The Climate, Environment and Energy Thread

[LP]

Interesting LP, I seem to have heard a fair bit of noise about busses and heavy trucks… I would have thought they were quite a reasonable simile for tradie vehicles ?

Trucks as hydrogen are genuinely a general purpose go.

Some trucks and buses are a little bit different in that they drive fixed routes on pre-planned schedules, so you can have in-situ charging facilities at a terminus. One nice plan I saw for buses it inductive charging loops embedded in the road at stops and regular intervals.

Trucks that travel point to point, like from the wharfs to warehouses, are being targeted, but they will have a different setup with interchangeable / quick change batteries. But nobody is talking about where the energy is going to come from, it's magic electricity at the moment.

In Melbourne the main R&D at the moment is being done by people like Hyzon, on hydrogen buses for long range interstate routes, this will translate to trucks as well.

There is quite a bit of R&D going on globally for hydrogen heavy transport, trains and ships, etc. etc. Solar PV / battery is just not viable due to the energy requirements.

[Thryleon]

I saw an EV digger being used in the Uk.

Generally speaking, they were able to use it for 2 hours and then had to charge it on a Disel generator to get it going again...

They had a solar panel for the charger as a backup but you know, its the UK.  Only useful in summer when they all take holidays.

[ElwoodBlues1]

I know in the USA Ford is making changes to accommodate future electrification, in some form, but even so they are some way off being viable for a broad audience.

When the car companies started announcing EV Utes, trucks and buses, the do-gooders switched focus to the pollution left on and around roads, in waterways and in the air as dust from the "crumbling tyres". So expecting to find an widely accepted solution might be ambitious.

Ford are looking at 5 different EV vehicles and are bringing a transit van to Aus for couriers/tradies........as usual from Ford the BS has has already started with dodgy charging figures. 11kw needed to recharge the battery at home, they say 5-7 hours charge time.....not sure how thats going to happen when  a single phase at 230-240v@32 amps(which is max) only gives you about 7.5kw.
That means you need 3 phase at home or you are waiting 11-12 hours on a single phase charger setup.

[northernblue]

Only from 100% flat EB, and from what I hear the majority of battery’s don’t go below 70%.
A bit like your mobi, you charge it every night and don’t turn it off, my 12 month old iPhone rarely gets below 85%.

[DJC]

40% of new carsales are of the ute variety in Aus......there are no EV utes that can do what the present combustion engine type utes do at the moment and the prices are astronomical much like the size of the batteries that take up the base of the car. You are adding a small size car in battery weight as well as asking folk to pay twice as much for the vehicle itself.
I just dont see vehicles like the Ford Lightning, GM Hummer, Rivian etc gaining traction in Aus when conversions are required for the steering assembly etc and the retail price being so high and lack of service and parts.

Toyota Australia has formed a partnership with VivoPower to produce battery-electric 70 series LandCruisers for mining company use.  They probably don't need great range but the payload is comparable to combustion-engined vehicles.

Then there's the Ineos Grenadier hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that's currently undergoing testing (and Landrover have been testing fuel cell Defenders for some time).  I think that will be the powerplant of choice for folk who need decent range.

[ElwoodBlues1]

Only from 100% flat EB, and from what I hear the majority of battery’s don’t go below 70%.
A bit like your mobi, you charge it every night and don’t turn it off, my 12 month old iPhone rarely gets below 85%.

NT, I believe the NT Govt are banning sales of combustion engine utes from 2030, is that true?

[ElwoodBlues1]

Toyota Australia has formed a partnership with VivoPower to produce battery-electric 70 series LandCruisers for mining company use.  They probably don't need great range but the payload is comparable to combustion-engined vehicles.

Then there's the Ineos Grenadier hydrogen fuel cell vehicle that's currently undergoing testing (and Landrover have been testing fuel cell Defenders for some time).  I think that will be the powerplant of choice for folk who need decent range.

DJ, I'm with LP and think Hydrogen cells are probably more the future commercially  in Aus looking forward.

[northernblue]

NT, I believe the NT Govt are banning sales of combustion engine utes from 2030, is that true?

I don’t follow day to day “news” there may be talk/promotion of the idea by someone but I’m not aware of such a concrete proposal by the government.

[DJC]

DJ, I'm with LP and think Hydrogen cells are probably more the future commercially  in Aus looking forward.

An acquaintance of mine, Robert Pepper, is an automotive journalist and he has investigated and reported on the flaws of EVs when it comes to towing and touring.  He is a big EV fan for commuting but can’t see them meeting our towing/touring requirements.  It’s well worth checking out his website and/or FB page.

Robert famously tested the emergency breaking sensors of a top of the range sedan with a blow up doll from a sex shop.  Sadly, she didn’t survive the experiment ?

Some government investment in hydrogen fuel technology wouldn’t go astray.

[kruddler]

There needs to be some kind of giant shift in the thinking of how to implement these vehicle mandates for the future.
That is, demanding no combustion engines is great, but only works if there is a viable alternative. Currently there isn't one.

I have a ranger as a provided work car.
I am expected to be driving around most of the day. It would be rare, but it's possible to hit say 600km in a day. Even if I don't hit those numbers, I'm carrying a fair load around on what I do drive, which will shorten that distance anyway. Now I am expected to charge that for 10-12 hours of a night and be able to do it all again the next day?

What if I have to take the kids to swimming or footy? I can't get my full charge in because of time? Do I require an additional car for private purposes (I mean, I have my wifes car, but if I was single?)