CSA Online Types of EVs and “green” vehicles Battery electric vehicle (BEV) These are the “true” electric vehicles with batteries and electric motors as their only means of locomotion. Don’t have juice? You’re not driving. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can charge using household current via a standard 120volt household plug, but it’ll be slow. Factor the cost of getting a 240v quick charger into the purchase price. EV charging infrastructure has come a long way. Charging stations are not an uncommon sight in parking lots. Anecdotally speaking fromwhere I sit in the Greater Toronto Area, more and more workplaces offer charging stations to their employees, too. Some EVmodels also offer fast charging and can go from a 0% to 80% charge in as few as 30minutes, using a direct current (DC) public charging station. As we’ve said, EVs can offer cost savings over the long term and, in terms of personal environmental impact, we can feel good about going electric. Examples: T esla Model 3 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Ford Mustang Mach-E Hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) Toyota’s Prius is probably what comes tomind when thinking of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). It is the most recognizable name in the category, despite the fact that in 2020, sales of the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid surpassed those of the Prius. A hybrid vehicle has an internal combustion engine (ICE) as its primary means of getting you from A to B. This “traditional” engine and drivetrain is supplemented by a battery system and electric motor(s). The engine and regenerative braking (that is, recovering energy that would otherwise be lost when stopping) is what charges the small batteries. At low speeds and over short distances, HEVs can run on electric power alone and also cut idling to save fuel. The electric components can also augment the primary ICE, allowing vehicles with smaller, more fuel-efficient engines to save fuel without a major compromise to performance. As a result, HEVs boast impressive km/litre numbers. In other words, you’ll pump less. Examples: Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Ford Fusion Hybrid Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Trying for a bit of the best of both worlds, a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) offers some of the benefits of both a gasoline engine and an all-electric powertrain. The “plug-in” designation means that you can charge the battery from the wall. While it’s possible to tool around town without using any gas, range is limited, generally to less than 60 km (56 km or 35 miles). There are two types of plug-in hybrid; series drivetrain and parallel drivetrain. In series, the electric motor drives. The internal combustion engine is effectively a generator providing electric power. In a parallel plug-in hybrid, either or both the electric motor and the internal combustion engine can drive. If most of your driving consists of local trips, but going full EV feels like too big a step, the plug-in hybrid category is definitely worth a look. Examples: Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid Kia Niro PHEV Toyota RAV4 Prime Fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) A long-standing but lesser-known category of EVs, the fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) uses pure hydrogen that undergoes an electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell (i.e., no combustion) to generate power for the electric drivetrain. On paper, this category answers the biggest concerns which we have with electric vehicles: charging and range anxiety. Fuelling takes fewer than four minutes and will take drivers as far as a full charge or a full tank would. It answers the biggest concern that we have with gasoline engines: emissions. FCEVs emit nothing but pure water and warm air. The problem: the infrastructure to support consumer FCEVs barely exists. Have you ever passed a hydrogen fuelling station on the highway? Unlikely, given that there are only seven public stations in all of Canada. While promising, consumer FCEVs have a chicken/ egg problem. Fuel cell technology shows more immediate promise elsewhere, though. Looking at the public and commercial sectors, it has clear applications for buses, trains, planes, boats, submarines, forklifts, trucks, “drones” and mobile power generation stations (to name a few) and, indeed, has already seen some implementation. In these applications, fuelling infrastructure is already built into the logistics model. Buses already return to the depot to fuel, for example, and warehousing, trucking, shipping, etc. – the supply chain in general – is already orchestrated around the need to power the various machines that keep things running. So, while consumer FCEVs aren’t ready for primetime, fuel cell technology itself shows a lot of promise. Examples: Toyota Mirai Honda Clarity (discontinued) Hyundai Nexo Hyundai XCIENT Fuel Cell Truck CSANews | WINTER 2022 | 57
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