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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Russia Joins the Electric Car Race RI... This summer the Russian company AvtoVAZ presented its EV prototype for the Lada Vesta. This is the second electric car made by the Tolyatti-based manufacturer, located about 1,000 kilometers southeast of Moscow. ElLada was the first, appearing as a prototype in 2012, and which was based on the popular Lada Kalina. Electric cars have not been popular among Russian drivers due to a lack of infrastructure, harsh climatic conditions, high price, and limited mileage on a single charge. However, Vladimir Pirozhkov, president of the Astra Rossa Industrial Design and Innovation Center, believes Russia needs electric cars. "It's hard to breathe in Moscow, and an electric car is environmentally-friendly," said Pirozhkov. "For large cities it's a way to solve environmental problems." Russia's Industry and Trade Minister, Denis Manturov, took a strong interest in the Vesta EV and one is now parked in his garage. This makes Manturov the sole owner of a Vesta EV. Mass production, however, might soon be a reality. Russia's nuclear power corporation, Rosatom, wants to buy 3,000 to 6,000 Vesta EVs, and the company might help build electric vehicle charging stations. The deal has not yet been signed, however. Better mileage AvtoVAZ's first electric car, ElLada, was not successful because consumers found it expensive. Most went unsold, and only eight electric cars were shipped to Kislovodsk (1,600 km south of Moscow) to be used as taxis. Electric car engineer Igor Korkhov has owned an ElLada for more than a year. "The mileage on a single charge is substantially higher than other electric cars," said Korkhov. "In spite of the official data, ElLada's real mileage is 180 to 220 km in summer, and 120 to 150 km in the winter. The new Vesta, however, offers better mileage than ElLada." The Vesta EV has improved performance, and instead of the ElLada's lithium-iron-phosphate batteries the Vesta EV has a lithium-ion battery. AvtoVAZ also claims the Vesta EV can travel 150 km on a single charge, or 10 km more than ElLada in the summer, if the air conditioner or heat are kept off. Otherwise, the vehicle can't travel more than 100 km. By comparison, Tesla's Model S claims a maximum driving range of 407 km. AvtoVAZ recently sent some EV cars to Crimea, but given the specs they probably won't be popular there. The peninsula is very hot in summer, and the air conditioning must be kept on all the time. Price is paramount "Production plans are being finalized," said Artyom Manyukhin, head of communications at AvtoVAZ's press center. "It's too early to talk about sales. We are studying market demand. Cost will also depend on the modifications that the new car needs. These cars are prototypes and are subjected to continuous improvement.'' Konstantin Kotlyarov, head of AvtoVAZ's innovative projects, said the Vesta EV will sell at about $40,000, almost twice more than ElLada's price of about $20,000. Despite all the challenges, AvtoVAZ believes the Vesta EV will be a strong competitor to international counterparts. Kotlyarov said the electric vehicle has high export potential because it offers a more competitive price while having the same features as other EV cars. Tesla cars in the U.S. currently sell at about $70,000. However, even on this front the Americans will soon be a formidable competitor when it starts selling the Model 3 at the end of 2017. That car will be priced at about $35,000. Originally appeared at Russia Beyond the Headlines Poster Comment: Should integrate a photovoltaic exterior coating for battery charging. Lasse_P_Sweden • It will be very hard to sell more EV:s without increasing the number of fast-charging stations and/or improve the electric grid in housing areas no matter how great EV:s the consumers are offered. Without plenty of good fast-charging stations the EV market will be limited to affluent consumers who can afford another expensive toy like an electric car. Elon Musk probably realized that when he decided to begin with an expensive luxury car, the Tesla Model S, which the buyers generally did not depend on for their daily commuting needs. More down market EV:s need more fast-charging stations and perhaps also a better electric grid in housing areas so that they also can cut the time it takes to recharge the battery pack at home. Russia should, like many other countries, probably try to encourage EV sales by improving the electric grid and by increasing the number of fast charging stations. Less domestic consumption of oil means more available oil for exports. That improves the trade balance and makes it easier to raise wages without causing a trade deficit (people buy more imported goods when they get more money to spend). EV:s also generally mean less waste since the power efficiency is a lot better than for internal combustion engines. It´s probably easier to increase the market share for EV:s in Russia and the US than in Western Europe since gasoline and diesel taxes are much lower in Russia and the US and the governments in these countries therefore don´t depend on these tax revenues to the same extent as governments in Western Europe. So a fast transition to EV:s in Russia would not cause the same problems as in Western Europe. Perhaps Russia should also consider to have its own fast-charging standard in order to encourage production of charging related components in Russia. Furthermore, the current fast charging standards are not quite fast enough. The current limit for how fast you can charge a battery with current technologies seems to be about 7 minutes for 50 kWh. But the current fast charging standards are slower than that. So perhaps Russia should raise the voltage in its fast charging standard compared to foreign standards. 1000 or 1500 volt would perhaps be better than 800 volt. 1500 volt means that you need 200 A to re-charge a 50 kWh battery pack in 10 minutes: 1500 volt x 200 A = 300 kW, 10 minutes with 300 kW = 300/6 = 50 kWh. 50 kWh means that you can drive for about 1.5 hour with a medium-size car. EV:s are probably a good option for the consumers in metropolitan areas like Moscow and St Petersburg and in southern Russia. But in rural areas in northern Russia I think you must have cars powered by fossil fuels (biodiesel and ethanol does not seem to blend well with a cold climate). Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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