and what is in it and, how climate change is impacting so many with floods, fires, heat, drought, mudslides, tornadoes, hurricanes.
During the Obama Administration the price was set at about $50. Trump dropped it to about $1. The Biden Administration has raised it back to the $50 range and the economists at the University of Chicago calculate that there’s data to show it should actually be around $150!
As you might imagine, this determination has been challenged in court. And here’s where that stands.
From AP News
Biden ‘Cost of Carbon’ Policy Survives Another Legal Hurdle
https://apnews.com/article/biden-business-louisiana-environment-82ddfc6b601eb322379cd4219c1962ff?mc_cid=8b0b2997c2&mc_eid=8f4760cc57
a federal appeals court Thursday refused to revisit its March decision reviving administration plans to account for potential damage from greenhouse gas emissions when creating rules for pollution-generating industries.
The policy aims to put a dollar value on damage caused by every additional ton of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. That cost estimate would be used to shape future rules for oil and gas drilling, automobiles, and other industries, and a higher estimate could justify more stringent rules.
On his first day in office, Biden issued an order that restored the cost estimate to about $51 per ton of carbon dioxide emissions after the Trump administration had reduced the figure to about $7 or less per ton. Former President Donald Trump’s estimate included only damage felt in the U.S. versus the global damage captured in higher estimates that were previously used under the Obama administration.
There’s another relatively obscure development with huge impacts like described above. This development influences how our economy is moving to rid our reliance on climate destroying fossil fuels. This is in regards to the rules that govern how our electrical system, the so called grid, functions. This is under the purview of The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). What this body regulates will determine how and how fast we move to a renewable energy power grid. And thus…
From E&E News EnergyWire
FERC Unveils Transmission Plan Seen as Key for Renewables
The long-awaited proposal could help speed up the development of high-voltage power lines considered critical for wind, solar and low-carbon energy.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released a proposal yesterday that could play a pivotal role in modernizing the nation’s power grid and advancing the transition to clean energy.
The commission plan offers some of the most significant federal changes in over a decade to the transmission planning process, which could help speed up the development of high-voltage power lines considered critical for adding more renewable energy to the grid.
“Today’s proposed rules, if finalized, would facilitate much-needed transmission investment, improving the resilience of the grid, enhancing reliability and reducing power costs,” Chair Richard Glick, who voted in favor of the proposed rules, said during the meeting. “It’s also going to address our nation’s changing resource mix and the changing role of electricity in our society.”
There’s one more interesting development that I’ll cover before turning to the transportation news. Economists have said for a long time that the fastest way for our world to transition off of fossil fuels to renewables is with a carbon tax. Up until a few years ago I thought this was a pipe dream. For political reasons, I never could imagine that this could come to pass. But over the last few years support for this tax has grown to the point where it now seems like it might actually happen. Check this out.
From the Wall Street Journal
Oil Trade Group Drafts Carbon-Tax Proposal That Could Raise Prices at the Pump
The nation’s biggest oil industry trade group has drafted a proposal urging Congress to adopt a carbon tax, which would put a surcharge on gasoline and other fossil fuels to discourage greenhouse-gas emissions.
The draft proposal was approved by the American Petroleum Institute’s climate committee last month
The draft proposal says a carbon tax is “the most impactful and transparent way to achieve meaningful progress on the dual goals of reducing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions while simultaneously ensuring continued economic growth.”
Now for the transportation news. Mostly I will let the articles speak for themselves. The implications overall are that developments are happening so fast that it makes your head spin. The outcomes will be vehicles that are much less expensive, faster to charge, have much greater range and have much lighter and smaller batteries that will rely less, if at all, on rare earth elements like lithium. Lighter and smaller batteries lead to greater range for the same amount of electrons and vehicle designs that are almost beyond imagination.
From Automotive News
Solid-State Batteries Promise Faster Charge
Solid-state power packs promise safety, cost, weight and performance improvements over today’s lithium ion batteries, which can help bring larger trucks and SUVs into the EV segment.
March 31, 2022
Hans Greimel
https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/solid-state-batteries-promise-faster-charge
Because solid-state batteries are far more energy-dense, automakers can use fewer of them without sacrificing driving range or performance. They can also greatly reduce vehicle weight. And because they are less prone to fire, they are safer and don’t need complex cooling systems.
Solid-state batteries can also charge faster and last longer.
“We expect to scale electrolyte production to power 800,000 electrified vehicles using our all-solid-state battery cells annually by 2028,” Solid Power says on its website.
The next-generation power packs promise safety, cost, weight and performance improvements over today’s lithium ion batteries. And crucially, they could spur wider EV adoption in popular segments such as pickups, large SUVs and sporty cars, where weight and size are issues.
From Bloomberg Green Hyperdrive
Mercedes EV Breaks 1,000-Kilometer Range Barrier to Outdo Tesla
-
EQXX prototype rides from Germany to France on a single charge
-
Automaker pushing to wrestle technology lead from U.S. rival
by William Wilkes April 13, 2022
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/mercedes-ev-breaks-1-000-kilometer-range-barrier-to-outdo-tesla
A Mercedes-Benz AG electric car drove more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Germany to the French Riviera on a single charge, taking the fight to seize the technology limelight from Tesla Inc. to the next level.
With the EQXX, Mercedes is trying to show it can best the U.S company on electric technology. The prototype made the trip at speeds of as fast as 87 miles per hour and had 15% of charge left upon arrival. The car’s battery features a new chemistrydeveloped with the help of Formula One experts from the Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains division in the U.K. The plan is to deploy the cells in Mercedes compact cars from 2024.
From Automotive News
Recharging EVs while you drive
Projects in Florida, Indiana, Michigan and Utah are testing a technology to charge vehicles as they move along the highway.
John Irwin March 31, 2022
https://www.autonews.com/mobility-report/recharging-evs-while-you-drive
Electric vehicle drivers of the future might not need to plug in to charge their batteries — and they may not even need to stop.
Projects underway in Florida, Indiana, Michigan and Utah are testing a technology that would charge vehicles as they move along special road surfaces.
From Bloomberg Hyperdrive
Honda to Spend $40 Billion on EV Push, Plans 30 Models
-
Honda targets full switch away from gasoline engines by 2040
-
CEO Mibe has expanded Honda EV partners, China presence
By River Davis April 11, 2022
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-12/honda-to-spend-40-billion-on-ev-push-plans-to-have-30-models
Honda declared in June of last year it would phase out sales of gasoline-powered cars completely by 2040, becoming Japan’s first automaker to publicly say so.
Honda Motor Co. plans to spend 5 trillion yen ($40 billion) on its push into electric vehicles over the next decade, as the Japanese automaker with the most aggressive EV ambitions moves to back its bold advance into next-generation cars with concrete plans.
Some 30 EV models will be launched by 2030 with production volume of more than 2 million vehicles a year, Japan’s second-biggest automaker said in a statement Tuesday. EVs will make up around 40% of the company’s fleet by the end of the decade, Honda said.
Lastly, if you’ve read this far, how about this surprise!!
From Automotive News
DeLorean Says it’s Coming Back in the Near Future
While the upcoming Delorean will be a brand-new vehicle, the car will feature references to the classic DeLorean, such as gull-wing doors.
April 11, 2022
DeLorean Motor Co. Inc. says it plans to unveil an electric model at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in August. The company last week released a teaser imageof the concept, showing the taillight and left shoulder.
While it will be a brand-new vehicle, the car will feature references to the classic DeLorean, such as gull-wing doors, CEO Joost de Vries toldAutomotive News.
The company is searching for a North American factory site and aims to deliver the first customer vehicles by the end of next year, de Vries said.
