Michael Scott

Professor Hunter

Eng.1201.507

November 11, 2019

The Electric Car’s Uphill Battle

You’ve seen them, you’ve heard about them, you’re curious about them, yet you can’t

bring yourself to own one. Why? You’ve likely been driving down the highway recently and

seen an elegant new tesla driving down the road, whisper quiet. You slow down to look inside to

see what kind of person is behind the wheel. A man in a business suit perhaps? A young, rich

entrepreneur type? Yet as you drive up beside the shiny, sleek designed car, you notice an entire

family inside. A man and wife, hauling the kids to soccer practice. Why does this surprise you?

Many people still associate the electric car as something that is unobtainable, unreliable,

and not very practical for the daily driver. An expensive toy, rather than a suitable form of

transportation for the family. Many still believe that the electric car is still in its infancy and a

flashy piece of tech for the snob who thinks they’re better than you. The electric car is seen as a

weak competitor that will shiver in its boots at the supposed longer ranged, cheaper, relatively

clean and more reliable conventional vehicle. This could not be farther from the truth.

Public opinion on the electric car needs to be changed. Electric cars offer a new kind of

freedom and a push towards innovation. The electric car is the future of transportation and the

stigma around them needs to be erased. More people need to realize that an electric car can

vastly change their life.

 One of the first debates often brought up with electric cars is their range. Until recently

the electric car struggled to obtain a range of more than 100 miles. This limited the electric car to

being useful only as a city runabout. Now, with the recent advancements in power density of

lithium ion batteries electric cars can have an optional range of up to 370 miles on a single

charge in the Tesla Model S (The Tesla Team). This puts the electric car back into the ballpark

with the internal combustion vehicles range. Tesla with its P100D option on its vehicle lineup

boasts the longest range in the electric vehicle industry.

Tesla is not the only pioneer however, even a big name like Chevrolet is producing its

own high range electric vehicle with the Bolt. The Bolt has an estimated range up to 238 miles

with an even longer-range vehicle being researched and developed. Battery technology and

efficiency are now starting to rival the petrol-powered car. Large automakers are now seeing the

importance of such a car and how researching into electric vehicles that are environmentally

friendly hold the key to the future and relevancy of their brand. With the competition putting out

a better, longer range vehicle every couple of years, the improvements in electric vehicle range

will continue to advance.

Range may not be an issue then, but what about charging? Surely there aren’t charging

stations littering every corner like gas stations, right? What happens when my electric car runs

low on juice and needs a charge? While charging stations aren’t quite as prominent as gas

stations are, more are being built every year. The United States has over 20,000 charging stations

throughout the entire country with over 60,000 ports (Wagner). This number will only continue

to grow as the electric car becomes more prevalent and mass produced. Many gas stations will

likely start installing electric vehicle charging stations as electric car sales increase.
 Now how does charging this electric vehicle work? Well there are a few different factors

and things to consider. Firstly, you can charge your electric car, at home, in your garage every

night after you have parked it for the day. The charger plugs directly into your 120-volt wall

outlet and generally takes between 8-10 hours to fully recharge the battery from low range,

depending on the car. You can cut that time in half with a 240-volt outlet. There are also fast

charging stations around the country that can charge the battery from 0 to 80 percent in 30

minutes.

This may seem like a drawback at first, considering a gasoline car takes maybe 2 or 3

minutes to fill from empty, but with the electric car the added benefit is the “set and forget”

factor. You can’t passively fill a gasoline car while you sleep, but with the electric car it’s as

simple as plugging in your phone. I’m sure most people reading this are used to plugging in their

cellphone before they go to bed, so why not be able to plug your car in too?

Now that we’ve established the simplicity of charging, what is the cost? How much

would it cost on my electric bill to fill my car’s battery every night? Assuming you own a tesla

model 3, and you deplete the 264-mile range battery daily, the battery would require a charge of

about 75 kwh (kilowatt hours). If you multiply that 75 kwh by the price of electricity per kwh

you’ll find the cost to fill your tesla from “empty”. In Ohio that cost would be $8.25 at the

current cost of 11 cents per kilowatt hour. Compare that with the cost to fill your current vehicle

and the savings an electric car has to offer really add up. Most people however do not drive that

much per day. Used as a commuter your electric car is more likely to see anywhere from 30-50

miles depleted from its range per day. Making the cost to recharge daily roughly 4 times less.

Not fully depleting the battery is also a good practice for ensuring the longevity of the battery.
 If you want to really compare prices on the electric car versus the conventional gasoline

car you can take that $8.25 and divide it by the 264 mile range to find a cost of 3 cents per mile

to drive a tesla. Multiply that by the average driver’s mileage per year at 15,000 and you get a

total cost of $468.75 a year to drive an electric vehicle. Now let’s compare this number to a

highly fuel-efficient non-hybrid vehicle. The 2019 Chevrolet cruze diesel gets an EPA estimated

37 miles per gallon combined. The fuel tank holds 13.5 gallons and diesel fuel currently is 3

dollars per gallon. This gives the cruze a range of 499.5 miles per tank and a fill up will cost

$40.50. This gives the cruze a cost per mile of 12.3 cents per mile. Making the cost per year at

15,000 miles a year, $1845. This simple comparison shows the potential savings of owning an

electric car.

Fig. 1. Cost per 1,000 miles, Gasoline vs Electric Vehicle. Drive clean California. "Driving on

Electricity Can be Cheaper."

While cost is still on your mind another common stereotype of the electric car is that the price

tag of a new electric car is almost double of its gasoline counterpart. Is this really the truth? Well

let’s look at the pricing of a new electric car and the equivalent gasoline car. First let’s start with

the Tesla model 3. This car’s base price tag is $35,000 dollars, now let’s compare a relatively

similar car with similar features as the model 3, the Chevrolet Impala, it has a base price of

$31,620. A $4,380 price difference may seem like a lot, but the electric car has one ace up its

sleeve here, the government tax credit and incentives used to get people buying electric cars. The

United States has been offering up to $7500 in tax credits, rebates and incentives to first time

electric car buyers. This could effectively bring the price of buying a new Tesla model 3 down to

$27,500 if you qualify. The Tesla now seems like a pretty great deal when factoring in both the

tax credits and the savings in over all fuel cost compared to an equivalent vehicle.

What about maintenance cost? Surely an electric vehicle will have some sort of catch

such as expensive routine maintenance, right? Wrong again. On average the maintenance costs

of an electric car are lower than its gasoline counterpart. No oil changes needed, no transmission

to be serviced, no exhaust system to leak. The most cumbersome routine maintenance you’ll

likely ever need on your electric car is a tire rotation. Imagine the savings from never taking your

vehicle to get its oil changed every 3 months.

Now that’s not to say a catastrophic failure of something is impossible or out of the

question but even the price of something such as an electric motor failing or the battery failing

will be relatively like an engine or transmission failure on a conventional combustion vehicle.

Replacing the electric motor or the battery pack in an electric vehicle is a lot less labor intensive

as well as they were designed to be easily removed and replaced.

 As mentioned earlier, a common point of contention in the electric car debate is the

longevity of the battery. Early electric cars were notorious for having the battery packs needing

to be replaced only 5 years after purchase. Many times, this battery replacement was not a

warranty item and would set the owner back anywhere from 5 to 15 thousand dollars. That is a

huge investment and led many owners to simply ditch their electric car, let’s face it, at that price

you can easily buy a good used car. This is no longer the case with new technology in lithium ion

batteries.

This battery failure fear is now a relic of the past for electric vehicles. Manufacturers now

offer an 8 year, 100,000 mile warranty on their battery packs. Some manufacturers even extend

that warranty to 10 years. This warranty period may sound familiar. Many vehicle manufacturers

give this same warranty period for their engines and drivetrains. The risk in owning a battery

powered vehicle is no less than owning an internal combustion vehicle with advancements in

battery technology.

Lithium ion batteries have now become extremely reliable, cheap and especially power

dense. Many lithium ion battery pack manufacturers are claiming that the longevity of the battery

packs being used in electric cars may be able to reach the 500,000-mile mark before needing

replacement. There are many variables in this number however and just like the engine in your

car, a battery pack needs proper maintenance and relatively good operating conditions in order to

stay reliable and reach this high mileage milestone.

A common misconception of these lithium ion batteries is that they are more damaging to

the environment than a conventional vehicle. Many people have been told that the production of

lithium ion batteries produces more carbon dioxide emissions than a conventional car will

produce in its lifetime. While it is true that lithium battery production produces carbon emissions
and are not completely “green”, there have been recent technological improvements in how these

batteries are produced and recycled to help lessen their carbon footprint. Unfortunately there is

no way to make this process completely green but with better recycling techniques and more

vehicles becoming electric, the negative effects of lithium battery production will be offset by

the reduction in fossil fuel emissions, resource depletion, tailpipe emissions and other serious

issues facing the electric car

Lithium mining is also heavily criticized by electric vehicle opposers as being especially

damaging to the environment. Many critics state that lithium mining causes more harm than

fossil fuel mining and is just as bad, if not worse, than fossil fuel mining. Once again, this is not

a good comparison. While lithium mining may not be entirely green, it is still less damaging to

the environment than most types of mining such as nickel, copper, cobalt, and aluminum. All of

these other battery materials have a far greater impact on the environment than lithium (Suzuki).

Current methods of lithium mining extract lithium from solid rock, but it is also possible to

extract lithium from brine. Brine is a salt like chemical found in bodies of saltwater. Lithium can

be extracted from the oceans and salt lakes around the world in a much more environmentally

friendly way (Suzuki). Lithium extracted from brine is filtered out of the water using

membranes, special filters and ion-exchanging resins. This process, however, takes much longer

than traditional lithium mining and is not the most common. Scientists are working to find ways

to make lithium brine mining quicker to make it the most convenient way to get lithium. This

will greatly reduce the carbon footprint of lithium ion batteries and electric cars.

While Lithium mining techniques improve, it’s also important to state the facts in

comparison to fossil fuel mining. The first major difference in the two methods is the areas in

which these mines are found. Most of the Lithium mined and produced in the world comes from
the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia. Both of these places are the least

hospitable places on earth with very little life and a less than fragile ecosystem. The Atacama

desert is an especially nasty place where life cannot flourish due to the immeasurably dry and

salty climate of the region. The region is the driest in the world and very few species of animals

can survive there. This makes the brine mining in the region less than harmful to the

environment local environment. Compared to fossil fuel mining which takes place wherever

fossil fuels can be found, including your own backyard at times. The mining itself isn’t

especially dangerous but a single accident can lead to an incredibly detrimental environmental

disaster. Take the 2010 oil spill by British petroleum for example. This oil spill was the worst

environmental disaster to date with over 210 million gallons of oil leaking into the Gulf of

Mexico (Ocean Portal Team). To this day the effects of that oil spill are still damaging the

ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico.

The next major difference between lithium mining and fossil fuel mining is the different

methods used and how these methods themselves impact the environment. Lithium mining uses

rock extraction mining or brine harvesting. Solid rock extraction being the more environmentally

damaging. In this method, a hole is dug and rock is extracted and crushed which then goes

through a chemical process to extract the mineral from the rock fragments. This is a typical

method of mining used by many other precious metal mines. While it may not be entirely

environmentally friendly, it is still better than fossil fuel mining. Fossil fuel mining can use many

different methods such as fracking, drilling, rock extraction for coal, and pressure mining.

Fracking has recently come under fire as one of the more detrimental and serious issues in the

fossil fuel mining industry. Fracking uses water at high pressure to extract gas from an

underground reserve (Suzuki). Fracking often can lead to natural gas to leak into ground water.
I’m sure you have likely seen a video of someone setting the water coming out of their tap on

fire. You wouldn’t want to take a flammable bath, would you? Even boiling some pasta on your

stove could prove fatal. Lithium mining pales in comparison to such mining methods.

Unfortunately, the current power producing sources in the United States use fossil fuels

to generate electricity. This has led many people to the conclusion that an electric car is pointless

because in a round-about way, it uses fossil fuels to power itself. Plugging your electric car into

the mains in America usually means your car is being charged using electricity from a

powerplant using coal, natural gas, or petroleum. In 2018 sixty-three percent of electricity

produced was from coal, natural gas and petroleum. Only 17% of the energy created was by

renewable energy sources (International Council on Clean Transport). This seems to support that

aforementioned claim unfortunately but the important thing to see is the progression of

renewable energy use in the last 10 years. In 2008 renewable energy sources produced less than

8% of the energy consumed in the United States (eia.gov). Renewable energy sources have more

than doubled in the past 10 years and if this trend continues the viability of the electric car will

become more sensible (eia.gov).

Depending on the state you live in, the electricity that would be used to power your

electric car will vary. In the western united states, you’re more likely to be using renewable

energy than in the central and midwestern states. This however can be changed if you truly want

to make a difference in your electrical needs. Depending on your region and climate, investing in

renewable energy sources can greatly benefit you, not only for charging your electric car but for

lowering your electric bill. Just like the electric car, the government is offering tax rebates and

incentives for homeowners to install renewable energy generators such as solar panels, wind

turbines and geothermal solutions. On average installing renewable energy sources on your own
home can cut your electric bill in half. The sunnier or windier the climate you live in, the more

you can save and the more you can do to help offset the negative effects of electricity production

in the united states.

Another great benefit of adding a renewable energy electrical generator to your house is

the increase in property value. Not only will you save money on your electric bill, but when it

comes time to sell you can expect an increase of up $20,000 dollars on your homes normal value.

Added to the savings on your electricity bill, installing a renewable energy source has been

shown to pay itself off in as little as 5 years depending on the type of energy source installed and

the climate in the region. When all of these benefits are added in tandem to the amount of money

an electric car can potentially save you per year, it makes your old way of living completely

obsolete.

The benefits of owning an electric car and owning a home powered by renewable energy

gives you a new type of freedom that not many others can experience. Freedom from fluctuating

fossil fuel prices, energy providers, the electrical grid and the freedom to spend saved money on

whatever you like. The benefits of electric cars and renewable energy far outweigh the negative

reservations you may have. The electric car can greatly improve your life. Change may be scary

to most but it’s time for that change. Fossil fuel is not a stable option for the future. The electric

car solves a major energy crisis in looming in the United States and in the rest of the world.

Where will you be when another oil crisis like the one in the 1970’s strikes. Now is the

opportunity to be the person passing everyone waiting in long lines at the gas pumps, paying

outrageous prices to fuel their vehicles.

The electric car is not a fancy toy for the rich, the electric car is the future of automotive

transport. The electric car can be whatever you want it to be. It can be a family hauler, a sports
car, an ecofriendly commuter car, your daily driver, or anything in between. The electric car

touts many benefits in comparison to your fuel consuming vehicle. The electric car is reliable,

has long range, is environmentally friendly, and is just as friendly to your wallet. The benefits

revealed in this research paper have shown that the electric car is the future for a sustainable,

environmentally friendlier form of transportation for all. An electric car is an investment for the

future of our planet and current electric cars are becoming better alternatives to the internal

combustion engine. With the advancements currently taking place it is safe to say that the

electric car will likely replace the internal combustion vehicle within our lifetime. Consider

owning an electric vehicle the next time you’re in the market for a car. It could be the best thing

you’ll ever do.

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https://www.driveclean.ca.gov/pev/Costs/Electricity.php. 14 November 2019.

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October 2019.

Grenvik, John. Wholesalesolar.com. 27 april 2018. article. 3 november 2019.

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Leadbeater, Chris. Exploring Chile's Atacama Desert. 4 January 2017. article. 31 October 2019.
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environment-000660." 15 May 2018. Politico.com. 20 October 2019.

Ocean Portal Team. Gulf oil spill. 9 April 2018. documentary. 1 November 2019.

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October 2019.

Taylor, Charles. The implications of electric vehicles Michael Scott. 20 October 2019.

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October 2019.

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