The economics of electric vehicles and end-of-life battery use
2011 Chevy Volt - Click above for high-res gallery
Why does (ok, ok, might) the Chevy Volt cost around $40,000? The main reason the car will cost so much more than a comparable sedan is the 16 kWh lithium ion battery pack running down the floor of the cabin. The exact price of that pack is still a GM secret, but it's probably in the $8,000-10,000 range. That's a lot of money, and the price of a battery pack is a tremendous factor in the high cost or any EV that's coming soon. Considering the high upfront cost, how can the economics of an electric vehicle make sense? By being able to use that battery after the car dies.
Our friend Paul Scott says that the economics of owning or leasing an EV may be better than are immediately apparent and has put together a post on the value of plug-in vehicle batteries in the afterlife. Their obvious application will be as back-up power sources for sucking down low-cost off-peak charging from your utility (to use the next day when rates are higher) or for storing wind and solar power for later use. SoCal Edison's Ed Kjaer told Scott that the big packs could have long afterlives in people's garages or other safe locations. No one's quite sure how much a 10-year old battery pack will be worth after it's helped move a car 120,000 miles, but there's a good chance it'll be a pretty penny. Heck, Toyota offers a bounty of a few hundred bucks on its NiMH Prius battery packs today.
[Source: EVs and Energy]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bvz 2:28PM (9/06/2009)
With any luck, they won't be worth a plugged nickle, aside from their recycling value.
Why? Because that means the cost of batteries have come down so much, and the quality and capability of batteries have improved so much that these "early" units don't even come close to offering a competitive advantage.
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Mark Kiernan 1:40PM (9/06/2009)
I would like to see a breakdown on price of other components apart from the battery. Many people say the high price of EVs is due to the battery, I grant this, however if I can buy a basic sedan (like Nissan Sentra) for $16,000. If I rip out the ICE (cost at $2,000) this would reduce the price down to 14k, then add 10k for a new battery and we come out at 30k. Where is the extra 10k coming from?
Excuse my ignorance but how do we get Sedan - ICE - gas tank + battery + electric motor = 2*ICE
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Shock Me 2:14PM (9/06/2009)
Well for the Volt you wouldn't subtract the price of the ICE unless it was the differential between the 1.4 L I4 that is included and the price of a larger displacement V6 that would be needed to move it.
As a pure electric the Volt would need a battery 3 times it's size to match it's series hybrid range. That means a battery perhaps twice the price replacing the 1.4 L + 16 kWh battery. A pure EV at current battery prices would be around 50K or more (Tesla Model S territory). That suggests to me the price of new and unique low-volume parts in addition to the smaller ICE + 16 kWh battery. Things like a new cooling and air conditioning system that exists on no other model. Some kind of new battery management system + the software to run it.
locoyocal 1:40PM (9/06/2009)
None of these people emphasize the weight of the car. If they can drop the car by 50% in weight, size of battery can be a lot smaller.
That alone would could possibly lower the price of battery by 1/2 without any improvement in battery technology.
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bvz 2:33PM (9/06/2009)
I agree that reducing the weight would help a great deal. It's an ideal way to reduce energy consumption of any kind (liquid fuel OR electric).
That said, reducing the weight of a car by 50% would be incredibly expensive... far more than the dollar savings you would gain from the smaller battery.
In the long run I think cars will have to be much much lighter, but I don't think the economies of scale and technology are on our side at the moment.
bvz 2:44PM (9/06/2009)
because I am a geek, I looked up two cars for comparison's sake...
A current generation 4cyl Ford Fusion weighs about 3,285 lbs with a manual transmission
A current generation Smart ForTwo weighs about 1,896 lbs (unsure of the transmission there)
So going from a Fusion to a Smart does not even cut the weight by 50%.
That said, I still agree with you that the weights of these cars need to come down... just seems like a lot of work and expense will be needed before it becomes a standard feature.
Chris M 5:18PM (9/06/2009)
Weight affects fuel consumption in two ways:
1. Increased load on the tires increases rolling resistance. The effect is relatively minor, and can be partially compensated by increasing tire pressure.
2. It takes more energy to get up to driving speed. With conventional cars, that energy is wasted as brake heat every time the car slows down, but hybrids and EVs can use regenerative braking to recover and reuse a substantial portion of that energy.
While it is still a good idea to remove unnecessary weight from EVs and hybrids, reducing weight is not as critical as in cars without regenerative braking. A hybrid like the Prius can get much better fuel economy than a non-hybrid with less weight!
JustZisGuy 3:42PM (9/07/2009)
"A hybrid like the Prius can get much better fuel economy than a non-hybrid with less weight!" (i.e. even if the non-hybrid is a lighter car)
Correct. Yet, amazingly (I was shocked by this, anyway), the Prius is actually one of the lighter mid-size cars available. I took a look for what is considered "mid-size" - see http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byclass/Midsize_Cars2009.shtml - then found a source for tech specs (roadandtrack.com). Voila.
Curb weights in pounds (lightest to heaviest, 2009 models)
Nissan Versa 2695
Hyundai Elantra 2725
Saturn Astra 2800
Nissan Sentra 2925
Toyota Prius 2930
Kia Spectra 2970
Nissan Altima 3110
Kia Optima 3140
Mazda Speed 3 3155
Ford Fusion 3200 (est)
Mercury Milan 3200 (est)
Mazda 6 3260
Mitsubishi Galant 3265
Toyota Camry 3265
Volvo S80 3300
Chrysler Sebring 3310
Volkswagen Passat 3345
Dodge Avenger 3355
BMW 528i 3395
Chevrolet Malibu 3415
Saturn Aura 3435
Lincoln MKZ 3470
Saab 9-5 3470
Nissan Altima Hybrid 3480
Buick Lacrosse 3495
Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid 3500 (est)
Infiniti G37 3500 (est)
Saturn Aura Hybrid 3525
Nissan Maxima 3555
Lexus ES 350 3580
Toyota Camry Hybrid 3680
Lexus GS 350 3705
Acura TL 3710
Mercedes-Benz E350 3740
Audi A6 3825
Cadillac STS 3855
Cadillac CTS 3925
Jaguar XF 4015
Acura RL 4085
Lexus LS 460 4245
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 4260
Audi A8 4320
Audi S6 4485
Audi S8 4585
Lexus LS 600h L 5050
Bentley Continental Flying Spur 5455
Bentley Arnage 5700
Rolls-Royce Phantom 5800
So much for the argument that the weight of the hybrid battery is a major problem!
Ray 2:54PM (9/06/2009)
One way to utilize the old batteries is to use them in conjunction with solar panels to capture energy during the day. Or just leave your solar panels connected to the grid and charge old EV batteries at night using cheap off peak demand electricity.
After the old EV batteries are charged you could use them as a dump charge into your new EV. This would enable you to quick charge your new EV with the old EV batteries and avoid the need for huge level three charging power lines that are needed when using level three quick charging facilities.
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DockScience 5:13PM (9/06/2009)
There's more than an expensive battery driving up costs in a plug-hybrid or full EV.
There's a big expensive high HP/high efficiency electric motor. There is a big expensive electronic power inverter and control system... think about a 100KW stereo amp.
And there's a large electric air conditioner, probably as large as the one that cools your home, and another expensive inverter to run it.
And since weight is key, there are a lot of expensive substitutes and fancy expensive design tricks instead of lots of simple cheap steel.
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Chris M 5:28PM (9/06/2009)
The AC induction motor that GM is using for the Volt is more expensive than the simple series wound DC motors that many hobbyists use, but it is also more reliable and more efficient. The engineers weighted all the plusses and minuses, and chose it as the best compromise between price and performance.
The air conditioner is specially designed for the car, running on high voltage DC, but it is sized similar to a small window AC unit and draws much less power than a home "central air conditioner" would. Several hybrids already use similar AC units, so I would not expect it to be so specilized that it would be extravagantly expensive.
No, the main reasons for the high pricetag is the batteries, and all the development costs involved. Competition and improved manufacturing will eventually achieve lower prices.
kert 6:40AM (9/07/2009)
Actually, AC industion motors should be significantly cheaper to produce than DC or any permanent magnet motor, because they dont contain any expensive metals/materials. Apart from copper, perhaps, if it has copper cage like Tesla does.
Snowdog 9:33PM (9/07/2009)
All that stuff is in a Prius. Electric motors, electric accessories (nothing belt driven in a Prius, it is all electric).
This highlights to me that Toyota will be ready when they decide to build a pure EV (likely when batteries have better economics).
Jean 8:10PM (9/06/2009)
The volt is expensive because it is a hybrid meaning twice of everything and additional weight. Don't count on reusing the batteries at the end of life, they last no more than 8 years which is less than a car life.
Batteries are not so expensive once you understand that:
- You don't need more than 50 miles range when you can recharge at home and the office then on supermarket parking lots.
- We should rent additional batteries only for extended trips with Better Place type exchange.
- The price of electricity is a lot less than gas
Carrying more batteries than necessary is a waste of money and lithium, additional weight to carry all the time that we don't need it. Remember that Lion batteries wear even when not used or underused.
Hybrids are the wrong solution, we need pure EV with baseline 50 miles range extensible to 200 miles or more by renting.
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JustZisGuy 3:53PM (9/07/2009)
"The volt is expensive because it is a hybrid meaning twice of everything and additional weight."
Additional weight relative to a pure EV, yes, but see my post above regarding the weight of the Prius! "Hybrid" does not necessarily equate to heavy. However, I will bet that bigger engine blocks generally result in heavier cars.
Chris M 4:53PM (9/07/2009)
Well, I had a little "water timer" that ran on AA batteries, and when the batteries were drained too low to run that device, I found they still had enough power left to run a much less demanding remote control for almost a year.
In a similar vein, a used EV battery that did not have enough capacity left for sufficient driving range might still have enough capacity left for other, less demanding applications like utility load leveling and UPS backup power.
Ray 10:31PM (9/06/2009)
I can tell you the air conditioner in my EV is not big. There is only a small purple canister and then a large aluminum box a little biger than two loves of bread side by side.
The aluminum box is circutry I think for the air conditioner. I know this because the air conditioner quit working so I pulled out the aluminum box and was going to ship it so EV Innovations so they could test it. Before I shipped it I pluged all the wires back in and tried the air conditioner and it worked. It was just a loose conection. Reinstalled it and it works great. Link to my car. http://www.evalbum.com/1892
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Ray 10:52PM (9/06/2009)
My EV components, Air conditioner, heater, motor controller, inverter, motor, and gear box, = around 15k. Batteries 18k. Brand new conversion candidate with my options 15.5k for 2008 Toyota Yaris. Then all the labor to take out ICE components and put in EV components would equal more dollars. Link to my car. http://www.evalbum.com/1892
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DasBoese 1:47AM (9/07/2009)
I think the biggest contributor to the Volt's price, aside from the electric drivetrain, is manufacturing costs.
The Volt is a complex car, and as such there are quite a few more steps (and time) needed to assemble it compared to a regular car, plus many of those steps are entirely new to the production process. One year of IVER testing can't possibly optimize assembly to the same extent as the decades worth of experience that exists for regular cars.
A few years down the road, the production process ought to be much more streamlined and thus less expensive.
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David Martin 7:38AM (9/07/2009)
GM have had to do a lot of redesign work for the Volt. Here is Future Pundit on the issue:
'Figuring out how to make wipers, a stereo and other accessories that don't kill the Volt's range has proven a tough nut to crack, and it's one reason the Volt's price seems to be rising. The Volt came with a $30,000 price tag when GM unveiled it at the North American International Auto Show last year. At this year's show, Lutz told us it could hit $40,000. Now he's saying it could hit $48,000 and it could be years before GM sees a profit from it.'
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/005119.html
On the issue of residual values in the battery, value remains because of the gradually reducing performance of them over time.
If the battery looses 20% of it's capacity over a period of 7 years, then you don't want to carry on using it in a car.
However, it might take, say, another 7 years to loose another 20%, and where weight is not critical that storage capacity has a value.
Using the values for high and low-price electricity given here:
http://evsandenergy.blogspot.com/2009/09/battery-value-in-afterlife.html
of 40c for high rate and 8cents for low rate, and assuming that you used the old batteries daily to store the low priced electricity, then 1kwh of storage capacity would save you $0.32 times 365 worth of electricity a day, or $116/yr.
Of course, the batteries you had originally bought are not operating at 100% nominal, so on average over 7 years you might get 70% of rated, worth around $80/yr, or $560 over 7 years.
The Nissan Leaf then with it's 24kwh battery might potentially save around $13,440 over 7 years after retirement as a car battery.
With an initial price of, say, $10k for the batteries which have already run the car for 7 years you have not made a bad investment.
When the retired car batteries are finally scrapped, they still retain some value for the recycled materials.
If you had run your car for 12,000 miles/year, then over 7 years you would have done 84,000 miles.
At 30mpg that is 2,800gallons. At $4/gal that is $11,200 saved.
Over the 14 years until you scrap the battery your $10k has bought you $24,640 total savings.
Over the seven years of use assuming you discount the cost of your capital at 5%, then you would need $13,400 of savings for viability.
Over the 14 years you would need $18,855 for your investment to be viable, and have made around an extra $428/year above that.
At UK prices of around $5.50/US gallon you would have saved $15,400 even over the first seven years, so you are $2k in just as a car battery.
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