Month: June 2023

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What If The World Was Made of Legos?

A startup called Ample is working with Fisker to create battery exchange stations for EVs that would rival traditional gas stations in speed and convenience. They can be constructed quickly and may be a better use of taxpayer dollars going toward infrastructure were it not for one thing: A lack of standardization in the EV world.

The automotive industry has standardized many things in the name of safety and service. Many things, like spark plugs, are interchangeable between manufacturers, most supplied by third-party manufacturers supplying the industry. Many things are still proprietary. Why not make batteries interchangeable and boost EV adoption through something easily replaceable?

Battery exchange isn’t necessarily a new idea, but now Ample is working on proof of concept. We think this could be a great way to remove barriers of entry and many concerns people have about EVs. What do you think?

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Is an Asian Witch Hunt Costing Us Better Batteries?

The United States Department of Energy awarded 20 companies government loans totaling $2.8 billion to boost battery production in the United States. Texas-based Microvast was one of those companies and they announced plans to build a $500+ million dollar facility here in Kentucky which would create more than 500 jobs. Kentucky joined the cause offering $21 million in tax incentives to Microvast.

Abruptly, the DOE pulled funding when some congressional Republicans questioned some “improper ties to China”. Now Kentucky is holding off on the tax incentives until Microvast can explain why the DOE acted so quickly.

Our question is: In this global economy, what exactly is an improper tie to China? The US economy and the Chinese economy are so intertwined, how could you tell? This is an American company, founded by an American whose name just happens to be Yang Wu.

Is this really about China or is it posturing against all things Democrat of which EVs seem to be a part?

Again, the (R)EV Diaries feel that EVs are neither Right nor Left and can stand on their own merit. We also think the more companies making batteries, the cheaper they will become, but more importantly, improvements in battery technology will happen faster because more people will be working to solve the current problems and limitation of current batteries.

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A Tale of Two Hummers: It Was the Worst of EVs, It Was the Best of EVs…

If I told you the Hummer EV was less efficient and produced more greenhouse emissions than a Tesla Model 3, would you be surprised?

If I told you the Hummer EV was less efficient and produced more greenhouse emissions than a gasoline powered Chevy Malibu, would you be surprised?

Today, we look at what probably started out as a cautionary tale that all EVs are not created equally, but that should come as no surprise. There is no equality between internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles either. So how is this even a story?

The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) posted a report showing that the Hummer EV produced more CO2 per mile than a Chevy Malibu when charged on a “dirty grid” with the headline: 9,000-Pound Electric Hummer Shows We Can’t Ignore Efficiency of EVs. Motor1.com took the same report and offered this headline: New Hummer EV Produces More Emissions Than A Gas Powered Sedan. We follow this up six months later with: Biden is touting giant EVs. Are they actually good for the planet?

Same report. Same story. But the headlines paint a different picture. In our opinion, it seems one is pointing out not all EVs are helping climate change. One is just an attention grabber. And one is supporting a narrative… sort of.

Due diligence is required to navigate any content published these days. This assumes that one makes it past the headline and reads the article. Most people just form an opinion based on the headline and the first few paragraphs but one has to ask, “Does it make sense? What are the motives of the creator? How does this fit my world-view?”

Enjoy and let us know what you think.

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