Battery EV is much more efficient than hydrogen fuel cell car

 Battery EV is  3.3 times more efficient comparing with hydrogen fuel cell vehicle and 5.6 times more efficient than conventional internal combustion vehicles  if hashtag renewable electricity is primary energy source.

Explosive growth of EVs global fleet over the next 20 years

The global EV fleet passed the 5‑million mark in 2018, which represents more than tenfold growth since 2013 (IEA, 2019). Despite the phenomenal recent growth, EVs still represent less than 0.5% of the total world stock of the cars on the road, estimated in the range of 1.2-1.4 billion (BNEF, 2019; carsguide, 2018).

BloomberNEF’s analysis slows that over the next 20 years fast growth of EVs will continue in all road transport vehicle segments (see the diagram above). It is expected that the shares of electric cars and electric buses will reach 30% and 65% in 2040, respectively.

Among commercial vehicles, a higher share of freight moves to smaller vehicles due to urbanization, city restrictions, and economics. 

Do you need to own a car to have a ride?

And the answer, of course, is no; there are better options even if not considering using public transport. 

When owning a car, you have a bunch of duties, responsibilities, and costs (see the table above). You have to manage car financing and insurance, service and repair, maintenance and cleaning, garage and parking, etc. Shared mobility services like car share, car rental, city car schemes, and taxi ride-share are the viable options which allow you to avoid car ownership. 

Hyperloop Pod prototypes competition in California

27 teams from the US and around the world participated in the world's first Hyperloop Pod Competition just outside SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA, USA. Acceleration of the development of functional prototypes and encouragement of student innovation to design and build the best high-speed pod were the purposes of the competition.

GHG standards for light-duty vehicles: U.S. automaker performance report

National Program consisting of standards for light-duty vehicles that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve fuel economy was established by U.S. EPA  and requires compliance with progressively more stringent GHG emission standards for the 2012 through 2025 model years. According to the annual GHG Performance Report, which formally documents the status of auto company compliance with the GHG standards, the auto industry outperformed the GHG standard by a substantial margin for the fourth consecutive year.

Global EVs sales have risen nine-fold over last 5 years, while price of battery packs fell 65%

Costs of lithium-ion battery packs used in EVs fell 65 percent over the period 2010–15 – down to $350/kWh, and continue to drop. It happens faster than was expected because economy of scale, improvements in battery chemistry and better battery management systems.

Globally number of electric cars on the roads has doubled in 2015 and reached 1.26 million

In 2014, only about half of today’s electric car stock existed, while in 2005, electric cars were measured in hundreds, according to new IEA report. 80% of the electric cars on road worldwide are located in the United States, China, Japan, the Netherlands and Norway. China is leading the global deployment of electric bus fleets, with more than 170 000 buses already circulating today.

Taking a bus for commute is 30 times safer than driving a car!

This finding comes from a new study by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). Travel by public transportation is far safer than car travel. Intercity and commuter passengers have about one-20th, urban rail and bus passengers about one-30th, per billion passenger-miles as car travel. Public transit-oriented communities have less than a fifth the total (pedestrian, cyclist, automobile and transit passenger) per capita traffic fatality rates as in automobile-dependent communities.

Motorised wheel can turn regular bicycle into electric bike

With EVELO's Omni Wheel, virtually any bike becomes an electric bike within 30 minutes, that gives you a boost of power when you need it. You can ride with the speed up to 17 miles per hour. 

EV battery prices are expected to drop 2-4 times in next six years

IEA's report states that the year 2015 saw the global threshold of 1 million electric cars on the road exceeded, closing at 1.26 million. In 2014, only about half of today's electric car stock existed. 2015 also saw more than 200 million electric two wheelers on the road,and 170 000 buses, primarily in China.

Fuel cell demo buses are almost twice more fuel efficient than conventional buses

Recent NREL's report provides a summary of results from evaluations of the fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) demonstration projects in California. The results for these buses account for more than 1,045,000 miles traveled and 83,000 hours of fuel cell power system operation.

Solar Impulse 2: flight from Hawaii to California without a single drop of fuel

The experimental solar-powered aircraft SI2, piloted by Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and working on circumnavigating the planet, landed yesterday in California after 62:29 hours flight across the Pacific.

Iron-phosphate EV batteries power London double-decker buses

A fleet of five new double-decker electric buses please commuters and tourists with a quiet zero-emission ride. The buses are equipped with BYD-designed and built iron-phosphate batteries, delivering 345 kWh of power that can power the bus for over 24 hours and up to 190 miles with a single daily recharging requiring only four hours.

Five technologies signaling about energy revolution happening now

The 2015 Revolution…Now report, recently released by the U.S. Department of Energy, shows a dramatic increase in deployment and a decrease in cost of  transformational technologies: wind turbines, solar technologies, electric vehicles (EVs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). 
Between 2008 and 2014, land-based wind turbines accounted for 31 percent of all new generation capacity installed in the U.S., while their cost was reduced by about 40%. 

Most and least energy efficient U.S. states in 2015

To identify the most energy-efficient states, the personal finance website WalletHub measured the efficiency of car- and home-energy consumption in 48 U.S. states. New York, Vermont, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Utah are among most energy efficient states, and Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, Louisiana and South Carolina are least energy efficient. 

Graphene to improve cars' energy efficiency

Scientists from The University of Manchester working with European Thermodynamics Ltd have increased the potential for low cost thermoelectric materials to be used more widely in the automotive industry. Adding a small amount of graphene to the base oxide thermoelectric materials, operating temperatures of which can be around 700 degrees Celsius, can reduce the thermal operating window to room temperature which offers a huge range of potential for applications.

Swiss researchers tested solar-powered aircraft

An experimental solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 has large fixed wing covered from tip to tip with 17,000 photovoltaic cells providing 340kW of electric power. The aircraft is powered by taking off in the daylight and rising to an altitude of 9,000m as the sun charges its batteries.