Larger EVs Could Hold a Surprising Solution to Ran
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After more than a century of relying on the internal combustion engine (“ICE”), the world is moving on. Despite all the good ICEs have done, especially toward industrialization, they have made transportation the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Battery electric vehicles (“EVs”), which rely on rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs, are much cleaner, producing minimum to zero emissions. However, range anxiety has been a significant hindrance to widespread electric vehicle adoption.
As such, range anxiety is an issue that has constantly occupied the minds of stakeholders in the green energy and transport space. One solution is to install a reliable and widespread network of public EV chargers. Another solution is simply developing larger electric vehicles equipped with larger batteries. An increasing number of EV models are using the “skateboard platform” where the battery pack is laid along the bottom of the vehicle, and larger platforms would translate to larger battery packs.
However, while it may seem as simple as installing a larger battery to hold more charge, there are a lot of considerations. The main one is aerodynamic drag, or air resistance. You see, when any vehicle, whether electric or diesel-powered, moves, it has to push through the air in front of it. The faster the vehicle hurtles down the road, the more energy it will require to push through the air and maintain its speed. A car’s coefficient of drag (“Cd”) refers to the force pushing against the vehicle’s forward movement, with a higher Cd requiring more energy to overcome.
Consequently, an electric vehicle with a high Cd will run out of energy faster. Since most large cars tend to be boxy, especially at the front (think pickup trucks and buses), they typically consume a lot of energy. This would ultimately defeat the purpose of a larger battery as a large portion of the energy within would be used to overcome drag rather than increase range. To reduce drag and make their vehicles more energy efficient, EV makers are making their vehicles, even the large ones, streamlined and aerodynamic. Instead of pushing against the air and consuming more energy, they cut through the air like a hot knife slicing butter.
Done well, an aerodynamic design could significantly lower a larger electric car’s Cd. For instance, the seven-seat Tesla Model X SUV is much larger than the Lotus Elise sports car, a tiny two-seat car. However, thanks to its aerodynamic shape, it requires less energy to propel itself compared to the Lotus. By developing larger electric vehicles with bigger batteries and aerodynamic bodies, EV makers would deal a great blow to range anxiety and encourage more people to switch to zero emission electric cars.
With the options in the EV space increasing as companies such as DSG Global Inc. (OTCQB: DSGT) come in to locally avail various electric vehicle models manufactured offshore, it will be upon buyers to choose a vehicle whose battery pack can deliver the kind of range that they typically need.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to DSG Global Inc. (OTCQB: DSGT) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/DSGT
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