Green Car technology: Challenges For An Evolving Automotive Industry

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 20^th 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 20^th 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.

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[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/