Last
week as I was at the petrol station the pump attendant asked me, do you want
petrol or diesel? I replied quite normally, “Petrol please”. Then quite
unexpectedly he asked me, “V-power” or “regular”. I was confused so I asked him
what V-Power was and what was the difference but more importantly what was the
price difference? The difference was not
that much but he answered that the V-power made engines faster or allowed them
to move more stances on less fuel. I had heard about these theories but had never
really investigated the basis, foundations or even the ramifications of “going
green” as was the buzz word around anything that saved energy and was
inevitably contributing to reducing global warming; hence begun my education on
green technology and driving.
The
website green-technology describes technology as the application of knowledge
for practical purposes and in that context goes ahead to describe the field of
green technology as encompassing “… a
continuously evolving group of methods and materials, from techniques for
generating energy to non-toxic cleaning products.”[1]
Whereas this is a broad definition, for purposes of this article the focus will
be on the automotive industry.
At
the turn of the 20th century a man named Ferdinand Porsche[2] took a job as a coach
builder. He is the inventor of the Porsche, one of the fastest most agile and
perhaps graceful cars to ever run the earth. What is little known is an
invention that he showed the world in 1900; the Lohner Porsche Mixte Hybrid
developed in 1900, which was the first gasoline-electric hybrid car in the
world.[3] He said it was the future.
The world was excited but nothing was done about it for almost a century.
There
are a couple of reasons why the word would have sat on the idea of a hybrid car
in the 20th century but the two biggest ones are the advent of
refined oil-driven engines that seemed to perform better than the prospects of
the hybrid appeared. The second has been put down by many people in the filed
as the discovery of seemingly inexhaustible fuel deposits from which the
refined oil could be derived. The third reason was the mechanization of the
manufacturing process by Henry Ford with the assembly line in the 1920s which
made car manufacture easy and almost mechanical. With the fuel to power these
cars and functional combustion engines assembly plants there literally was no
need to reinvent the wheel in car manufacture and so engineers and architects
around the world never felt the need to design cars that did not use anything
other than refined oil.
And
it was not until in 1995 when Toyota displayed their first concept hybrid car;
Toyota Prius, at the Japan auto show that the race was back on again to develop
a car that would face the challenges of the future. The Prius; a hybrid that ran
on both fuel and electric batteries, was actually not produced commercially
until 1997. The car was critically acclaimed as a step in the right direction
and seen as Toyota steering the automotive category in a direction that had
been much needed.
The
hybrid vehicle model made famous by Toyota works on a simple principle; it has
a two part engine; one conventional combustion engine and a powerful electric
motor. The electric motor runs while the cars runs at lower speeds within
cities and the car automatically switches to the combustion engine at higher
speeds. A special feature in-built design feature is the idea of regenerative
brakes which means the car uses the kinetic energy to charge the batteries. The
car also is able to charge the batteries while the combustion engine is
running. However, ideally the car should be able to plug into any wall socket
to charge the batteries. Today, this is the leading form of carbon emission
reduction technology while retaining feeling of speed and comfort.[4]
The
electric vehicle, which has only gained recognition in the last decade as the
push to innovate for emission free transportation systems has become greater
with governments giving ever bigger incentives and tax subsidies, is powered by
an electric motor instead of the conventional combustion engine. The largest majority
of these vehicles is powered by high energy battery packs and will usually use
Lithium ion batteries. A fully charged battery pack, taking anywhere from 10 to
14 hours to charge will deliver on average about 160 km. What does make them
convenient for busy cities or heavy traffic areas is their lighter weight and
smaller size compared to normal cars.
A
third and viable option has emerged in biofuels and ethanol bi-products as manufacturers
tried to innovate around the internal combustion engine. They figured if they
couldn’t change the power train of the vehicle they could change the fuel of
engine. This technology uses ethanol derived from sugarcane as fuel. Originally
popular in Brazil, the idea has spread and is now popular in the United States
and Western Europe. Ethanol is considered to be entirely environmentally
friendly since the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is offset by the
crop carbon intake as it grows. Other variants include biodiesel made from
cassava[5] or soybeans[6][7]. In each of these cases
however the question has been asked whether the massive amounts of crop that go
into the production of these fuels are wasted since the return ration ratio has
been shown to be low.
A rather
late comer to the party however has been almost a development from peoples’
imagination; Fuel Cell Economy Vehicles. The Fuel Cell Vehicle is much like an
electric vehicle in the sense that it is powered by a fuel cell[8] stack which converts the energy
from the electrochemical reaction of Hydrogen stored on board and Oxygen from
the air producing electricity which powers the motor to drive the car. Even
though the likes of BMW[9] and Hyundai/Kia Motors[10] are looking at these
models as their keys to the future of automobile engineering, only a handful of
these vehicles have been introduced on the market and the challenge of making
the Hydrogen production process cost effective still presents an obstacle.
But
what are we talking about exactly when we talk about green technology for cars?
A quick look at the market and their development shows that some more than
others have taken their innovations to the next level.
Seen
as a sort of the father to the eco-friendly automotive industry the Prius brand
has gone on to have variants and upgrades with better performance; leading to
the launch in 2012 of three brands ranked by the American Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) as among the top 10 most fuel efficient cars; Prius C,
ranked as the most fuel-efficient compact car, the Prius Liftback, as the most
fuel-efficient midsize car, and the Prius V, as the most fuel-efficient midsize
station wagon[11].
Some independent analysts have even ranked the Prius Plug-in Hybrid C (a
variant that charges its batteries but still retains the ability to have an
internal combustion engine capability) as the most economical car to ever be
produced[12]
The
1.5 litre, 72 horsepower engine only emits 2,170 kg/year of carbon and will
consume 4.4litres for every 100Km you travel in the city although the figures
moves up to 5.1 if you travel on the highway. The hatchback car comes fitted
with the standard Toyota bells and whistles but interestingly weighs in at a
petite 1,136 kg.
The
Nissan Leaf (also formatted
"LEAF" as a acronym for Leading, Environmentally friendly,
Affordable, Family car) is a five-door hatchback electric car manufactured
by Nissan and introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010[13]. The fully electric car running
on Lithium ion batteries and produces no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse
emissions which help its reduce on pollution. Severally awarded, the Leaf was the first
electric car to win the prestigious World Car of The Year at the 2011 New York
International Auto show.[14]
The
Chevrolet Volt[15]
is the most fuel-efficient compact car with a gasoline engine sold in the
United States, as rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)[16] The Volt operates as a
pure battery electric vehicle until its plug-in battery capacity drops to a
predetermined threshold from full charge. From there its internal combustion
engine powers an electric generator to extend the vehicle's range if needed.
Once the engine is running in this extended range mode, it may at times be
linked mechanically (via a clutch) to assist the traction motor in propelling
the car in order to improve energy efficiency. As of August 2012, the Volt and
the Ampera[17],
its European counterpart, have sold together more than 26,000 units worldwide.
However
despite these great advances and strides made in the category there are still
many questions as to whether the automotive industry within itself has what it
will take to bring this dream of a cheap affordable, green sustainable car to
life for drivers across the world. There are many challenges both for the
category of green technology but also for the various types of automotive
options available.
Firstly,
to feed the “Green Frenzy” (a term described by the Harvard Business Review as
the “shifting from a race to launch ecofriendly products to a battle over what
constitutes a green product in the first place.”[18])
the question that has been asked is whether the sustainability race is indeed
sustainable for the automotive industry. What will happen to all the cars on
the roads now? What will companies do about orders and commitments that they
have made for the next few years? Apart from Toyota which has been doing this
much longer than other automotive manufacturers, most car companies have
introduced short term, medium term and an long term transition plans to bring
them to this goal. Mostly these plans involve increasing fuel efficiency in the
short term, moving power trains and adapting them for hybrids in the medium
term and fully electric motors in the long term.
Secondly,
in a 2011 paper presented at the Michigan Greenup Conference, Carol J. Henry.[19]
states that the challenges for
sustainable mobility are much more than just fuel efficiency and that the
sustainability question is bigger than that. But is it? Without a sustainable
fuel alternative the whole idea falls flat and goes back to the drawing board.
The reality is that biofuels use up far more crop than the save carbon
emissions, hydrogen fuel cells are presenting challenges in cost effective
manufacturing, packaging and distribution, the hybrid cars are still struggling
with battery technologies that will charge and last long enough. And so as an
industry, the fuel challenge is still massive.
There
has been the question of recycling and or waste management of all the used
batteries especially since Lithium ion batteries. The rare elements that go
into the making of these batteries make the disposal process critical. This
also raises the question, is it just the batteries? Ideally, the shift of green
technology is seeing the advent of lighter small cars because as the power
trains shrink, the car needs less size and also requires less energy to power.
This has presented the opportunity to actually create cars which are 100%
recyclable. So, fewer emissions complete recyclability. That’s very close to
what the purists would want.
The
hybrid and electric cars have also been challenged on the issues of long
recharge times, limited driving range and the prohibitively high cost to
purchase are problems which unless they are addressed by manufacturers will
continue to present like nagging problems that in consumers’ minds present as
unfixed kinks and therefore continue to affect the decision to buy.[20] This coupled with
governments’ slow action in planning for recharge infrastructures and
facilities has continued to fuel the slow adoption of the hybrid and electric
vehicles.[21]
Perhaps
the much bigger prohibitory factor for entry in to the business has been the
fact that even with manufacturing going up, and resultantly demand as well,
most of the rare elements needed to manufacture a lot of the Lithium ion
batteries are found abundantly in China which according to a Forbes interview
is the supplier of 95% of the world rare earth minerals[22] . With increasingly
stringent environmental measures being taken by the government on senseless
mining, and irresponsible disposal less players in the supply market will
inadvertently mean less competition and ultimately a higher price to the
consumer.[23]
Higher prices will create a barrier to entry for even more people.
Is
this technology scalable? Could Toyota roll out a million units a year if they
have only sold 2.8million hybrid units since 1997? Will the industry modify its
core processes, systems and resource outlays in order to quench the thirst the
world has for “green cars”? So far, this has proved to be almost impossible. As
manufacturers have found that decades-old designs and transmissions systems
have to be re-thought if they even want to have the idea of a green car.
Lighter materials mean cars that are more dangerous when they collide in
accidents, more battery power which has meant smaller cars which have been a
cause for concern in terms of space and comfort.[24] That’s what manufacturers
have to contend with. And with some brands so deeply entrenched in people’s minds,
there is a fear of some brands losing the core essence of what they once stood
for.
It
is important to note however that these challenges have only served to spur the
industry on to innovate, create and find new ways to work around these problems
thereby in themselves being part of the solutions.
[1] http://www.green-technology.org/what.htm
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Porsche
[3] http://carpoolse.com/2011/05/the-evolution-of-the-hybrid-car/
[4] http://www.eco20-20.com/Green-Technology-and-Its-Impact-in-the-Auto-Industry.html
[5] http://cropsforbiofuel.blogspot.com/2011/04/cassava-for-biofuel-in-vietnam.html
[6] http://www.greencar.com/tech-biodiesel.php
[7] http://extension.agron.iastate.edu/soybean/uses_biodiesel.html
[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_cell
[9] http://www.malaysia-europeforum.com/download/speech09/geoffrey%20briscoe.pdf
[10] http://www.oecd.org/sti/industryandglobalisation/45008864.pdf
[11]
The Environmental protection agency report on the most efficient model cars for
the year 2012 http://www.epa.gov/fueleconomy/class-high.htm
[12] http://www.which.co.uk/news/2011/11/toyota-prius-plug-in-hybrid-is-most-economical-car-ever-271784/
[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf
[14] http://mashable.com/2011/04/21/nissan-leaf-award/
[15] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt
[16] http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp
[17] http://www.opel.com/experience_opel/sustainability/mobility.html
[18] http://hbr.org/2010/11/winning-in-the-green-frenzy/ar/1
[19] http://www.michigan.gov/documents/deq/deq-oea-chemistry-c3-henry_368244_7.pdf
[20] http://wealthpilgrim.com/disadvantages-buying-a-hybrid/
[21] http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2012/RAND_WR775.pdf
[22] http://www.forbes.com/sites/jackperkowski/2012/06/21/behind-chinas-rare-earth-controversy/
[23] http://autos.mikegouchie.com/2012/08/barriers-to-greater-hybrid-uptake/
[24] http://wealthpilgrim.com/disadvantages-buying-a-hybrid/
