DOE: The Cheap, Effective, Unsubdsidized Electric Car Is Coming
Though The Department of Energy has offered only the flimsiest of evidence for the practicability of President Obama’s electric vehicle goals, Energy Secretary Steven Chu is out writing checks about the future of EVs that the industry may not be able to cash. Speaking at the installation of the 500th ChargePointAmerica charging station in Southern California, Chu explained his vision for the future to the LA Times.
“Because of increased demand, we’ve got to think of all the other things we can do in transportation. The best is efficiency,” Chu said.
Batteries are the “heart” of electric vehicles, he said, adding that the Department of Energy is funding research that will drop the cost of electric-vehicle batteries 50% in the next three or four years and double or triple their energy density within six years so “you can go from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on a single charge,” he said. “These are magical distances. To buy a car that will cost $20,000 to $25,000 without a subsidy where you can go 350 miles is our goal.”
So, a 300+ mile car costing less than $25k without a subsidy, within the the 2017 time frame. Which essentially means that within six years, the Nissan Leaf would have to triple its range and lose the equivalent of the government subsidy’s $7,500 in costs. That’s not a wholly unreasonable goal, but what’s not clear is how it will be reached. After all, the Leaf is already behind on the government’s volume predictions, and starting next year the Volt will be too. A tripling of range in one long product cycle (or two short ones) seems as optimistic as the government’s EV volume projections, which imagine 120k Volts being produced next year, as well as 5,000 of the nonexistant Fisker “Nina” PHEV. Chu’s vision is commendable, but at this point the DOE’s credibility is more than a little strained when it comes to the future of EVs.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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@Edward Niedermeyer "imagine 120k Volts being produced next year, as well as 5,000 of the nonexistant Fisker “Nina” PHEV" I don't understand why the Volt which is a PHEV makes the mention all the time but the Prius PHEV doesn't. Even the DOE does it in that 4 year projection they list cars with only 1000 units but they don't list the Prius PHEV in 2012 through 2015. Are they really unaware of Toyota's future products or is the exclusion of Toyota PHEV products a case of spin?
Either this guy's really optimistic or nobody has begun putting any effort into battery design until now. At that rate, modern batteries will be obsolete in six years.