On September 1, at the 2012 China Automotive Industry Development (TEDA) International Forum, Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Minister of Science and Technology, reiterated the purely electric driving strategy with motor-driven power. "The strategy driven by pure electric power must be consistent and long-term." Wan Gang said that the correct selection of technical routes is the key to the development of strategic emerging industries.
This is a further explanation of the development of new energy vehicles by the relevant government agencies after the state promulgated the "Energy Conservation and New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2012-2020)" (hereinafter referred to as the New Energy Development Plan) at the beginning of July.
“Determining the development direction driven by pure electric power is closely related to the country’s strategic orientation.” Su Bo, the vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, subsequently cited the IEA energy projection data. By 2030, global oil exploitation will reach its peak value; another 90 years Fossil energy, including coal and oil, accounts for only 3.5% of the global energy mix. "This means that the development of electric vehicles will be an international trend. Whoever takes the initiative will occupy the commanding heights in the future."
However, the strategic aspiration from the government level has not resonated in the enterprise. Zhu Fushou, general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, stated clearly in the following statement: In the medium and long term, it is unrealistic to realize the long-distance driving of pure electric vehicles on the expressway, and it is difficult to achieve a major breakthrough in the battery mileage in the short term. The key to automotive development.
Mileage is still the "Gate of Life" for electric vehicles
Zhu Fushou discovered in the investigation that whether it is international or domestic, from the perspective of pure electric vehicles that have been put into operation, the longest cruising range is also under 150 km. This figure simply cannot guarantee the long-distance driving of pure electric vehicles.
"Now every kilogram of battery storage energy is between 0.08 kWh and 0.15 kWh. This storage capacity determines that once the EV has a cruising range of more than 200 kilometers, it must complete the long-distance driving by increasing the battery weight." Huang Xiangdong told reporters that when the storage capacity per kilogram of battery reaches 1 kWh, the problem of electric vehicle's mileage concerns can be solved.
The technical bottleneck keeps the cost of battery use high. According to estimates by Zhu Fushou, the price of each battery of a pure electric passenger car is now close to 100,000 yuan. If you want to make it competitive with traditional cars, the battery weight should reach 200 kilograms, and the battery energy density should be increased by about 7 times. .
From the current R&D situation, by 2025, the lithium battery energy density can reach 250 watt-hours per kilogram, which is already the highest value of the lithium battery energy density. If pure electric vehicles want to get longer cruising range or higher speed, they must pack more battery packs, which undoubtedly brings the development of electric vehicles into an endless loop.
The technical bottlenecks that EVs face in terms of cruising range, battery cost, etc., have caused Japanese car makers represented by Toyota to resolutely give up the new energy technology route based on pure electric vehicles, even though they have already spent on research and development of pure electric vehicles. For more than 40 years.
“Currently, it will take time for pure electric vehicles to completely replace traditional cars. Now it can only complete the alternative functions for short-distance driving,” said Shan Kezhong, general manager of the Toyota China R&D Center.
In fact, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan’s three major Japanese automakers have now basically established a new energy vehicle technology route that rely on pure electric and long-distance hybrid vehicles for short-distance use, and they are trying to take the lead in the market through large-scale promotion of hybrid technology. .
Car prices tend to plug-in hybrid
In fact, a number of own-brand car companies have R & D focus to the hybrid technology. According to Huang Xiangdong, the GAC Research Institute has already completed the development of heavy hybrid vehicles. The first product has passed the deep hybrid version and it is participating in the “Ten Cities Thousand Vehicles” demonstration operation. It is expected to be listed at the end of this year; The other two plug-in hybrid and standard-enhanced pure electric vehicles will also be available at the end of this year and will be introduced to the market.
In addition, SAIC, Changan, FAW, Brilliance and other car companies have plans to introduce plug-in hybrid vehicles in the past two years.
"The biggest bottleneck in the development of electric vehicles is the battery problem, and plug-in hybrid technology can, to a certain extent, solve the problem of mileage caused by too little battery inventory." Huang Xiangdong told reporters that the current plug-in hybrid Technology is more practical than pure electric in marketing, and it is also in line with the country's pure electric drive strategy.
The principle of the plug-in hybrid vehicle is to use a lithium-ion battery as the basis of the hybrid system. When the vehicle is moving close to the vehicle, the vehicle is driven by electric energy, and after the electric energy is used up, it is converted into a hybrid vehicle and continues driving. Unlike pure electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid cars can either be charged from the grid (ie, garage charging) or they can be charged by the generator itself.
"It not only solves the problem of electric vehicle's cruising range, but also does not need to worry about whether there are charging facilities around during the journey." Shanke Zhong believes that plug-in hybrid power is the integrator of the advantages of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.
In fact, starting in April last year, the China Automotive Research Center and Toyota Motor Corporation jointly conducted a 12-month empirical test on plug-in hybrid vehicles in Tianjin. The test results show that the plug-in hybrid vehicle with an electric driving distance of 20 kilometers has a 64% fuel saving effect compared with the conventional car, while the plug-in hybrid fuel economy effect when driving with an electric drive of 30 kilometers. Increased by 7% over 20 kilometers.
Now plug-in hybrid vehicles have been sold in Europe and the United States market, although the proportion of sales in the market is still less than 1%, but it is still rising slightly. "Plug-in hybrids can determine the distance the electric drive is driven and the amount of batteries that are carried on the basis of cost, so that the size of the mounted battery can be miniaturized and it can be easily used by consumers. This makes it possible to promote it as a practical model in the market. "Shan Kezhong said.
However, since the plug-in hybrid vehicle has one more electric system than the diesel locomotive, it has a mechanical transmission system more than the pure electric vehicle, so the cost issue is still the main bottleneck of its large-scale marketization.
