Readying the road for electric vehicles

Is the United States ready for the 1 million plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) expected to hit the road by 2015? With this being the goal of the Obama administration, the next 10 years could bring massive growth for the PEV industry. Some entrepreneurs have already begun to invest in, and in some cases profit from, the potential shift toward PEVs, which include plug-in hybrid-electric and all-electric vehicles. With 250 million vehicles on the road in the United States alone, where are the key areas of opportunity in this burgeoning industry? Following are some frequently asked questions regarding the road to widespread adoption of PEVs.

Is the U.S. ready for electric vehicles?
The short answer is yes. Over the next year, we will see tens of thousands of vehicles launched in prepared markets.
The long answer is not so simple. While automakers and technology providers are working with regions to ensure their readiness for PEVs, ambiguities around cost, batteries and charging remain.

Since there aren’t charging stations at every gas station, how will these vehicles refuel?
More than 80 percent of vehicle charging is expected to come from car owners’ homes, so a vast public infrastructure won’t be necessary for the initial rollout.

Will this put a huge strain on the grid?
The challenge isn’t generation, but in distributing the electricity to the end user. If vehicles are charged during off-peak hours and spread throughout the system, the United States could electrify 70 percent of the nation’s fleet and have no need for additional generating capacity, according to Electric Power Research Institute.

Why are PEVs more expensive than gas-powered vehicles?
Batteries are currently the most costly component of PEVs. Considerable public and private investment is going toward battery R&D, which could reduce cost and improve performance of PEVs.
Will batteries be significantly cheaper a year from now?
Probably not. The automotive industry is capital-intensive and heavily regulated. It takes years to take a new technology from the lab, test it internally, manufacture it, ensure it passes safety testing and get it to market.
As a rule of thumb, it takes about five years for the average vehicle to get from the drawing board to the streets—and PEVs are anything but average. However, most major automakers, countless labs, and several battery manufacturers (including last year’s largest cleantech IPO, A123 Systems [Nasdaq: AONE]) are working to shrink the size and cost of batteries. For batteries to become smaller, researchers have to find a way to increase the energy density while maintaining a way to regulate the temperature and ensure safety.

Don’t electric vehicles have very limited range?
Compared to gas-powered vehicles, PEVs have limited range. However, the average American travels less than 33 miles per day. PEVs have more than three times that range; however, they have limited all-electric range. When the battery is low, a small gas engine kicks on to repower the battery. A vehicle using this technology can get greater range than a conventional gas-powered vehicle, but still not use a drop of gas for many trips.