Lithium News

Downtown Columbus’ first charging station for drivers of plug-in electric cars was installed Wednesday.

The ChargePoint charger is located in front of the Tennessee Williams Home and Welcome Center, at 300 Main St. The Columbus Light and Water board voted two months ago to lease the charger from the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association for five years, ending in 2024, CLW director Todd Gale said.

Area attorney Gawyn Mitchell was one of the first to use it, charging his 2015 Tesla Model S 85D there during an unveiling ceremony Friday. Mitchell primarily uses a personal charger at his home.

He bought his car in February — not because he sought an eco-conscious car, but rather to move away from gas.

“That’s what I’m about, not having to rely on the oil,” Mitchell said.

The station can service any electric vehicle (EV) regardless of make and model, Gale said. The cost of charging is 75 cents per hour. Charging time is dependent on the vehicle type.

The location was selected with city residents, tourists and people traveling through town in mind. The station itself comes equipped with a screen so local businesses have the opportunity to advertise there.

“It’s close to downtown, so people can park, shop around and leave,” Gale said.

With the future of automotive travel headed away from gas-powered cars, he said he’s “pretty sure that this is going to be the first of a few” leased by the board.

It’s the 11th public charging station in a 15-kilometer radius of the city, according to ChargeHub, an app that maps charging stations nationwide.

Other stations in the area include those at Fairfield Inn and Suites by Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott and Hampton Inn and Suites, all off Highway 45. Each of the hotels has Tesla-specific chargers except for Fairfield Inn and Suites, which offers a charger compatible with various electric cars.

Columbus Nissan, located at 100 MS-12, has a charger compatible with a variety of cars, too.

A small but growing industry

The presence of electric cars is growing in the state. Sales doubled from 2017 to 2018, although Mississippians still drive electric vehicles at the lowest per-capita rate in the United States, said Matt Doude, associate director of Mississippi State University’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.

Doude conducts research focused on electric and autonomous vehicles at the center. He said only about 0.2 percent of new car sales in 2018 were plug-in hybrids or electric vehicles.

“You have states like California where the number is closer to 10 percent,” Doude said.

The state also has a low number of charging stations proportionate to the number of electric cars. There are 164 public charging outlets total, according to data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.

Of Mississippi’s total population — approximately 2.9 million people — 51.2 percent live in rural areas, making up the fourth largest rural population in the country. But other states with significant rural populations, including Montana and North Dakota, still outpace Mississippi in terms of electric car sales, Doude said.

The perception of energy-efficient vehicles in the South as slow or small can explain the low numbers of sales among some states in the region, as well as few readily-available energy-efficient pickup trucks, he said.

“People here love obviously pickup trucks … and there are really no plug-in hybrid pickup trucks readily available,” Doude said. “Those are coming soon, but there aren’t many right now, and that’s probably put a damper on it here.”

A lack of tax credits for private citizens likely affects the state’s rate, too. However, a new wave of consumers is expected around 2025, when gas-powered cars are predicted to cost more than electric vehicles, Doude said.

“That’s kind of a big tipping point that’s been on the horizon for a while,” Doude said.

The US city of San Francisco has released its “Electric Vehicle Roadmap” policy document, which will help steer the city on a transition to fossil fuel-free transport by 2040.

The city released its proposed Electric Vehicle Roadmap for San Francisco policy document, which will help steer the city on a transition to fossil fuel-free transport by 2040.

The roadmap is marked by numerous interim targets, including more renewables-powered infrastructure.

The Roadmap also plots out six key areas for action, including raising public awareness of electric mobility, the development of charging infrastructure, incentivising zero-emission vehicles adoption, grid integration of renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) charging, transitioning medium-and-heavy vehicles to zero-emissions technology, and supporting emission-free technologies in emerging mobility options.

The plan further proposes that, amongst other goals, all large commercial parking garages and lots – specifically those with 100 parking spaces or more, install EV charging points for at least one-tenth of the spaces. The plan will affect more than 300 parking locations in the city.

Furthermore, the city and its partners intend having 340 new EV charging stations installed in municipal parking lots across the city.

“By including a lower rate in our proposed TNC Traffic Congestion Tax for electric vehicles, by transitioning our public Muni fleet to electric and by requiring more charging station opportunities, we’re giving San Franciscans options and incentives to go green,” says Mayor London Breed. He added: “Of course we’d like to see walking, biking, and public transit prioritized but if San Franciscans are going to drive, we hope they go electric.”

The Roadmap asserts that San Francisco is a “Transit First” city, where numerous modes of mobility are both available and more affordable.

In April 2019, San Francisco mayor London Breed announced a plan to ensure that all commercial buildings in the city larger than 50,000 square feet be powered by renewable energy by 2030.

The roadmap is marked by numerous interim targets, including more renewables-powered infrastructure.

“By including a lower rate in our proposed TNC Traffic Congestion Tax for electric vehicles, by transitioning our public Muni fleet to electric and by requiring more charging station opportunities, we’re giving San Franciscans options and incentives to go green,” says Mayor London Breed. He added: “Of course we’d like to see walking, biking, and public transit prioritized but if San Franciscans are going to drive, we hope they go electric.”

The jet engine could be on the verge of getting electrified. One of the biggest sources of carbon, accounting for two percent of global emissions, could soon join the car in the shift to ditch fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy.

Electrifying the jet has been the dream of numerous tech executives: Tesla CEO Elon Musk discussed the idea as early as 2009. EasyJet, Airbus and Siemens have all expressed an interest.

The biggest hurdle in front of the full-blown jet idea, though, is battery energy density. At the moment, electric car batteries hold around 250 watt-hours per kilogram. Musk has often said that batteries for aircraft need to reach 500 watt-hours per kilogram, if they have any hope of taking off.

“I’m pretty sure within three to five years we will reach those numbers,” Thierry Marin-Martinod, aerospace and defense chief technology officer for TE Connectivity, tells Inverse, sounding a similar note to a comment by Musk earlier this month.

Marin-Martinod says that there are at least 130 electric flying machines in the works, from small single-passenger vehicles, “up to the most ambitious aircraft, which within 20-25 years will be able to replace Boeing 737 or on the Airbus A320 series.”

That means that, as early as 2039, passengers could be flying in zero-emissions aircraft that work better for the planet — and possibly even reduce costs.

Here’s how we’d get there.

Electric Jets: The Race to Drop the Fuel

Musk has been rather cool about the idea. He told Joe Rogan in September 2018 that the electric jet “isn’t necessary right now…electric cars are important. Solar energy is important. Stationary storage of energy is important. These things are much more important than creating an electric supersonic VTOL.”

That’s perhaps not surprising, considering how road transport comprises 16.5 percent of global emissions.

But Tesla’s February purchase of Maxwell Technologies, which has identified a path to reaching 500 watt-hours per kilogram, is the latest in a developing race to bring the necessary components to life.

The first electric flying machines, Marin-Martinod explains, will be small single-passenger vehicles designed for short journeys. This is similar to the electric quadcopter designed by Audi and Airbus.

Sometime before 2025, we will start to see these vehicles come onto the market, offering 20 to 30-minute journeys akin to the ones described by Uber in its flying car plans.

What comes after those early years is where things get interesting.

From there, the sky will gradually layer up with bigger and more complex vehicles. They will use Internet of Things technologies to speak with each other, staying out of their paths, building on the groundwork laid by non-passenger machines like drones.

Jets could switch to a hybrid model at some point sooner, possibly by 2025 or 2030. Once the battery density issue is solved — easier said than done — developers will need to focus on how to develop cabling capable of powering these high voltage motors. After that, it’s a case of laying the regulatory groundwork so this patchwork quilt of flying machines can operate in sync.

“The battery is maybe the first hurdle,” Marin-Martinod explains. “As soon as you solve the battery, you have the high voltage. And we are working on it. And after that is rules and regulation.”

Electric Jets: How It Could Reduce Costs

The economics of flying could look very different under the electric jet. A 2016 documentary, Why Flying is So Expensive, explores this question further. Assuming an $80 trip from New York to Washington, D.C., which takes around an hour and 20 minutes, here is approximately how the costs break down for an Airbus A320 with all 154 passengers on board:

• Fuel: $2.50
• Crew costs: $1.50
• Airport cost: $13.50
• Plane: $11.50
• Insurance: $0.25
• Plane maintenance: $14
• Taxes: $15.60
• Operation costs: $10

It’s possible that electric jets could reduce some of those figures, as seen with electric cars, where energy costs have already shrunk to below gasoline costs.

The United States Department of Energy lists the average price of gas as $2.78, a figure that plummets to $1.21 for the equivalent amount of electricity to move the same distance.

It’s hard to say for sure what would happen to fuel costs when electric jets starts flying. We don’t know how much the battery may cost, how the price of jet fuel could shift, or whether a carbon tax would incentivize airlines to switch anyway.

“The challenge will be for electrical to have a better efficiency than the thermal engine,” Marin-Martinod says.

He notes that fuel efficiency is rapidly increasing on the traditional side, and alternatives to lithium-ion like fuel cells or carbon nanotubes could also change the numbers.

But one area where these advancements may reduce costs is in the staff. As electric jets spur this interconnected sky, linked up with Internet of Things communication tools, it could automate the journey even further.

“There is a route, maybe, to fly without pilots,” Marin-Martinod says.

Dropping the pilot from the equation could make the journey cheaper and more streamlined, but there’s always a chance the airline pockets the savings for itself in the form of profits.

With the arrival of the electric jet, the future is shaping up to be leaner, greener, and a whole lot more automated.

Western Farmers Electric Cooperative has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with NextEra Energy Resources for a combined wind, solar and energy storage project.

“At Western Farmers, we are always looking for ways to better serve our customers with reliable, low-cost and environmentally friendly energy,” says Gary Roulet, CEO of WFEC. “With the price of wind and solar energy lower than ever, we are now able to pair it with battery storage to make more affordable renewable energy available to customers for more hours of the day – even when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining.”

The 700-MW Oklahoma project includes:

• A 250-MW Skeleton Creek Wind project, which is expected to begin operations by the end of this year
• A 250-MW Skeleton Creek Solar project, which should be operating by the end of 2023
• A 200-MW, four-hour battery storage project, which will begin operations by the end of 2023.

WFEC is a generation and transmission cooperative that provides electric service to 21-member cooperatives, Altus Air Force Base and other power users. These members are located primarily in Oklahoma and New Mexico, with some service territories extending into portions of Texas and Kansas.

“Pairing renewable energy with battery storage presents a tremendous advantage for Western Farmers and its customers,” notes John Ketchum, president and CEO of NextEra Energy Resources. “With this combined facility, we can optimize and maximize the amount of low-cost, emissions-free electricity we provide, while helping Western Farmers diversify its power-generation portfolio, reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and set a great example for others to follow.”

Once a novelty, electric vehicles (EV) have moved into the mainstream thanks to high-profile companies like Tesla and best-sellers like the Nissan Leaf. These cars are feature-packed and technology heavy, but the innards aren’t the only part of the car that’s changing. These cars look different on the outside too.

The changes to the inside are driving some of those made to the exterior. Electric power requires fewer moving mechanical parts but requires more electronic parts. To account for these changes, vehicle designers are reimagining what a car looks like, and what a car can do. While many of these changes are evolutionary, some are quite revolutionary, too.

GRILLE-LESS FRONTS, ‘FRUNKS,’ AND SENSOR-COATED BUMPERS

It’s easy to spot an EV approaching you on the road because the front end of electric cars looks different from gas-powered vehicles. Fewer moving mechanical parts are needed in an EV – and in most cars a majority of those parts are found up front within the engine bay. All that freed up behind the front wheels is available for use elsewhere. “With added freedom in the absence of an engine up front, we can expect manufacturers to get really creative in complete redesigns of the front end,” CARiD product training director and former automobile engineer Richard Reina says.

One of the most noticeable differences between electric and combustion engine-powered vehicles is the elimination of the grille. Electric powered-cars require far less ventilation than is usually required for a radiator. While these cars still need to ventilate heat, it’s nowhere as much as that produced by a traditional combustion engine. It also doesn’t require oil lubrication, which means designers can eliminate a large portion of lubrication systems as well.

Reina thinks that this could lead to more EV manufacturers adding a “frunk,” and providing additional storage space in the front of the car. But could cars lose their front ends altogether? Some might. Look at Volkswagen’s prototype bus. Other companies like Toyota are also planning EVs with smaller front ends.

The bumper itself, and its importance to the car, will also change. With more autonomous driving features becoming more common, the front bumpers (and rear bumper) will be positively lined with sensors. Side view mirrors will also disappear or shrink considerably, replaced instead with cameras (if the law finally allows them. With LED light technology improving, the big headlights of the past will also morph into small slits or dots, perhaps built into the hood or front bumper.

ON THE INSIDE: ROOMY AND TECH HEAVY

The elimination of moving parts will also allow EV manufacturers to increase the size of the interior of the vehicle without the need to increase its overall size. This will mean plentiful legroom for all passengers, as well as a large trunk.

With autonomous driving taking over during the next decade, the standard front-facing seating arrangement could very well be no more. Since the car is driving itself, the driver and passengers are free to interact. You’ll be able to move, swivel, and remove seats depending on your needs. Consoles could also simplify – and go completely digital. “The instrument panel no longer requires a gas gauge or other common warning lights for temperature and oil levels, creating a more simplified display that includes a battery’s driving range indicators,” Reina says. In its place, these consoles will work more as entertainment and information centers, connecting you to your smart home, the world around you, and the cars on the road with you.

In some ways the car might become more of an extension of your home than simply a method of transportation. That is something futurists have been imagining for a long, long time – but it’s very likely to become reality in the not too distant future.

ZERO EMISSIONS MEANS NO EXHAUST SYSTEM

Electric vehicles don’t produce any exhaust gasses, so the ubiquitous exhaust pipe will become a thing of the past. Emissions come from fuel, and with no fuel system no tank anymore to take up space in the rear of the car, vehicle designers will be able to design even bigger trunks. It’s likely that your EV will have quite a lot of storage space.

While we’ve discussed a good deal of incremental changes to a car’s overall design, some experts are thinking big. Jerry Kroll is CEO and founder of Electra Meccanica, While Kroll’s company develops EVs that look fairly pedestrian by current design standards, he predicts an EV future that looks dramatically different than anything we’ve seen.

He argues that the windshield is not necessary in a fully autonomous vehicle. “Electric vehicles are an ideal drivetrain for autonomous vehicles, and once the vehicle is driving itself, there is no need to put a dangerous and expensive piece of glass on the car,” Kroll told DigitalTrends.

EVS OR NOT, VEHICLE DESIGN IS CHANGING

With significantly fewer numbers sold, EV car designers are liable to take more chances than a traditional automaker could. Ferrari Challenge Series race car driver and exotic car collector Danny Baker thinks that’s the case. “Current industry trends like thin LED lights and sharper design lines appeared to only roll out on the manufacturer’s electric models, but in reality, these were natural automotive design progressions that touched all makes and models of that time,” he argues.

Just compare today’s cars with those from ten years ago. They aren’t all that different. However, ten years from now, our cars will look considerably different, challenging our beliefs of what a car can and should be. That is an exciting future, and it will be fascinating to see what the industry comes up with.

Electric scooters from companies like Lime and Uber have been gaining popularity across the country, but not without growing pains.

There has been a growing concern about the scooters blocking sidewalks and littering private property.

Touted as a cheap and green alternative to cars, some say they pose a safety hazard and litter walkways.

In San Diego, California, there’s an effort to put the brakes on the scooter craze.

Dockless devices have been spreading across the US as a convenient transportation alternative, but others say they’re unsafe and an eyesore.

Dan Borelli and John Heinkel agree so they started “Scoot Scoop,” a scooter towing company in San Diego.

The scooter companies must pay 50 dollars, plus 2 dollars a day in storage fees, to get their devices back.

Some brands are playing along, but Bird and Lime are fighting back. They are both filing lawsuits in March.

A Bird spokesperson says “Scoot Scoop is unlawfully impounding micro-mobility devices and demanding a ransom for their return. We are seeking an immediate end to their scheme…”

Scoot Scoop says if they win their legal battle, they plan on expanding.

In the meantime, their lot in San Diego, and the bill for scooter companies, keeps growing.