5 Signs Of An Electric Future

Speaking with Lucas di Grassi, Formula E champion and CEO of Roborace, he brought up the point that the smaller the device, the more it makes sense (phones, laptops) to use battery power. The larger the device, the less it makes sense (cargo ships, planes). Cars rest in the middle, but there’s a very logical case for it as energy density improves.

Speaking with Nicki Shields, she brought up that electric cars get "greener" with time. As electricity production becomes more efficient, the carbon footprint of an electric vehicle improves. ICE get worse with time. Modern internal combustion engines generally trend towards improving fuel economy, so older vehicles on a relative scale have an increasingly negative impact from an energy consumption standpoint.

Speaking with Vinit Patel, chief engineering of Mahindra racing, he brought up that location matters, if hydrogen improves it could make sense. The practicality of electric cars is location dependent. For Urban areas with high congestion, and relatively shorter travel distances, EVs make sense. The infrastructure is somewhat already available, allowing for home charging, work charging, etc. As you get further away from cities, EVs make less practical sense, and hybrid solutions seem superior. The infrastructure already exists for hybrids today, and allows for limitless distances. Hydrogen currently is expensive to produce, and overall less energy efficient for the full cycle of production to consumption. However, it’s extremely abundant, so if there are cost effective ways to use it, it could make financial sense to use it (energy density advantages, range advantages). Check out the video for more details!