MODEL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Seminar on Electric Car

By:
Outline
Introduction
History
Comparison with internal combustion engines
How electric Car works ?
Currently available electric cars
Advantages and disadvantages
Future
Introduction
An electric car is an alternative fuel automobile that uses
electric motors and motor controllers for propulsion, in place
of more common propulsion methods such as the internal
combustion engine (ICE).
Electric cars are specifically a variety of electric vehicle
intended for use as a road-going automobile. Electric cars are
commonly powered by on-board battery packs, and as such are
battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Electric cars currently enjoy relative popularity in countries
around the world for their eco-friendly nature.
History
 The invention of the electric vehicle is attributed to various people,
including the Hungarian inventor of the electric motor, Ányos Jedlik,
Vermont blacksmith Thomas Davenport, Professor Sibrandus
Stratingh of Groningen, the Netherlands, and Scotsmen Robert
Davidson and Robert Anderson.
 The invention of improved battery technology, including efforts by
Gaston Plante in France in 1865, as well as his fellow countryman
Camille Faure in 1881, paved the way for electric cars to flourish in
Europe.
Comparison with internal combustion
engine vehicles
 Price
Electric cars are generally more expensive than gasoline cars. The primary reason is the high cost
of car batteries
 Running costs and Maintenance
Most of the running cost of an electric vehicle can be attributed to the maintenance and replace-
ment of the battery pack because an electric vehicle has only around 5 moving parts in its engine.
 Pollution
Electric cars produce no pollution at the tailpipe, but their use increases demand a for electricity
generation
 Energy efficiency
Internal combustion engines are relatively inefficient at converting on-board fuel energy to
propulsion as most of the energy is wasted as heat as compared to electrical engines.
 Sound Production
Electric cars produced less roadway noise as compared to vehicles propelled by a internal
combustion engine
How electric Car works ?
 An electric car is an alternative-design automobile that uses an electric
motor to power the car, with the electricity being provided by a battery.
While a conventional car does have a lead-acid battery as part of its
standard equipment, this battery is for operating the starter and not
powering the vehicle.
 Electric cars have a motor just like conventional, internal combustion
engine cars. The difference is that the power supply is derived from
battery-stored electricity rather than the mechanical power derived
from burning gasoline.
 The batteries used in electric cars vary in design, and include the lead-
acid type familiar to all conventional car owners (albeit, much larger
than in a normal car), lithium ion (similar to those used in laptops and
mobile phones, but once again much larger), molten salt, zinc-air, and
various nickel-based designs.
Currently available electric cars

The Tesla Roadster is sold in the US and Europe and has a range
of 245 miles per charge.
The REVAi, also known as the REVA G-Wiz is available in several
countries around the world.
The Th!nk City is sold in several European countries and
production began in the U.S. in late 2010
Sales of the Mitsubishi i MiEV to the public began in Japan in
April 2010, in Hong Kong in May 2010 and in Australia in July 2010.
The remainder of currently available electric cars are mostly low-
speed, low-range neighborhood electric vehicles, electric city cars
as well as some small-scale commercial conversion of internal-
combustion based vehicles
Advantages of electric car

 Electricity is readily available. 

 Since there is no IC engine, the vehicle runs noiselessly, in fact many times you
won’t even know that some vehicle has just passed beside you. 

 There are no emissions from EVs, hence they are environmental friendly. 

 Manufacturing the EV is very easy; you have to merely assemble various

components of the vehicle. This is especially true for small motorcycles or
mopeds. 

 EVs require less maintenance. 

Disadvantages of Electric Cars
 The major disadvantage of EVs is that the battery has to be charged
regularly. The normal working range of battery is about 50-130 miles
and it takes about 6-8 hours to recharge completely. 
 If you are traveling a long distance, you may be at the risk of the battery
getting discharged. As such there are no battery charging stations
available on roads and highways. 
 Your home must be outfitted with a charging station to recharge the
car battery.
 Your electric bill will probably increase as you have to draw power from
your home electrical system to charge your car.
 Electric cars cannot compete with gas powered cars in terms of speed
and acceleration
Future
 The future of battery electric vehicles depends primarily upon the cost and availability
of batteries with high specific energy, power density, short charge time and long life, as
all other aspects such as motors, motor controllers, and chargers are fairly mature and
cost-competitive with internal combustion engine components.

 Li-ion, li-poly and zinc-air batteries have demonstrated specific energy high enough to
deliver range and recharge times comparable to conventional vehicles.

 Diarmuid o'connell, vp of business development at tesla motors, estimates that by the

year 2020 30% of the cars driving on the road will be battery, electric or plug-in hybrid.
It is estimated that there are sufficient lithium reserves to power 4 billion electric cars.
References
http://www.howstuffworks.com/electric-car.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car
www.electriccars.com/
http://www.howelectriccarswork.com/
http://www.brighthub.com/environment/renewable-
energy/articles/1838.aspx
www.allabouthybridcars.com