ChMotCh said: Raven2005 said: Over here, it seems that one of the many problems is that the Roads and Car Parks will not cope.
These Cars/Vans are far more heavy.
From half as much again to twice the weight.
We have enough road Pot Holes already and many multi-story Car Parks are said to not be able to support them when full.
Potholes are created by road freight vehicles, regardless of the weight of an electric car or van they will not contribute significantly to the potholes. In NZ we had a fixed weight for trucks which meant our roads were only so thick. This weight limit was removed; however, the thickness of the roads were not done. Also potholes are created by poor workmanship. After our earthquake many roads were repaired including completely rebuilt, potholes quickly occurred.
The distance an electric car will travel requires a dedicated contribution and policy from Government. The problem with that is it has become a political issue of the right vs the left, rather than one of saving the planet.
The current government here is building charging stations across the country , there is an election coming up and the opposition has stated they will stop that.
Many companies including freight are buying into electric vehicles and it’s actually quite simple the free market will also improve the number of charging stations as supply and demand factors occur.
First of all. The biggest creator of potholes is what's call "The freeze/thaw cycle" which occurs mostly during early winter and mid to late spring. Water seeps into small cracks in the asphalt and lays underneath. When the temperature drops below freezing, that water freezes and expands, causing what is called asphalt heaving. When it thaws, it leaves an empty space where the ice once was. When traffic drives over it, it pushes the asphalt back down which sometimes causes it to crack and break apart, resulting in a pothole.
Where I work, we use a machine that heats up a product that we pump into the cracks to prevent water from entering. It works pretty well but it is tedious work.
In respect to charging stations. Building enough of them to serve an entire nation full of EV's is one thing. Generating enough electricity to power them is another.
Mining all the minerals to build these "planet saving" EV's is an unimaginable challenge.
Have you ever seen a Lithium mine? How about a cobalt mine?
It isn't pretty and they definitely don't use electric digging machines and trucks. They need to move approximately 500 tons of earth in order to mine enough material to manufacture one EV, including the battery. I bet you didn't know that those machines they use to do the mining use over 100 gallons each of diesel fuel every day, 7 days a week. Not to mention the devastation that has been done to the landscape and the wildlife that has been displaces or destroyed.