Page - 58 - in Emerging Technologies for Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

Energies 2017,10, 1217 adoptbetterpeakshavingstrategiesaswellas to integraterenewablesources. EVfleetscan leadto $200 to$300savings incostpervehicleperyear [161,162]. 8.4. ImpactsonMotorSports Hybrid technologiesarenotusedextensively inmotorsports toenhance theperformanceof the vehicles. Electricvehiclesnowhavetheirownformularacingseriesnamed‘FormulaE’ [163]which startedinBeijinginSeptember2014.AutonomousEVsarealsobeingplannedtotakepart inasegment of this seriescalled ‘Roborace’. 9.Barriers toEVAdoption Althoughelectricvehiclesofferalotofpromises, theyarestillnotwidelyadopted,andthereasons behindthatarequiteseriousaswell. 9.1. TechnologicalProblems Themain obstacles that have frustrated EVs’ domination are the drawbacks of the related technology. Batteries are themain area of concern as their contribution to theweight of the car is significant. Rangeandchargingperiodalsodependonthebattery. These factors,alongwitha few others,aredemonstratedbelow: 9.1.1. LimitedRange EVsareheldbackby thecapacityof theirbatteries [4]. Theyhaveacertainamountof energy storedthere,andcantraveladistance that thestoredenergyallows. Therangealsodependsonthe speedof thevehicle,drivingstyle, cargothevehicle iscarrying, the terrain it isbeingdrivenon,and theenergyconsumingservices running in thecar, forexampleair conditioning. Thiscauses ‘range anxiety’ among theusers [81],which indicates theconcernaboutfindingachargingstationbefore thebatterydrainsout. Peopleare foundtobewilling tospendupto$75extra foranextrarangeof onemile [164]. ThougheventhecurrentBEVsarecapableof traversingequivalentormoredistance thana conventional vehicle can travelwith a full tank (TeslaModel S 100Dhas a rangeof almost 564kmon19”wheelswhenthe temperature is70 ◦Candtheair conditioning isoff [24], theChevrolet Bolt’s range is238milesor383km[165]), rangeanxietyremainsamajorobstacle forEVs toovercome. Thisdoesnotaffect theuseofEVsforurbanareas though,as inmostcases this range isenoughfor dailycommutation insidecity limits. Rangeextenders,whichproduceelectricity fromfuel,arealso availablewithmodels likeBMWi3asanoption.Vehicleswithsuchfacilitiesarecurrentlybeingcalled asExtendedRangeElectricVehicles (EREV). 9.1.2. LongChargingPeriod AnothermajordownsideofEVs is the long time theyneed toget charged. Dependingon the typeofchargerandbatterypack, chargingcantake fromafewminutes tohours; this trulymakesEVs incompetentagainsttheICEvehicleswhichonlytakeafewminutestogetrefueled.Hidrueetal., found out that, tohaveanhourdecreasedfromthechargingtime;peoplearewilling topay$425–$3250 [164]. Away tomake the charging time faster is to increase thevoltage level andemployment of better chargers. Somefastchargingfacilitiesareavailableatpresent,andmorearebeingstudied. Thereare also the fuelcellvehicles thatdonotrequirecharging likeotherEVs. Fillingupthehydrogentankis all thathas tobedone incaseof thesevehicles,which isasconvenientasfillingupafuel tank,but FCVsneedsufficienthydrogenrefuelingstationsandafeasiblewaytoproduce thehydrogen inorder to thrive. 58