Do all electric cars work the same?

Friday, 28 June 2019

Pure-EVs are a small part of NZ's electrified vehicle fleet - but there's still a lot of choice.

Mansplainers are usually avoided at all costs. But, whatever your gender, when you need a new car and you're auto-clueless, you need a mansplainer and that's where David Linklater comes in.

Everybody's talking about electric vehicles (EV) at the moment. And when everybody's talking at you, it's hard to hear a word they're saying.

There's no need to feel confused about EVs, because while they seem like magic, they all work pretty much the same.

You plug in an EV and charge it up. Then you have power to use for your... mobile device.

Most pure electric vehicles (the ones that have only battery power) and the electric bit of plug-in hybrids (the ones that have a rechargeable battery but in partnership with a petrol or diesel engine) have lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion) just like your mobile phone or laptop. A lot more of them, but essentially the same.

Many EV makers use batteries from brands you'll recognise. BMW's i3 is powered by Samsung and the Hyundai Kona Electric has LG batteries. Nissan made its own for the pioneering Leaf in partnership with NEC and of course Tesla famously makes its own to a secret recipe. Actually, Tesla is more a battery maker with a side business in cars.

But anyway, you plug Li-ion batteries into a power outlet, charge them up and then you have lots of power to make your device work.

You might even plug an EV into a domestic socket overnight just like you do a mobile phone, although the only way to power up really quickly (like, in half an hour) is from a fast-charge station.

Power in your mobile phone makes the screen and camera work so you can Instagram your lunch. The same power in your EV drives the wheels through a transmission to enable you to get to lunch. Simple.

That said, there's a new type of EV you're also going to hear a lot of talk about from now on: hydrogen. You can't buy hydrogen cars in New Zealand yet, but Hyundai has a couple of examples of a car called Nexo here for evaluation and Toyota has two of its own Mirai models. They're both production cars you can buy overseas.

Hydrogen cars are definitely EVs, even though you can't plug them in. Instead of having batteries, they have fuel cells that produce electricity in real time through a chemical reaction that is fuelled by… well, hydrogen. You fill up with hydrogen just like you would petrol (and as just as quickly), which is the sticking point because you need a unique refuelling station.

But many believe hydrogen power is the long-term future of transport.