Automotive & motorsport An electrifying history
The developments that steered electric vehicles from past to present day
With sales of electric vehicles (EVs) already rising by 144 per cent in 2019, the popularity of EVs will only continue to increase ―but they haven’t always been racing ahead. Here, Simone Bruckner managing director of power resistor manufacturer Cressall, looks at the history of EVs, and the developments that advanced them.
I
n 2013, just 3,500 EVs were registered in the UK. By the close of 2019, this figure had soared to over 250,000, with several
factors driving EV adoption. From a manufacturing perspective, EVs today are cheaper to produce than they were a decade ago, mainly due to reduced component costs. Then, there are the environmental
benefits, with battery powered vehicles generating 42 per cent of the carbon emissions of a conventional combustion engine. Finally, the increasing developments in battery technology and charging infrastructure are gradually reducing the range anxiety felt by many EV-sceptics when the vehicles first began to hit the roads.
ElECtriC aCCElEratES Despite proving themselves as one of this century’s most transformative innovations, EVs first became popular around the turn of the 20th century for the advantages they held over steam-powered and combustion-engine vehicles. Steam powered vehicles were inconvenient, as they could take up to an hour to prepare and heat for a journey. Combustion engine vehicles were dirty,
28
unreliable and difficult to start and operate. The lifestyles of many
people at the time meant long journeys were not commonly made. EVs were ideal for short urban journeys, and were regarded as easy and convenient to use. But the electric powered
vehicles of the time were not exactly like the ones we see today. The development of the first EV can be attributed to a series of technological advancements. In 1828, Ányos Jedlik, a Hungarian inventor, created an early type of electric motor and used it to power a tiny car. Thirty years later, French Physicist Gaston Planté invented the lead-acid battery. It was in 1884 that British EV pioneer
Thomas Parker combined the two technologies in a single carriage to produce the first EV with the potential to be mass produced. Parker went on to electrify public transport, such as the London Underground
and the Blackpool Promenade Tramway. However, by the 1920s, EVs began to lose
popularity as improved road infrastructure raised demand for longer vehicle ranges and the availability of petroleum increased.
rESurging aHEad Developments towards the end of the 20th century improved the performance of EVs, causing EV uptake to rise once again. Today, many electric vehicles can use regenerative
February 2021 Instrumentation Monthly
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74
