Tesla, Fremont California

[Razaekel]

Personally, I'm wondering who Tesla contracted as the integrator for their factory. They did a pretty job of it.

 

[jstolaruk]

For robots, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Kuka directly. In this area they compete with their own customer base, being other integrators, regularly. A buddy/customer of mine builds a lot of their panels and not the robot panels - the big custom stuff for conveyors and gantries.

 

[sparkie]

I think electric cars will be better when it is about swapping out batteries rather than only charging. Swapping batteries would be way more efficient then having to wait to charge the car.

 

[CapinWinky]

They need to figure out urban charging. As it is, if you live in a city and park on the street it's hard to make an electric car work, and those people are the target market for electric cars since their commutes are shorter. In the short to mid term, that will probably be public charging stations with electric car only parking.

Long term will probably be towers beaming energy to cars as they drive by based on charge level and billed directly to the owner.

 

[jstolaruk]

Long term will probably be towers beaming energy to cars as they drive by based on charge level and billed directly to the owner.

Tesla's Tower!

 

[StoneNewB]

I think electric cars will be better when it is about swapping out batteries rather than only charging. Swapping batteries would be way more efficient then having to wait to charge the car.

What? Its definitely more efficient to plug into a power supply then to remove the massive battery system and install a new one. That would take heavy equipment and a lot of time and money.

 

[dmroeder]

What? Its definitely more efficient to plug into a power supply then to remove the massive battery system and install a new one. That would take heavy equipment and a lot of time and money.

I think he was referring to what Tesla has going with their battery swap stations. Takes place in under 5 minutes if I remember right.

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/battery-swap-pilot-program

 

[Steve Bailey]

Are there any statistics for electric car performance in miles per kWh?

Any projections on the need for upgrades to the already overburdened grid and new generating capacity when the energy currently provided by millions of gallons of gasoline and diesel will instead come through the electrical grid?

 

[dmargineau]

No need for the grid when generating electric power locally (your vehicle's Hydrogen Fuel Cell) when you need it (pressing on the throttle)...
Fills up just as fast as when you pump gas (five minutes!)and drives just as far as the current fossil fuel guzzlers do (three to four hundred miles)...
The only emission = H2O vapors

 

[Steve Bailey]

dmargineau, you're correct, there's no need for the electrical distribution grid if you're powering the car with a hydrogen fuel cell. You only need to create the production and distribution infrastructure to support hydrogen.

With a battery/electric you need the grid. Then the question becomes, what will it take to make the grid handle the additional demand?

 

[dmargineau]

Steve
It is obvious that the battery powered electric vehicle "future" approach is based on the centuries old engineering principle of "we'll see when get there" or, better yet, "we'll think as we go"...
And who would refuse billions in federal subsidies (just like Mr. Musk did of course) just because the required infrastructure is barely functioning at the current demand rates?!
They are investing in charging stations hooked up on coal powered generators......Go figures...

 

[Ken Roach]

You can always find unrealistic and worst-case scenarios, like magically converting 50% of the cars in coal-powered Illinois to electric, that will overburden the current grid and generation capacity.

The fact is that most EVs will charge overnight. Not all... mine doesn't, because I don't have a garage or driveway. But most will, and even with zero improvements to the grid you could convert 20% of the North American fleet with almost no impact to peak daytime demand.

As an engineer, driving both my daily EV and various combustion vehicles has really impressed upon me the efficiency of the EV. The power generation is more efficient, the power transmission is more efficient, the powertrain is more efficient. The friction brakes on a standard vehicle are an insult to thermodynamics.

Think about all the things that burn and pump and radiate in your average combustion engine and transmission. I can drive to work on the Interstate and when I arrive, no part of my car is too hot to touch.

The EPA clumsily tries to equate fossil-fuel power to electric power by giving EVs an "MPGe" rating that tries to compare the efficiency of EVs to fossil-fuel vehicles. My Focus Electric gets "105 MPGe", compared to Ford's very best 1 liter EcoBoost at 35 MPG.

Did I get a tax break on my EV ? I sure did. Don't get me started on the cost in dollars, carbon, and blood that are hidden in every gallon of gasoline.

 

[The Plc Kid]

What? Its definitely more efficient to plug into a power supply then to remove the massive battery system and install a new one. That would take heavy equipment and a lot of time and money.

I think he also meant that like most things as the technology gets better it gets samller also which would make battry swaps easier.

 

[Steve Bailey]

My Focus Electric gets "105 MPGe", compared to Ford's very best 1 liter EcoBoost at 35 MPG.

Ken, could you put that in terms of how many kWh it takes to charge your battery and how many miles you can drive on that full charge?

 

[Ken Roach]

The Focus has a 23 kWh battery, and about 10% of that is reserved for longevity reasons.

And of course the range you get in miles depends on elevation, temperature, speed, accessories... just like with a combustion vehicle.

I'm driving in hilly Seattle in a mild winter with a lot of highway speeds, so I'm averaging about 300 Wh per mile. In practice, I get about 70 miles of range from a single charge.

My daily commute to the office requires about 10 kWh, which takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours of being plugged in at the office to replenish (208V, about 6 kW charger).

We buy electricity at $0.10 per kWh, so my car adds about $1.00 per day to the electric bill.

There's no doubt that the short range of my EV wouldn't work for somebody who had to drive hundreds of miles a day, or had an unpredictable route with no available charging.

I've had to stop to charge before reaching my destination just once in six months of ownership. That was a 20 minute inconvenience.

I've been to the gas station just twice in six months: once to get a nail hole in my tire replaced, and once to buy beer and corn chips.