Types of Electric Vehicles

An electric vehicle is a vehicle whose power system is entirely or partially driven by an electric motor.

New energy vehicles refer to the use of unconventional vehicle fuel as a power source (or the use of conventional vehicle fuel, but the use of new vehicle power devices), and the advanced technology formed by the comprehensive vehicle power control and driving technology. , Automobiles with new technologies and new structures.

An electric vehicle is a vehicle whose power system is fully or partially powered by an electric motor. As of July 2023, according to the development direction of technology or the driving principle of the vehicle, it can be divided into battery electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, and fuel cell vehicles.

Battery Electric Vehicles

Battery electric vehicles are vehicles that are completely powered by rechargeable power batteries (such as lead-acid power batteries, nickel-cadmium power batteries, nickel-hydrogen power batteries, or lithium power batteries). Battery electric vehicles are composed of six parts: chassis, body, power battery pack, electric motor, controller, and auxiliary facilities. Due to the excellent traction characteristics of electric motors, the transmission system of battery electric vehicles does not require clutches and transmissions. Speed control is achieved by the controller changing the speed of the motor through the speed control system. The development of battery electric vehicle technology is now quite mature, and some models in developed countries abroad and China have been put into mass production and commercial operation.

Comparison of Operating Costs between Electric and Gasoline Cars

The advantages of battery electric vehicles

Battery electric vehicles have the following advantages:

Reduce dependence on petroleum resources and achieve diversified energy utilization. Electricity can be obtained from a variety of Primary energy, such as coal, nuclear energy, water power, wind power, light, heat, etc., relieving people’s concern about the depletion of oil resources.
Reduce environmental pollution. Battery electric vehicles themselves do not emit harmful gases that pollute the atmosphere. Even when converted into emissions from power plants based on electricity consumption, except for sulfur and particulate matter, other pollutants are significantly reduced. Most power plants are built far away from densely populated cities, causing less harm to humans. Moreover, power plants are fixed and emit concentrated smoke and dust, making it easier to remove various harmful emissions. Relevant technologies have been developed.
High energy conversion efficiency. The energy conversion efficiency of battery electric vehicles exceeds that of cars with gasoline engines, especially when running in cities, where cars stop and move at low speeds, battery electric vehicles are more suitable. The same crude oil is roughly refined and sent to a power plant for power generation. The electricity generated is charged into a power battery, which then drives a battery electric vehicle. Its energy utilization efficiency is higher than that of refining it into gasoline and then driving the vehicle through a gasoline engine.
It can achieve home charging. Battery electric vehicles can be charged from home power sources, providing great convenience for users. Users can charge their cars at home or at their workplace without going to the gas station, saving time and energy. In addition, EV home chargers can also utilize low electricity prices at night for charging, saving users some costs.

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Operating costs of battery electric vehicles

According to the current global electricity prices and oil prices, the operating costs of battery electric vehicles are lower than those of traditional vehicles, and they have good economic efficiency. However, as of July 2023, battery electric vehicles still have shortcomings such as short-range and high-power battery prices.

Although battery electric vehicles have a history of over 100 years, they have always been limited to certain specific applications and have a relatively small market. The main reason is that power batteries used in electric vehicles generally have serious drawbacks such as high price, short lifespan, large size and weight, and long charging time. At present, the main types of power batteries used in electric vehicles include lead-acid power batteries, nickel-hydrogen power batteries, and lithium power batteries.

Analysis of lead-acid, nickel hydrogen, and lithium power batteries

Based on its actual cycle life and market price during installation, the cost that a battery electric vehicle must pay for extracting 1 kWh of electricity from various power batteries can be estimated. Taking the use in China as an example, assuming that the highest chargeable state of charge (SOC) of the power battery is 0.9 and the discharge SOC is 0.2, the actual available power battery capacity only accounts for 70% of the total capacity. The power supply price of the power grid is 0.5 yuan/kWh, and the average charging and discharging efficiency of the power battery is 0.75. It can be seen from the rough calculation that although only 0.5 yuan/kWh is needed to get power from the power grid, the power battery is charged and then taken from the power battery:

For every 1 kWh of electricity provided by lead-acid power batteries, the price is about 3.05 yuan, of which 2.38 yuan is the depreciation cost of the power battery and 0.67 yuan is the power grid supply fee.
The cost of providing 1 kWh of electricity from nickel-hydrogen power batteries is 9.6 yuan.
The cost of providing 1 kWh of electricity from lithium power batteries is 10.2 yuan.

The power supply cost of the latter two advanced power batteries is more than three times that of lead-acid power batteries.

Lead-acid power battery

At present, in the Chinese market, diesel engines are used for power generation at a price of about 3 yuan/kWh, while gasoline engines are used for power generation at a price of about 4 yuan/kWh. This means that the price of providing electricity from lead-acid power batteries is roughly equal to that of diesel engines. Considering only the cost of obtaining energy, using lead-acid power batteries has a certain price advantage over gasoline engines. However, due to the bulky nature of lead-acid power batteries and the long charging time, Therefore, it is only widely used in all kinds of field cars, golf carts, Garbage truck, forklifts, and electric bicycles with a speed of less than 50km/h. The practice has proved that lead-acid power batteries have strong competitiveness and practicability in this low-end product market.

Nickel hydrogen power battery

Compared to lead-acid power batteries, nickel-hydrogen power batteries have increased their energy volume density by three times and their specific power by ten times. Although nickel-hydrogen power batteries have advantages such as high specific energy and specific power, and longer relative lifespan, the price of nickel-hydrogen power batteries remains high due to the fact that nickel metal accounts for 60% of their cost. A nickel hydrogen power battery is not an ideal power battery for electric vehicles, it may only be a transitional power battery. At present, nickel-hydrogen power batteries are still the preferred power batteries for electric vehicles in the near and medium term. With the large-scale production and cost reduction of lithium power batteries, nickel-hydrogen power batteries will eventually exit.

Lithium power battery

Lithium power battery technology has developed rapidly. In the past 10 years, its specific energy has increased from 100Wh/kg to 180Wh/kg, with a specific power of up to 2000W/kg, a cycle life of over 1000 cycles, and a working temperature range of -40~55 ℃. In recent years, due to the significant breakthrough in the research and development of Lithium iron phosphate power batteries, the safety of lithium power batteries has been greatly improved. At present, many developed countries have made lithium-ion power batteries the main focus of electric vehicle power batteries. It is expected that after 2020, the cost-effectiveness of lithium power batteries is expected to reach a level where they can compete with lead-acid power batteries, making them the main power batteries for future electric vehicles.

Summary

The technical difficulty of battery electric vehicles is lower than that of plug-in hybrid vehicles. Currently, the various performance indicators of the upcoming battery electric vehicles in China can meet the needs of ordinary users, and the technology is basically mature. In the low-end market, the economic advantages of battery electric vehicles are very obvious. The lagging construction of charging networks has affected the convenience of using battery electric vehicles, which is currently the main factor restricting the development of battery electric vehicles. With the continuous improvement of charging network construction, the development speed of battery electric vehicles will be faster, especially in the low-end market where the share of battery electric vehicles will significantly increase. However, due to charging constraints, it is difficult to popularize it in the high-end market.

Comparison of Lead acid Nickel hydrogen and Lithium Batteries

Hybrid electric vehicle

The cost-effectiveness of battery electric vehicles, which are completely powered by power batteries, has long been far lower than that of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, making it difficult to compete with traditional cars. Since the 1990s, major car companies around the world have been developing hybrid vehicles. Toyota, Japan, was the first to introduce the “Prius” hybrid vehicle to the market in 1997, and in Japan, Great success has been achieved in the markets of the United States and various European countries, with cumulative production and sales exceeding 600000 vehicles. Subsequently, Japanese Honda, American Ford, General Motors, and some major European companies also launched various types of hybrid vehicles to the market.

Ordinary hybrid vehicles

Ordinary hybrid vehicles use the surplus power of the engine to charge the power battery, without the need for external charging. Ordinary hybrid vehicles refer to vehicles that use conventional fuel and are equipped with power batteries and electric motors to improve low-speed power output and fuel consumption. Hybrid electric vehicles can be divided into micro hybrid, light hybrid, medium hybrid, and strong hybrid based on their degree of mixing (i.e. the ratio of electric motor power to engine power or the ratio of electricity to fuel).

Working Principle of a Ordinary Hybrid Vehicle

Advantages of regular hybrid vehicles

The advantages of regular hybrid vehicles include:

After adopting hybrid power, the maximum power of the engine can be determined based on the average required power, and it operates under the optimal conditions of low fuel consumption and low pollution. When high power is needed (insufficient engine power), it is supplemented by a power battery; When the load is low, the excess power can be used to charge the power battery, the engine can continue to work, and the power battery can be continuously charged.
Because of the power battery, it is very convenient to recover energy during braking, downhill, and idle, and reuse it as electrical energy, thereby reducing energy waste.
In bustling urban areas, the engine can be turned off and powered solely by the power battery, achieving “zero emissions”.
It can easily solve the problems encountered by battery electric vehicles such as air conditioning, heating, and defrosting which consume a lot of energy.

Disadvantages of Ordinary Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Long distance high-speed driving is basically not fuel-efficient, and there are two sets of power. In addition, the management and control system of the two sets of power has a complex structure, difficult technology, and high prices.

The Development Status of Ordinary Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Although the energy-saving effect is obvious, it has not fundamentally solved the problem of transportation consuming petroleum resources. Therefore, ordinary hybrid vehicles are a transitional technology during the development process of electric vehicles.

Among the current new energy vehicles, ordinary hybrid vehicles have the most mature technology and have been successfully commercialized. As they do not require charging, the convenience of using ordinary hybrid vehicles is the best among new energy vehicles. At present, the comprehensive cost of ordinary hybrid vehicles is higher than that of gasoline vehicles, and the obvious disadvantage in terms of the economy will seriously affect the development of ordinary hybrid vehicles.

Plug-in hybrid vehicle

The plug-in hybrid vehicle developed in recent years is a new type of hybrid vehicle. The power battery is charged through an external charging power source, and after charging, the onboard power battery can be used as the driving force for electric vehicles. In addition, after the remaining power of the power battery is used up, it is not switched to engine driving mode, but to use the engine to drive the generator, which uses the generated electricity to charge the power battery and continue to drive the vehicle with an electric motor. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are closer to battery electric vehicles, and to some extent, they solve the problems of short range and the need for timely charging in battery electric vehicles. Even when driving to places without charging facilities, they can still be used as general hybrid vehicles.

The technology of plug-in hybrid vehicles is relatively mature, but currently, only a few leading enterprises in China have mastered the core technology of plug-in hybrid vehicles, and most other automobile production enterprises are still in the research and development stage. The convenience of using plug-in hybrid vehicles is not as good as that of gasoline vehicles, but it is better than battery electric vehicles, basically reaching a range acceptable to consumers. In China, due to the tilt of national policies, the comprehensive cost of plug-in hybrid vehicles is currently lower than that of gasoline vehicles. With strong support from subsidy policies in various countries, plug-in hybrid vehicles are likely to become the fastest-growing new energy vehicles in the near future.

Fuel cell vehicles

Fuel cell vehicles refer to vehicles that use hydrogen, methanol, and other fuels to generate electrical energy through chemical reactions and are driven by electric motors. The working principle of a fuel cell vehicle is that hydrogen, as a fuel, reacts chemically with oxygen in the atmosphere in the fuel cell equipped with the vehicle, generating electricity to supply the electric motor and drive the vehicle. The chemical reaction process of the fuel cell will not produce harmful products, so the fuel cell vehicle is a pollution-free vehicle, and the Energy conversion efficiency of the fuel cell is 2-3 times higher than that of the internal combustion engine. Therefore, from the perspective of energy utilization and environmental protection, fuel cell technology is the best alternative to internal combustion engine technology, and fuel cell vehicle represents the future development direction of electric vehicles.

At present, many key technologies of fuel cells are still in the research and development testing stage. In addition, the ideal fuel for fuel cells – hydrogen – still has a large number of technical, safety, and economic issues to be solved in terms of preparation, supply, storage, and transportation. Therefore, fuel cell vehicles currently and for some time to come do not have the conditions for commercialization.

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