Electric Car Explodes During Charging

It’s a fact by now: electric cars occasionally explode (recently https://twitter.com/ErenCanarslanX/status/1666985275891896320). The reason is really quite simple: it’s practically impossible to build all the elements that make up a car’s battery pack in an absolutely perfect and safe manner.

It doesn’t take much to understand that electric cars powered by current batteries are a COMPLETE FARCE.

Let’s do the math seriously, completely setting aside the concept of electrical energy as “green”… Just read here: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/it/infographics/how-is-eu-electricity-produced-and-sold/: European production based on 15.8% coal, 19.6% gas, 20% nuclear, and they say “almost” 40% renewable sources. So more than half the energy is produced by…. fossils and nuclear?!?!? EXCELLENT!!! For coal and gas we give precise numbers but for renewables we rely on rounding? Alright then… who cares….!!!!

Let’s get to the point: the number of cars in circulation in Europe is approximately 250 million. We’re excluding a nice chunk of about 6 million trucks that are definitely very green, small stuff, what can you say.

Let’s pretend we want to POLITICALLY force and convert at least half of these: 125 million. We’re talking about an obligation, an expense you wouldn’t make, a cost that falls entirely on citizens’ shoulders.

To be really optimistic about the demands on the power grid, let’s pretend they all get converted with an ultra-basic car equipped with a battery pack of just 52 kW (for example a Renault Zoe). Do you have a family car? Too bad, now you’re stuck with a compact with small batteries, it’s mandatory. Let’s assume you want to charge just 33% of this car every day. Obviously we’re ridiculing the energy requirement, but we want to play in our favor.

That’s 17 kW to charge at home. With a 3 kW limit, you have to do it at night, it takes about 6 hours.

17 kW delivered in 6 hours for all 125 million vehicles, makes a total of 2,125 GW to use to charge all the cars in 6 hours.

Round to 2 TW, so the math becomes simpler. Note, it’s not a PEAK of 2 TW, it’s the total energy to be distributed in 6 hours.

These 2 TW are to be multiplied by 365 days. So we need about 730 TW total in a year.

In 2022 the EU produced 2,641 terawatts of electrical energy. Wait, wait…. In a year… 2,641…????

Let’s do the classic proportion 2,641 : 730 = 100 : x

SURPRISE!!! Basically 27% of total production would be needed to charge JUST HALF of the cars currently in circulation (NOT the same cars, everyone driving around in a basic compact!). But anyway now we’re building lots of plants based on the famous “atom” so we’ll fix ourselves in no time…

In conclusion, FORCING a technological shift for political reasons is complete madness. First we need to solve:

• Production: it must be truly GREEN, otherwise we’re just moving the pollution problem to someone else’s doorstep. Beautiful! Genius!!!

• Independence: we’re switching from oil dominance to Chinese dominance of panels, congratulations.

• Distribution: through the PNRR (read: our money) PRIVATE companies want to rebuild the grid (https://www.borse.it/articolo/ultime-notizie/enel-piu-investimenti-in-reti-e-batterie-con-i-fondi-del-pnrr). Applause.

• Batteries: current ones are not very safe and have low capacity. If you ban LPG and methane in enclosed places then we don’t want electric cars on a ferry to Sardinia either, thanks.