Canada
Canada announced
that it will ban the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles but may
face problems as extreme climates reduce the range and increase the charging
times of electric vehicles.
Canada will
ban the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and light-duty trucks
by 2035 to fight climate change. A key problem is that cold climates can cut
electric vehicle (EV) range drastically. A 2019 report by
AAA stated that cold weather can reduce the range of electric vehicles by
up to 40 percent.
These
effects might make the transition to EVs harder as EVs use energy to heat the
battery coolant to prevent it from freezing in cold weather and for heating the
passenger cabin.
While
ICEs generate their own heat while working, EVs need to generate that heat
elsewhere in cold temperatures, typically by using the battery thermal
management system.
Another
problem is the charge times. A 2018 study found that, when an EV
battery was charged at 77 degrees F, a DC fast charger could get a battery to
an 80 percent charge in 30 minutes. At 32 degrees F, however, the battery's
charge was 36 percent lower after the same time period.
Innovations
will help like the Audi e-tron, which includes a heat pump, heated
seats for more efficient heating, and a cold-weather option that preheats the
car while it is charging.
Anna
Stefanopoulou, Director, University of Michigan’s Energy Institute, stated
that EV owners in cold countries should try not to let their car's batteries go
below 20 percent.
Another
option is self-charging electric-ICE hybrid vehicles, which use their ICEs to
get going.
Hydrogen vehicles also have the potential for better performance in cold weather. Toyota stated that range or performance is unaffected in cold temperatures for its fuel cell vehicles.
Source: Interesting Engineering
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