Why isn’t adapting ICEs into EVs a thing? Why more lithium-based ewaste with build-int obsolescence?
Adaptions are a thing. However paying someone to do it costs a lot of money (even doing it yourself is not cheap) and it’s not much more - possibly even less - of a stretch to one’s budget to get a whole new car built from the ground up as an EV, so commercial conversions tend to be a niche market focused on more interesting vehicles (e.g. what this Melbourne based conversion company converts).
Economies of scale, i guess… Renault seems to have tried it, perhaps for internet points only though.
I can’t shake the feeling that the technology is there and attainable, but… money. Which means it only favors automakers.
GM had at one point been working on an eCrate block for conversions, but they seem to have abandoned it.
This looks like a real product.
I seem to remember it being insanely expensive though.
It is a (VERY niche) thing
lithium-based ewaste
That’s propaganda. Lithium ion batteries can be well recycled. First second life as static energy storage, then broken down into materials and which are then reused. Around 98% of the materials can be recycled.
with build-int obsolescence
Batteries can be replaced. Nio makes it super easy, other manufacturers require one day at a repair garage. Overall way fewer parts suffer from degradion from use in EVs than ICE cars.
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Overall way fewer parts suffer from degradion from use in EVs than ICE cars.
That’s only because an EV has less moving parts. And yes, there is built-in obsolescence in any modern car, ICE or otherwise.
Do you mean converting an ICE into an EV in your garage? There are hobbyists who do that, but it’s not a small project.
Do you mean taking an existing ICE frame and making an EV version? It happens. The Mini Cooper EV is a Cooper S with the guts from the BMW i3 dropped in. They changed as little as they could get away with. They even left the hood scoop on.
It makes for an EV that’s just OK, but not great.
Do you mean taking an existing ICE frame and making an EV version? It happens. The Mini Cooper EV is a Cooper S with the guts from the BMW i3 dropped in. They changed as little as they could get away with. They even left the hood scoop on.
Meaning it can be done. I don’t think there are that many engineering challenges to overcome. If the main obstacle is money, perhaps stopping the subsidies to Big Oil would help?
The main obstacle is that they aren’t very good. They’re a transitional step. We’re already moving past the point where it makes sense. The next Mini EV models coming out will be purpose built designs.
It can be done, but it makes a worse product. EVs are built to fit batteries and motors in the most optimal place. Likewise with ICE cars with engines and transmissions. What you end up doing is shoving batteries in the engine compartment which is shaped wrong and you significantly change the balance of the car. You leave much of the expensive parts of the ICE car, while adding more expensive parts. It just doesn’t work well in practice. If you are going to spend time engineering, it is better to engineer a proper EV than try to shoehorn an EV into a size 6.
The power train is the most expensive and largest part of an EV. So stuffing it info a vehicle that isn’t meant for it is pretty tricky. It’s easier if you sacrifice the truck or back seat for batteries, but it’s still hard.
So it seems, but aren’t electric motors way smaller? Heck Ryan F9 fits inside a truck’s engine space (but i’m trying to make a point for any vehicle, yes).
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
fits inside a truck’s engine space
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The electric motors can be pretty tiny. The batteries are generally the packaging problem. They’re heavy and lumping them all where the engine would have been in a vehicle will have severe impacts on weight balance and handling. Distributing them is best, but requires space that vehicles need to be designed around. You can put some batteries in the engine compartment and some in the trunk to keep things neutral, but that still requires giving up storage space and requires running a high voltage line throughout the vehicle to connect the battery banks.
Adapting is very labor intensive, so very expensive. Somewhere between $20.000 and $65.000 depending on the car. They do that for old timers where somebody is willing to pay for it for the love of the car to keep it running when the engine is busted. But with that price tag, you can just as well buy a second hand or even a new EV.
So yay landfills? So caring for the environment is only important when it’s cheap?
Dude. You asked a question. People have been trying to answer it as best they can.
Don’t use that as an excuse to complain about something else without at least acknowledging their willingness to put the effort in.
Either that, or don’t ask questions, just make a rant comment
caring for the environment is only important when it’s cheap?
Lots of people even pay ridiculous amounts of money to look manly and strong in a big truck and pay even more to roll coal with it instead of spending money to make things more environmental friendly.
How would converting an ICE to an EV reduce the need for lithium?
