A rare opportunity: electric vehicles with no rare earth materials

We all want to be able to drive without belching greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. And we want our cars to run cleanly too.

One of the largest drawbacks of many forms of modern emission-free power, though, is our need to mine rare earth elements to make components like batteries and magnets. These 17 metals aren’t “rare” in the sense that they’re uncommon (they’re actually very common in the Earth’s crust), but rather because they’re distributed unevenly around the world, and each site doesn’t necessarily contain much of the material. So in addition to the environmental impacts of mining these materials, there is a concern: China currently dominates the global marketplace for rare earth metals (producing a whopping 95 per cent) and has already demonstrated its willingness to cut rare earth exports.

So it’s no surprise that Japanese researchers, living in a country that already relies heavily on imported metals, have developed an EV (electric vehicle) motor that can operate without any rare earth metals. Developed at the Tokyo University of Science by Associate Professor Nobukazu Hoshi and his team, the EV uses a “Switched Reluctance Motor,” which uses the difference in magnetic resistance to create an electric charge. And with the economic and environmental drawbacks of rare earth metal use, it’s likely that more such vehicles will be produced in the coming years.

Making cars without the use of rare earth metals isn’t just an area of concern for vehicles, though. Last year, IBM also innovated a solar cell, 40 per cent more efficient than similar cells, that did not use rare earth materials.

Via PhysOrg.com

Video: Electric Car Driven by Rare Earth Metal-Free Motor

Scooter commuter

There are lots of different makes and models of electric motorbikes, scooters, bikes and even skateboards the city commuter can choose from these days. But this bike and battery are made to go.

James South took a gamble and created the Yogo – the UK’s only full production electric scooter with portable battery. The lithium battery is easy to remove (weights about 11 kilograms) and take home for charging. It’s ready to go again, in about an hour. The bike has a range of 35 kilometers between battery charges and tops out at 61 kilometers an hour.

OK, it’s not the fastest or the cheapest scooter out there and styling-wise it’s not a Vespa. But at least you don’t have to find a plug in on the street or run a cord out the window from your apartment. And as Bibi demos, it will put a smile on your face.

Solving the infrastructure problem

The future is electric. Or at least many believe it is minus the one glaring problem facing electric vehicles: infrastructure.

More and more companies are building electric cars. Nissan has released a preview of their as-yet unnamed model, one based on their Versa in appearance. But on the inside, it’s all about the battery, baby.

Nissan also has electric models of their Cube. While neither model is available to consumers just yet, product planner Mark Perry says “This is not a test or demonstration…we’re ready for mass production.” They plan on having the car available in 2012. Hopefully, in that three-year gap, the infrastructure needed will be built. It would be a shame to have electric cars driving around with nowhere to plug them in, or for no one to buy them because there is no infrastructure.

Luckily, some universities are looking for solutions.

In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology brought in a UK company to install 150 Elektrobay charging stations in September. All Elektromotive’s charging bays are allocated to the 150 EV car fleet for staff and students to use around the campus. A feasibility test, so to speak, on a small scale.

Closer to home, electrical engineers at the University of Calgary are looking at plug-in hybrids to determine the feasibility of storing electricity directly from the power grid. They hope to develop a smart-charging system that would specifically make use of energy generated from wind power.

Nissan wants to help too; and why wouldn’t they? The Renault-Nissan Alliance is signing deals left and right to set up charging networks all over the world. Because they’re smart enough to know convenience is key to keeping customers happy.

Federal ecoAUTO rebate program last call

Let’s say you bought a pure electric car yesterday. Good for you – but where are you going?

The biggest single hurdle for pure electric vehicles (PEVs) – and there are several – is a lack of support from government and industry. Only five PEV models are even certified as roadworthy in Canada, for instance. And they are pricier than their gas-guzzling cousins.

Governments across Canada have started to see things differently, and are finding new ways to “green” their roads and entice consumers to buy low- or zero-emission cars. The federal government ecoAUTO Rebate Program has done its bit. 

It offers rebates of up to $2,000 to people who buy or enter a long-term lease for certain types of fuel-efficient vehicles. But in order to be considered for a rebate, applications must be received by March 31, 2009. British Colombia offers a similar rebate for new hybrids and PEVs through a sliding scale of tax concessions.

It’s not only governments that are dangling financial carrots before prospective new car buyers, but corporations too. GE Capital Solutions Fleet Services announced a hybrid rebate program for fleets that lease hybrid vehicles. The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005 reserves $875 million for advanced vehicular technology projects such as hybrid tax credits.

When asked where the long-promised electric car would be widely available, auto manufacturers always shrugged their shoulders and insisted it wasn’t their fault – there wasn’t enough demand, or any government support. Perhaps spurred by surging in fuel prices in 2008, that seems to have shifted.

Who knows – maybe with enough tax incentives, we’ll see jet cars yet.