Battery electric vehicle
A battery electric vehicle, pure electric vehicle, only-electric vehicle, fully electric vehicle or all-electric vehicle is a type of electric vehicle that uses electrical energy exclusively from an on-board battery pack to power one or more electric traction motors, on which the vehicle solely relies for propulsion.
This definition excludes hybrid electric vehicles, which use internal combustion engines in adjunct to electric motors for propulsion; and fuel cell electric vehicles and range-extended electric vehicles, which consume fuel through a fuel cell or an ICE-driven generator to produce electricity needed for the electric motors. BEVs have no fuel tanks and replenish their energy storage by plugging into a charging station, electrical grid or getting a new battery at a battery swap station, and use motor controllers to modulate the output engine power and torque, thus eliminating the need for clutches, transmissions and sophisticated engine cooling as seen in conventional ICE vehicles. BEVs include – but are not limited to – all battery-driven electric cars, buses, trucks, forklifts, motorcycles and scooters, bicycles, skateboards, railcars, boat and personal watercraft, although in common usage the term usually refers specifically to passenger cars.
In 2016, there were 210 million electric bikes worldwide used daily. Cumulative global sales of highway-capable light-duty pure electric car vehicles passed the one million unit milestone in September 2016., the world's top-selling all-electric car in history is the Tesla Model Y, with an estimated 3.4 million sales, followed by the Tesla Model 3 with over 2.6 million sales, and the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV with 1.4 million sales as of 2024.
History
During the 1880s, Gustave Trouvé, Thomas Parker and Andreas Flocken built experimental electric cars, but the first practical battery electric vehicles appeared during the 1890s. Battery vehicle milk floats expanded in 1931, and by 1967, gave Britain the largest electric vehicle fleet in the world.Terminology
s use both electric motors and internal combustion engines, and are not considered pure or all-electric vehicles.Hybrid electric vehicles whose batteries can be charged externally are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and run as BEVs during their charge-depleting mode. PHEVs with a series powertrain are also called range-extended electric vehicles, such as the Chevrolet Volt and Fisker Karma.
Plug-in electric vehicles are a subcategory of electric vehicles that includes battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
The electric vehicle conversions of hybrid electric vehicles and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles belong to one of the two categories.
In China, plug-in electric vehicles, together with hybrid electric vehicles are called new energy vehicles. However, in the United States, neighborhood electric vehicles are battery electric vehicles that are legally limited to roads with posted speed limits no higher than, are usually built to have a top speed of, and have a maximum loaded weight of.
Vehicles by type
The concept of battery electric vehicles is to use charged batteries on board vehicles for propulsion. Battery electric cars are becoming more and more attractive with the higher oil prices and the advancement of new battery technology that have higher power and energy density. Compared to older battery types such as lead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries for example now have an energy density of 0.9–2.63 MJ/L whereas lead-acid batteries had an energy density of 0.36 MJ/L. There is still a long way to go if comparing it to petroleum-based fuels and biofuels, however. This is partially offset by higher conversion efficiency of electric motors – BEVs travel roughly 3x further than similar-size internal combustion vehicles per MJ of stored energy.BEVs include automobiles, light trucks, and neighborhood electric vehicles.
Rail
- Battery electric railcars:
Other countries have also tested or ordered such vehicles.
- Locomotives:
- Electric rail trolley
Battery electric trams
Bus
, operates nine zero-fare electric buses, which have been in operation since 1992 and have carried 11.3 million passengers and covered a distance of. They were made locally by Advanced Vehicle Systems. Two of these buses were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.Beginning in the summer of 2000, Hong Kong Airport began operating a 16-passenger Mitsubishi Rosa electric shuttle bus, and in the fall of 2000, New York City began testing a 66-passenger battery-powered school bus, an all-electric version of the Blue Bird TC/2000. A similar bus was operated in Napa Valley, California, for 14 months ending in April 2004.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics used a fleet of 50 electric buses, which have a range of with the air conditioning on. They use lithium-ion batteries, and consume about. The buses were designed by the Beijing Institute of Technology and built by the Jinghua Coach. The batteries are replaced with fully charged ones at the recharging station to allow 24-hour operation of the buses.
In France, the electric bus phenomenon is in development, but some buses are already operating in numerous cities. PVI, a medium-sized company located in the Paris region, is one of the leaders of the market with its brand Gepebus.
In the United States, the first battery-electric, fast-charge bus has been in operation in Pomona, California, since September 2010 at Foothill Transit. The Proterra EcoRide BE35 uses lithium-titanate batteries and is able to fast-charge in less than 10 minutes.
In 2012, heavy-duty trucks and buses contributed 7% of global warming emissions in California.
In 2014, the first production model all-electric school bus was delivered to the Kings Canyon Unified School District in California's San Joaquin Valley. The bus was one of four the district ordered. This battery-electric school bus, which has four sodium nickel batteries, is the first modern electric school bus approved for student transportation by any state.
In 2016, including the light heavy-duty vehicles, there were roughly 1.5 million heavy-duty vehicles in California.
The same technology is used to power the Mountain View Community Shuttles. This technology was supported by the California Energy Commission, and the shuttle program is being supported by Google.
Thunder Sky
Thunder Sky builds lithium-ion batteries used in submarines and has three models of electric buses, the 10/21 passenger EV-6700 with a range of under 20 mins quick-charge, the EV-2009 city buses, and the 43 passenger EV-2008 highway bus, which has a range of under quick-charge, and under full charge. The buses will also be built in the United States and Finland.Free Tindo
Tindo is an all-electric bus from Adelaide, Australia. The Tindo is made by Designline International in New Zealand and gets its electricity from a solar PV system on Adelaide's central bus station. Rides are zero-fare as part of Adelaide's public transport system.First Fast-Charge, Battery-Electric Transit Bus
's EcoRide BE35 transit bus, called the Ecoliner by Foothill Transit in West Covina, California, is a heavy-duty, fast charge, battery-electric bus. Proterra's ProDrive drive-system uses a UQM motor and regenerative braking that captures 90 percent of the available energy and returns it to the TerraVolt energy storage system, which in turn increases the total distance the bus can drive by 31–35 percent. It can travel on a single charge, is up to 600 percent more fuel-efficient than a typical diesel or CNG bus, and produces 44 percent less carbon than CNG. Proterra buses have had several problems, most notably in Philadelphia where the entire fleet was removed from service.Trucks
For most of the 20th century, the majority of the world's battery electric road vehicles were British milk floats. The 21st century saw the massive development of BYD electric trucks.Vans
In March 2012, Smith Electric Vehicles announced the release of the Newton Step-Van, an all-electric, zero-emission vehicle built on the versatile Newton platform that features a walk-in body produced by Indiana-based Utilimaster.Due to a lack of BEV van offerings by legacy auto makers, in December 2014, Deutsche Post DHL purchased the Aachen-based StreetScooter company, to produce battery electric mail delivery vans according to their needs. In addition, BYD supplies DHL with electric distribution fleet of commercial BYD T3.
Cars
Although electric cars often give good acceleration and have generally acceptable top speed, the lower electric potential energy of production batteries available in 2015 compared with the chemical potential energy of carbon-based fuels means that electric cars need batteries that are a fairly large fraction of the vehicle mass but still often give a relatively low range between charges. Recharging can also take significant lengths of time. For journeys within a single battery charge, rather than long journeys, electric cars are practical forms of transportation and can be recharged overnight.Electric cars can significantly reduce city pollution by having zero emissions. Vehicle greenhouse gas savings depend on how the electricity is generated.
Electric cars are having a major impact in the auto industry given advantages in city pollution, less dependence on oil and combustion, and scarcity and expected rise in gasoline prices. World governments are pledging billions to fund development of electric vehicles and their components.
Formula E is a fully electric international single-seater championship. The series was conceived in 2012, and the inaugural championship started in Beijing on 13 September 2014. The series is sanctioned by the FIA. Alejandro Agag is the current CEO of Formula E.
The Formula E championship is currently contested by ten teams with two drivers each. Racing generally takes place on temporary city-center street circuits which are approximately long. Currently, only the Mexico City ePrix takes place on a road course, a modified version of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.