Discussion Electric Vehicles - The Way of the Future?

This one's for you Blair...

 

You can't say gay anymore.
They would be LGBTIQA+ whales.

 

Nearly 3 years later and it's interesting to see how some of the content of the YT video that Blair posted has stood up...

1. The Victorian Government's "EV Tax" has been defeated in the Supreme Court and Uncle Fester (Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas) was told to stop it and give everyone their money back.

2. How are EV sales coming along? "‘No longer a novelty’: massive rise in Australian EV sales, industry report finds"
At least the Minister for Blackouts (Chris Bowen) has helped get the ball rolling.

Clean Energy Side Note: An update on the Hydrogen Plant planned for northern Tasmania that Porsche is involved in. Link is for subscribers only, but the first couple of paragraphs imply the plant is still going ahead:
https://www.afr.com/companies/energ...uture-they-re-just-about-here-20240314-p5fcbo

 

Yeah, but when all the euphoria settles down, EVs will just be another mode of transport. The governments will find ways to tax on usage, just the same as other vehicles. After all, we need to pay for the infrastructure somehow.

Re hydrogen, my son works here:
https://www.hyzonfuelcell.com.au/

 

That's good. I'm all for reducing emissions and saving the planet et al, but EV doesn't make sense to me. I think Hydrogen and other alternatives need to be seriously investigated. Following on from Blair's last post, I was amused to see the near collapse of the Nikola Motor Company (an electric/hydrogen vehicle maker). I watched an entertaining video of how this company used 'smoke and mirrors' to fleece investors of billions of dollars. My favorite scumbag act was when they towed their 'electric' semi up a hill and coasted it down to imply it was a 'running' prototype. Google the company for details...CEO being jailed is here

Initial excitement is here...
https://www.fastcompany.com/9051457...ngs-to-know-about-the-rising-tesla-competitor

Too many scammers out there in among the people trying to do the right thing.

 

Personally I'd like to hydrogen ICE achieve mainstream success - the hydrogen fuel cell is good for public transport

 

Lots of money to be made out of nuclear - the costs overruns in the UK are into the tens of billions and counting - the money is disappearing like mist.
Toshiba Nuclear is kaput
Westinghouse nuclear is kaput
Hitachi nuclear is kaput
UK nuclear programs are running them all to bankruptcy.
No-one can build it on time and on budget.

 

The NuScale SMR has been cancelled because they attempted to change the cost of their generated electricity from $58MWH to $89MWH - all of the potential subscribers for electricity supply just walked away.

Hinkley Point C is the UK is an absolute mess, irrespective of the tech, and the UK is in the hole for electricity costs for tens of billions for decades because of nuclear.

 

If that article is accurate it may be a bit early to get excited about Dual Fluid Reactors. It is dated September 2023.

"The prototype of a Dual Fluid reactor is to be launched within this decade."

A lot of people are sceptical of "revolutionary" and "breakthrough" or "world changing" that already have a running prototype.

 

Hmmm, not good.
https://www.cyclenews.com/2024/10/article/energica-enters-bankruptcy-liquidation/

Pity, let's hope my EGO is not getting into error

 

LOL....

I understand some people are not keen on electric vehicels. Me neither, most electric cars cannot attrack my attention.
But since I was too curious about EV vehicles, I noticed there was an Energica dealer around the corner.
Visited him, looked at an EGO, offered money and we had a deal.
IMHO, the EGO is one off the few EV bikes that is really nice to look at and second, she is having an fast charger on board.

Since in The Netherlands fast charge opportunities are really a lot everywhere, I thought this would be a good choice.
And still it is. She is massive, extremely heavy, but I notice I grab her most of the times.
My other bikes are having carburators and with the fuel these days, cold starts after a few months not riding is not an easy task.
Grab the Ego and drive away, no starting issues and/or easy riding to heat up everything.
Yes, she is heavy, but equipped with an reverse gear, easy too

Went riding last week with my friend and his Energica Experia. The new Energicas are having an bigger battery, better engine and less weight, about 30 kgs lighter then my Ego.
Anyway, we drove about 125 km, did a little charging, since my friend never used fast charge at the road, and wen we were at home, my EGO (MY2018) had 21% capacity left and my friends Experia 60%.

I suspected that, but never saw it in reality. That is why I am looking for a year now for an used EGO RS. That is better performance 171 hp, instead of 143 hp and 222 Nm, instead of 200 Nm. Better battery and lighter.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, when the NC30 left the bridge, I changed oil from the gearbox:



Do not misunderstand me, I am not selling my fuel powered bikes, they are too much fun to drive and very nice to look at.
But still I do like the Ego and find it a pity they are going down now, but that is my humble opinion.

 

Gert, nice to get a real world perspective. Unfortunately, in Aus, we have this but ugly offering that is trying to make its way in the market. A local start up, that only a mother would love.
In Australia, its not unusual to go for a recreational days ride with your mates for several hundred kms. You might stop midway for some fuel. An EV bike might struggle with range.
To be honest, I have not seen 1 x EV bike (other than converted push bikes) on the road in Aus.

 

The EV pushbikes are where it's at IMO - they're great for everything that a scooter or moped is useful for, as for wholly electric full sized motorbikes, perhaps for some as an alternative for a scooter or moped with short range in mind.

Cars are another matter entirely, weight carriage capacity for required battery capacity isn't really an issue, especially where hybrids reside in the market - their fuel economy is excellent.

 

If you don't like your neighbours get yaself a two stroke leaf blower and go at it every weekend.

I once watched a guy with a leaf blower set to vacuum basically vacuum his entire lawn - escapism...his wife must have been someone to get away from...

I do like the EV pushbikes, lots of them around my way.