by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
In order to make Electric Vehicle Charging a commercially viable reality, Electric Vehicles must rival their petrol-based counterparts in both convenience and practicality. To achieve this, it is imperative that the charging infrastructure is internationally standardized. “It's crucial to really develop the E-Mobility market, because the customer has to use the same devices, the same procedures and same energy contracts,” said Federico Caleno, Project Manager Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure, Enel.
He would say that, wouldn't he, for it is his company's interest to have internationally standardized charging infrastructure. But who are they trying to kid?
Are they really going to tell me that an EV will be capable to travel the same kind of distances than a motorcar, say from London to the South of Spain, etc. No one in their right mind is even going to attempt that, for it would, definitely at the current stage of technology as far as batteries are concerned, many days.
Sixty miles or, maybe, if we are going to be lucky, hundred miles on one charge is what can be done, I should think, ever. Then somewhere around five to twelve hour charging time. Right... This is a load of ****.
The electric car will be fine for local operations up to a certain distance and after that, forget it. And where we not thinking of bringing everything closer again.
Electric vehicles will have their place, as long as we have the necessary power to charge them, but the future belongs, once again to other means of transportation. Means of transportation that were in existence well before oil was discovered and that have worked well.
The electric car is not about to save the world nor will it make it possible for us to carry on motoring, even though without having an internal combustion engine on board, ad infinitum. The time of the car are over as soon as cheap oil is history and we better get used to that now rather than later.
It would appear, however, that our mindset cannot even perceive anything but a personal car for personal transportation. This is how we have been conditioned to the motorcar and we also perceive anyone who does not own or drive a car as poor and as someone who is missing something.
Why are we so obsessed with driving and then get stressed out? We are hurrying all the time and seem to be getting nowhere fast anyway because everyone is trying to do the very same thing.
We must slow down our travel and our entire life if we want to be able to save us and the Planet from disaster, and electric cars are not going to do that even if we have internationally standardized charging stations for them. Walking and cycling, on the other hand, might go some distance towards it.
© 2010
