What are EV's

An EV or Electric Vehicle is one that uses an electric motor for propulsion. Unlike internal combustion engines EV's produce no pollution and are very quiet in operation. The pollution associated with EV's comes from the recharging of the batteries. The amount of pollution stemming from recharging is determined by the power source.

In most cases the power is drawn from the grid, in which case the amount of pollution is determined by the method used by the power plant to produce the electricity delivered to the grid. In the case of solar, wind, water or nuclear power the pollution is effectively 0.

In most cases however, the power is derived from the combustion of coal, oil or natural gas. Despite the pollution associated with coal, oil and natural gas, the amount of pollution released during recharging is still less than the pollution released from a traditional internal combustion engine.

The reason for this is 2 fold:

1. Large power plants typically used to generate electricity are more efficient and less polluting than internal combustion engines.
2. Electric motors themselves are more efficient using less energy to perform the same amount of work.

Furthermore electric vehicles drawing power off the grid benefit immediately when the methods used to generate the electricity are themselves improved. This means that in the future, as the world moves to cleaner methods of generating electricity, electric vehicles will have a smaller and smaller environmental footprint. Making the technology a safe one to build on environmentally for the future.

But are electric motors ready to replace internal combustion engines?

There are a number of manufacturers producing all types and classes of electric vehicles. Perhaps the highest profile is the Tesla, a 2 seater roadster delivering 0-60 acceleration in under 4 seconds and having a range of 200 miles + before needing a recharge. So in a word, yes. Electric vehicles can deliver the performance required to be considered as a replacement for ICE vehicles.

GroPower itself has developed a 3 wheeled public transport vehicle used for short distance transportation and seating 4 passengers plus a driver. It is designed to replace older ICE vehicles which are 2 or 4 stroke motorcycles with large side cars attached. These older vehicles are dirty, polluting, inefficient and dangerous to the passengers. Generally they carry 4-5 passengers for short distance travel of less than 5 km. GroPower's all electric replacement introduces a cleaner, quieter and environmentally friendly alternative with the added benefit of a low cost of operation.

Are there any drawbacks to electric vehicles?

Yes, there are. Mainly convenience and range. Electric vehicles are limited in range by the charge the batteries can hold. They are limited to the number of batteries they can carry by the weight they add to the vehicle. The long recharging times of 6-10 hours makes them less convenient to own than ICE vehicles which can refuel at any petrol station in a matter of a couple of minutes.

Again GroPower has worked to address this issue by establishing special depots similar to petrol stations where depleted batteries can be simply swapped out for fully charged ones eliminating both the inconvenience and the range issues.