Quote:
Originally Posted by dscabra
Quote:
Originally Posted by BMWILUVU
All new cars will be electric in less than 10 years. Somebody is behind the scenes getting everybody to make that happen.
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I tend to agree with this statement, but a couple of key things need to happen first:
1. Charging times need to get much faster and become comparable to "stopping to get gas" along the road during a trip.
2. There needs to be a much more robust charging station infrastructure in place along the more desolate stretches of interstate highways across the U.S.
I don't think it will take too long to figure out item #1 as the demand drives innovation. Item #2 is a huge opportunity for an evolving industry. Making it convenient and comfortable to charge your EV is going to be a boom industry for not just the charging station aspect, but for retail, food, hotel, etc. to get together and make this work.
Early EVs didn't have near the range that would allow me to drive to work and back without charging, but today I could commute for a week on a single charge with some cars. |
Both #1 and #2 are demand driven but I don't think you'll need as many charging stations as gas stations because the vast majority of cars will be charged at home. Many homes already have Level 2 charging through the 240v electric dryer outlet which they can extend outside or to the garage. Homes outside North America are already fully on 220/240v.
Where needed, such as for longer trips, they can use charging stations where you can find Level 3 chargers for fast charging or Level 4 chargers for even faster charging for more money (kind of like Regular and Premium gas). Within 10 years, they'll likely get L3 or L4 charging time down to not far it takes to fill a tank of gas. Governments demanding the EV change will likely offer some incentives initially to build the EV charging infrastructure. Wherever cars are parked, such as shopping centers or parking lot owners can also earn extra profits by offering charging while your car is parked. The city can do same by offering basic L2 charging with metered street parking.
In short, I don't think building EV infrastructure will be as much of a hurdle as you think. Where there's money to be made, they will come.