Is it time for an electric airplane?

  

                                                                                Photo by Hyundai Motor Group on Unsplash

 

 The advent of aviation changed the world. It shrank distances between nations and facilitated way faster movement of men and materials across the face of the nation. It is not surprising that aviation continues to grow and reach the farthest and remotest parts of the world. The tremendous advantages accorded by aviation notwithstanding, the more planes that take to the skies, the greater the environmental pollution they cause. Aircraft account for 3% of worldwide greenhouse emissions.[1]

Furthermore, the trouble with aviation is that aircraft pollute by releasing a range of greenhouse gasses across the different stages involved in flight. What’s more airborne craft release pollutants in the form of gasses into the upper levels of the atmosphere, creating a whole new dimension to the pollution problem.

This can be mitigated to a large extent by the deployment of electric airplanes.  The only way that can become practically feasible is by developing larger enough batteries and sufficiently efficient motors. The good news about electric planes is the fact that 70% of the energy used to charge a battery would help power the plane, which compares very favorably with other so-called green options like synthetic and hydrogen which would boast 20 to 30% efficiency. [2] Improving power storage is the key to enabling the adoption of electric airplanes as an aviation mainstay.

Airline flights are all set to double over the next two decades and if the aviation industry does not change to a carbon-free mode of transportation, it will become among the leading polluters across all industries. While we may be decades away from fully electric jumbo jets, it is time for private companies and governments to step up to the plate and seriously ramp up the efforts to mainstream electric aircraft. One can realistically look at short-duration commuter flights going the electric way if the challenges surrounding making lighter batteries are overcome.  Already Boeing has estimated that small sized all-electric or hybrid planes might be viable by the 2030s.[3]

The time for an electric airplane is here, but it is going to be some time, before you and I can catch a flight that runs on batteries. Till that day, then!

 

 

 

 

---

[1] Airbus: Annual GHG Emissions (2020 – 2021, Million Tonnes CO2 Equivalent) - GlobalData

[2] This is what's keeping electric planes from taking off | MIT Technology Review

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/uhenergy/2021/07/12/time-to-clean-the-skies-electric-planes-have-arrived/?sh=16c4794a734a

What is better for the environment between EVs and hydrogen fuel cells?

 

                     

                                                                          

                                                                               Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

 

 

With global warming no longer, something that can be pushed under the carpet, the world is racing to retire ICE-run vehicles and replace them with vehicles that run using technologies that are way gentler on the environment. The leading contenders for that space are electric vehicles or EVs and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles or FVCS, both of which offer environmental benefits over traditional fossil fuel-burning internal combustion engine vehicles.

While both EVs and FCVs are undoubtedly kinder for the environment than conventional vehicles, choosing one of the two as being better is not as easy and straightforward, as one may imagine.  There are a lot of factors that go into that and one needs to consider them one by one to try and arrive at a definitive conclusion.

Both EVs and FCVs possess the ability to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions. While EVs can draw power for their batteries from a power grid that obtains its electricity from renewable sources of power, FCVs use hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity with water and heat being the only emissions. The production and transportation of hydrogen can result in greenhouse gas emissions, depending on where the hydrogen is sourced from.  If it is manufactured using green energy, then there is a case of it being a zero-emission technology as well.

The cons in the case of EVs also include the problem with the production as well as disposal of batteries, which clearly can be a source of environmental pollution. These require the mining and processing of raw materials like lithium and cobalt which is resource-intensive with the resultant negative social and environmental impact. Also, if the electricity used to charge EVs comes from a fossil fuel-reliant source, there will be greenhouse gas emissions.

The environmental impact of both technologies, therefore, depends on how clean the source of electric power is in the case of EVs and hydrogen in the case of FCVs. That being stated, there is no denying the fact that both technologies can reduce emissions and improve air quality significantly if used to power vehicles in place of conventional ICE technology using ones. The extent of improvement will depend upon the circumstances in which these technologies are deployed.

                                

                 

       Photo by Mike B: https://www.pexels.com/photo/black-car-instrument-cluster-panel-945443/

Which one is better?

A study carried out by Argonne National Laboratory, suggests that creating and using hydrogen for use in fuel cell vehicles is environmentally friendlier than sourcing electricity from the grid to power EVs.[1] However, considering the fact that hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are still in the early stages of development, they are a long way away from being widely available. That means it is going to be battery electric vehicles that will have to step up to the plate and replace ICE vehicles and help in saving the planet and its people from choking on bad air-at least in the foreseeable future.

.

---

[1] In the battle over electric vehicles, could hydrogen win? | Greenbiz

A case for small and sensible electric cars

 

 Photo by Robin Ooode on Unsplash

 

              

                                               

As electriccars become increasingly popular with a huge amount of content being dedicated to how these are well on the way to becoming a viable alternative to conventional ICE technology using cars, it is time to consider if the electric car can become every man’s car. That is a function currently being performed by sensible and small petrol-powered hatchbacks.

Not everybody can buy a Tesla or the other high-priced electric luxury cars that are the flavour of the times, which means that the average Joe is pretty much untouched by the so-called electric vehicle revolution. What about the average man or woman who uses the car to drive to work, pick up children from school and buy groceries from the neighbouring supermarket? When will they be able to drive around in an environment and pocket- friendly small-sized electric car that doesn’t require them to drown in debt to be able to buy? For until that were to happen, the move to electric vehicles as far as personal mobility is concerned would largely remain the sole preserve of the rich and the well-off.

There is an urgent need to focus on making small reasonably priced electric cars available to everyone who uses a personal car to get about. Small electric cars have many advantages over their larger counterparts. From being easier to park in tight spaces and better manoeuvrability in traffic, they also consume less energy than larger vehicles because of their lower weight. Importantly these can be charged by using a standard 120-volt-outlet making it possible for people living in apartments who may not have easy access to charging stations.

Small and sensible electric cars are the way forward on account of their low carbon footprint and affordability. According to a BCG report people are likely to start switching to electrified vehicles en masse by 2030.[1] The report further predicts that by 2026 electrified vehicles will account for more than half of the light vehicles sold globally. It also suggests that battery pack costs will drop to $75 per kWh and that the global market for BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles will rise to 28%.

Nowhere is the case for a small and sensible electric car greater than in India where 75% of the private cars sold are small cars. Electrifying these cars, even while keeping them affordable is a challenge to meet. That apart there is an urgent need to upgrade the infrastructure.[2]  According to   IBEF (Indian Brand Equity Foundation) estimates, the Indian electric vehicle market in India is expected to grow to Rs. 50,000 crore (US$7.09 billion) by 2025.[3]

Globally the electric vehicle market is expected to hit $823.75 billion by 2030.[4] A 2018 report by McKinsey, there should be about 120 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030.[5] With the stage set for rapid electrification of electric vehicles globally in the near future, the focus should shift to making small and easily affordable electric cars to help make the move to EVs truly successful across the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

[1] Why Electric Cars Can’t Come Fast Enough | BCG

[2] Mahindra Electric Cars: Challenges of Driving a Revolution in the Indian Market (repec.org)

[3] Electric Mobility smallcase | Upto 4.85% returns

[4] Electric Vehicle Market Share, Size, Analysis | EV Market Growth (alliedmarketresearch.com)

[5] Global Electric Cars Market Report (2020 to 2030) - (globenewswire.com)

Is the en masse move to EVs really good for the environment?

 

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

 The move to electric vehicles from the internal combustion engine technology has been pretty much accepted as the way forward to reduce vehicular pollution all across the world, and it is no longer a question of whether, but when it will be completely accomplished. While there is no denying the fact that EVs don’t generate tailpipe emissions, concerns arise from how the electricity used to charge them is generated. If that involves generating polluting emissions, what is the point of driving around in an EV?

According to data available from the US, an average EV leads to pollution that causes global warming equal to a petrol-driven vehicle clocking a fuel efficiency of 88 miles per gallon, way better than the 58 miles per gallon performance recorded by the most efficient petrol-driven vehicles.  As a matter of fact, most people in the US (94%) live in areas where driving an EV leads to lesser emissions than caused by driving a 50 miles per gallon petrol-driven car.[1]

EVs are clearly better for the environment

Photo by Michael Marais on Unsplash

Even with the misgivings surrounding the source of electricity used to charge EVs, these are clearly a better alternative to internal combustion engine technology and hybrid technology (internal combustion cum electric) engine-using vehicles.  US Department of Energy data shows that EVs convert between 59% to 62% of their energy into actual miles driven as compared to conventional automobiles which can convert only 17% to 21% of their energy into physical miles.[2] That means that even in the case of the electric grid that supplies the power to charge EV batteries causing some polluting emissions, driving an EV is less damaging to the environment than driving an internal combustion engine-using vehicle.

As a matter of fact, the propagation of the myth that electric car emissions could actually increase carbon emissions can do massive damage to the much-needed move to the electrification of the means of transport.  There is research to show that in most scenarios electric cars generate fewer emissions even if their power is generated by using fossil fuels. Studies carried out by the Universities of Exeter, Nijmegen in The Netherlands and Cambridge, point to the fact that 95% of the world is better placed using electric cars, when it comes to safeguarding climate.[3]

Even in Australia, which majorly uses coal to generate its electricity, it has been found that driving a BEV or Battery Electric Vehicle is way less polluting than driving one with an internal combustion engine. The NRMA and PwC Australia conducted modelling which found out that an average new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle emits 185g CO2 per km when compared to the 98g CO@ per km emission caused by a BEV charging through the grid. With renewable energy becoming an increasingly large part of the electricity generation mix and the expected improvements in battery capacity, BEV emissions are expected to fall to 58g CO2 per km. If charged off-grid using a renewable source, the emissions fall to nought. [4]

 

Electric Vehicles- An Indian Story

Photo by Ather Energy on Unsplash

The move to electric vehicles in India gained huge impetus in 2017 when the Indian Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari set up an extremely ambitious target of 100% electrification of Indian vehicles by the end of 2030. This has since been revised to 30% for private cars, 70% for commercial vehicles, 40% for buses and 80% for two as well as three-wheelers by 2030.

India has already witnessed a veritable electric vehicle revolution albeit in the two- and three-wheel segments. This makes eminent sense, considering that buying an electric four-wheeler is beyond the means of most Indians. Priced at up to $1000 electric two-wheelers and three-wheeled seem to have partially taken over India’s chronically congested urban roads and streets.[5]

According to a recent study, India can reduce volatile organic molecules by 76% in the next seven years if it were to replace all conventionally powered two-wheeled and three-wheeled vehicles with electric ones and the diesel-powered ones with those running on CNG.[6] So clearly, electrification of vehicles can help the dire pollution situation faced by Indian cities and towns in a major way.

Like Australia, India currently generates most of its electricity by burning coal, but would still benefit by making an en masse move to electric vehicles. There is research to prove that an ambitious vehicle electrification programme even in the absence of new power sector initiatives will see a reduction in carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides in 2030 as well as 2040. Given that the proportion of renewable sources is likely to increase in the same time period, the emission will certainly see a further fall.

Is the en masse move to EVs really good for the environment then? The answer is really a no-brainer.

 

 

 

---

[1] https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/02/14/are-electric-vehicles-really-better-climate-yes-heres-why

[2] https://evsafecharge.com/are-evs-actually-better-for-the-environment/#:~:text=The%20short%20answer%20is%20yes%2C%20electric%20vehicles%20%28EVs%29,is%20of%20course%2C%20good%20news%20for%20the%20consumer.

[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-51977625

[4] https://www.mynrma.com.au/cars-and-driving/electric-vehicles/our-mission/are-evs-better-for-the-environment#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20BEVs%20today%20are%20significantly%20better%20for,many%20other%20potential%20societal%20benefits%20to%20be%20realised.

[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/04/business/energy-environment/india-electric-vehicles-moped-rickshaw.html#:~:text=Almost%2015%20years%20ago%2C%20Indian%20tinkerers%20and%20small,and%20established%20automakers%20looking%20to%20build%20something%20sturdier.

[6] https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/pollution/electric-vehicles-can-lower-emissions-of-volatile-organic-compounds-in-india-by-2030-study-81488

Will Chat GPT really lead to a dystopian future?

Photo by Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash

The advent of any new pathbreaking technology has invariably been accompanied by hysteria about how the world that we know and love so much is facing an existential threat, the like of which it has never encountered before. This happened when the industrial revolution unfolded and it occurred when automobiles first made an appearance. The advent of cinema, for instance, was looked at with suspicion as was the beginning of air travel. Everything from computers and cell phones to machine learning and artificial intelligence has generated fear and misgivings as much as it has generated hope and anticipation for the future.

It is said that the changes being witnessed on account of regular and unprecedented advances in technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence are totally unprecedented and different from the past. No less a person than the eminent scientist Stephen Hawking thought of the development of artificial intelligence as a seminal event that could eminently help mankind, sideline it or even destroy it. Other notables like Bill Gates and Elon Musk too have sounded an alarm over the possibility of artificial intelligence or AI not only fundamentally transforming humanity, but overwhelming it as well.

In Chat GPT, the chatbot extraordinaire that can not only converse like a human being but do a variety of functions hitherto thought to be the sole preserve of flesh and blood people, people see the worst predictions about the dangers posed by AI coming true. They fear for not just their jobs, but also their ability to live their lives as fully independent and free-thinking individuals.

Alarmist, perhaps. But with the maker of Chat GPT, Sam Altman himself saying that the future of AI is both awesome and terrifying, especially if things don’t turn out well for us, the jury is out on where technologies like Chat GPT end up taking us.[1] With Google waiting in the wings to launch Bard, its version of Chat GPT things are about to get a lot more interesting. To quote Dickens, we may be headed to the best of times and the worst of times. The only thing that we don’t know is if it will be the former and the latter, only the former or only the latter.

What is particularly disconcerting about Chat GPT is the fact that it will perpetually be a work in progress, getting better and better at what it does better than humans and there is no stopping it. Where that will lead us with this technology in the years to come is anybody’s guess. Already, people in the content creation and writing profession, lawyers, coders, graphic designers and others are beginning to worry about the future viability of their line of work.  “Are we destined to go the way of the dodo, or do we still have a profession with a future?,” they might well be asking themselves already.

Well, it seems that most people can relax, as they may yet keep their jobs for a very long time, as Chat GPT is nowhere even close to possessing the full set of skills that humans bring to the various professions mentioned above. That is not to say, it won’t happen eventually, but by the time it does, depending upon your age, you will have grown too old to care, or would have learnt some other skill that would be apt for the time that you would be living in. For now, an imminent mass adoption of a still nascent technology like Chat GPT is more likely to cause large-scale dysfunction on account of its lack of subtlety and discerning ability than it is going to on account of it making human beings redundant and idle.

For now, it is nothing more than an assist-tool that will only help you perform your job better and more efficiently-something like a battery-assisted e-bike. You can still pedal but will find the going easier. As a matter of fact, AI-powered technologies like Chat GPT are likely to help give a fillip to creativity amongst humans, providing them new and exciting pathways that provide myriad opportunities to both creators and consumers of content.

The thing about all new technologies is that it scares you at first, but then you get used to it and carry on with life the way we always have. Chat GPT is another technology, that will soon become something that exists and does its job of helping us perform our jobs better. Heck, we managed to figure out how to deal with Covid-19, with all the really scary experiences it made all of us experience. Chat GPT is hardly a scourge of the employed. It is more like the flavour of the times. Let’s see how the cookie crumbles.

 

 

 

---

[1] https://fortune.com/2023/01/26/sam-altman-chatgpt-ai-future/