OPEN LETTER TO LAWMAKERS AND AUTOMAKERS ALIKE

After the rush to make zero emission vehicles to comply with California (CARB) tough laws in 1990, and subsequent supreme court relief of those regulations years later, American automakers are struggling on the same tune again. 

However this time is to fulfil market demand, foreign oil independence and environmental pressures. Nevertheless advanced battery prices and safety issues are holding all concepts from reaching manufacturing stage. They cost about five times the price of a conventional lead-acid battery and tending to go even higher, should lithium become scarce due to widespread use, speculation or manipulation from supplying countries down the road. Couple-of-years life span, uncertain recyclability and risks of overheating are also on the drawback list.
 
Tesla Motors had to put a price tag of $100,000 for its roadster mostly to cover the cost of seven thousand lithium cells installed in the vehicle. And that does not include the battery replacement expenses after a couple of years. In order to keep “Prius” plug-in hybrid sedan (PHEV) affordable, Toyota had to avoid lithium-ion technology, plus limit the size of their battery pack to propel the car on electric mode alone, to a modest range of eight miles driven at golf-cart speeds. “Normal” hybrid (HEV) “Prius”, Ford Escape, etc. can travel slowly only about a mile on electricity alone. Civic, Insight, GM trucks and other mild hybrids, not even that much.

There is a proprietary project, let us call it Project “X”, of novel concepts and highway capable electric driven vehicles conceived around the batteries that are established and infra-structured in the world market for over a century. They are fully recyclable and made with the second most abundant metal in this planet…lead. Many companies are improving their performance and reliability. One of them is Firefly Energy Co. (Caterpillar spin-off), another is Ebonex with bipolar technology. Both have brought their Wh/kg ratio close to the advanced ones, while keeping low price and high recyclability to the level of their conventional counterparts. 

The “X” concepts were designed from the ground-up on a unique platform and feature a huge energy storage area (15 cu. ft.), with plenty of room for premium performance and operating range, even using plain good ol’ lead-acid batteries. Extra weight will be used to increase stability, comfort of ride and safety of the passengers. Super-capacitors could also be sharing space inside the power-pack containers to enhance performance on extreme demands and temperatures.

Besides many advantages on safety, maneuverability, comfort, easy manufacturing, novel distribution systems, affordability, plug-in capabilities, etc., concepts also feature exchangeable power-pack containers. Technically speaking they could travel from coast-to-coast running on electricity alone, exchanging battery packs on the way. Automated charging/collecting/dispensing stations are also part of the project, which has the input of many engineers working for the big three in Detroit. It was considered unique and technically feasible also by a panel of DOE’s FreedomCAR and Advanced Technologies in Washington, DC.

Why should we wait for a “miracle breakthrough” when affordable platforms, energy storage infrastructure and other technologies are available right now? Whenever “it” happens, “X” concepts were designed to take any kind of energy storage device that might appear in the future, including fuel cell stacks, without any modification. Their novel adjustable suspension system will take care of weight differences.
Roberto DePaschoal  - Project “X” – info@ev-motion.com