Battery electric vehicle

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For electric vehicles other than battery powered road vehicles, see electric vehicle.

For passenger electric vehicles, see Electric car.

Citroën Berlingo Electrique vans of the ELCIDIS goods distribution service in La Rochelle, France

The battery electric vehicle, or BEV, is a vehicle that utilizes chemical energy stored in rechargeable battery packs, and electric motors and motor controllers instead of internal combustion engines (ICEs). Some confusion arises because the industry often refers to BEVs when it means electric cars.

Vehicles using both electric motors and ICEs (hybrid electric vehicles) are examples of hybrid vehicles, and are not considered pure BEVs because they operate in a charge-sustaining mode. Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally to displace some or all of their ICE power and gasoline fuel are called plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and are pure BEVs during their charge-depleting mode. BEVs include automobiles, light trucks, and neighborhood electric vehicles.

1 Vehicles
2 Technology
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
- 5.1 Patents
- 5.2 Organizations

[edit] Vehicles

The concept of battery electric vehicles is to charge batteries on board vehicles for propulsion using the electric grid. The main advantages of battery electric vehicles is that (1) no pollutants are emitted directly by the vehicle potentially reducing urban pollution and (2) gasoline is replaced by electricity, reducing dependency on foreign fossil fuels. The electricity stored within the battery can be generated by any source, including renewable, nuclear, natural gas, coal and petroleum. Battery electric cars are becoming more and more attractive with the advancement of new battery technology (Lithium Ion) that have higher power density (i.e. more range with less batteries). Battery electric vehicles provide a great alternative to reduce urban pollution, and decrease dependency on foreign fossil fuels^[1].

[edit] Electric bus

Main article: Electric bus

[edit] Milk float

A Dairy Crest Smith's Elizabethan milk float

A common example of the battery electric vehicle is the milk float. Since it makes many stops in delivering milk it is more practical to use an electric vehicle than an ICE, which would be idling much of the time.

[edit] Garbage Truck

With a similar driving pattern of a delivery vehicle like the Milk Float above, Garbage trucks are excellent candidates for electric drive. Most of their time is spent stopping, starting or idling. These activities are where internal combustion engines are their least efficient. In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, 3,000 of the internal combustion engine garbage trucks in Beijing were replaced with lithium ion polymer battery pack electric drive trucks.^[2]

[edit] Pickup trucks

ZX40ST Electric Truck

In early 2009, Phoenix Motorcars [*http://www.phoenixmotorcars.com/index.php] will be making both their SUT and SUV available for public purchase. One of the surviving electric vehicles from the late 1990s is the Chevy S-10 electric pickup truck. Many other vehicles from this era, such as the General Motors EV1 were recalled and destroyed. A newcomer is the Miles Electric Vehicles ZX40ST electric truck now available in the United States. Miles Electric Vehicles is based in Santa Monica, California.^[3]