Despite the last two years feeling like a rollercoaster rush towards electric vehicles , the electric revolution didn't just burst to life overnight.
In spite of the distinct benefits and challenges that come with each one explore in this story, you'll notice the same, unavoidable downside weighing all of them down: Money.Like our smartwatches, phones and laptops, modern day EVs rely on lithium-ion batteries for power. Other benefits of solid-state batteries include the ability to support faster charging, on top of an overall larger volume of charge cycles. Nissan announced just last week that it was aiming to debut its first SSB-powered EV in 2028, offering double the energy density but three times the charging speeds of its currently-utilised batteries.
Unlike charging your EV, refuelling a hydrogen-powered vehicle is supposed to take up far less time. The 5.6kg tank in the Toyota Mirai, for example, can theoretically be refilled in under 10 minutes to provide the car with around 550km of range under real-world driving conditions.The "Why not?": Some reviews you'll read for any of the aforementioned hydrogen vehicles will also report issues with the refuelling procedure itself - from inconsistent fuel supply and frozen nozzles, to a lack of station reliability.
In fact, one of the ways in which hydrogen is produced is via electrolysis - sending an electric current through water to separate hydrogen from oxygen… for which the electricity could already directly charge up a BEV.3. Natural range extender: Solar powerAs an energy source, solar power probably needs no introduction.
In Singapore, for example, 122,000 solar panels - spanning the area of 45 football fields - are required just to power our five water treatment plants. Likewise, the normal passenger car body simply isn't large enough to accommodate the number of photovoltaic cells required to power the car entirely.
Additionally, the manufacturing and transportation processes for these fuels are powered by renewable energy too to keep to the goal of carbon-neutrality. The concept of an energy 'pathway' helps explain how much energy is retained from the very initial point at which energy is produced - in the case of e-fuels, from wind or solar energy to power a plant - to the point at which a car is getting propelled.