The New York Fire Department recently reported that so far this year, there have been 108 lithium-ion battery fires at New York City, which have injured 66 people and killed 13. According to the FDNY commissioner, Laura Kavanagh, “There is not a small amount of fire, it (the vehicle) literally explodes.” The resulting fire is “very difficult to extinguish and so it is particularly dangerous.”
Last year there were more than 200 fires from batteries from e-bikes, EVs, and other devices.
A Canadian man’s frustrating ownership experience with his brand-new Ford F-150 Lightning is the perfect example of why a poor charging infrastructure can become the worst enemy of EV adoption.
Winnipeg area-based Dalbir Bala bought a Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck in January for around $85,000 (115,000 Canadian dollars), plus tax.
He purchased the vehicle to use it both for work and recreational activities, such as driving to his cabin or going fishing, and chose to go all-electric to save money on gas and because owning an EV is “responsible citizenship these days.” But his ownership experience has been far from ideal so far.
This is a retelling of the poor saps Winnipeg to Chicago journey. Worth a read.
State governments have historically generated revenue to maintain roads, traffic lights, and the like by adding a tax at the pump. Owing to the federal government-prodded transition to electric vehicles (EVs) to combat something called “climate change,” states stand to lose out on this source of revenue as EVs obviously don’t require gasoline to operate.
Nanaimo resident Rick Butzelaar bought an electric vehicle less than two months ago and the savings so far have been significant, but he doesn’t have a home charger and a recent bid by BC Hydro to increase public charging rates has him concerned.
The provincial Crown corporation wants to raise rates at public electric vehicle charging stations by 15 per cent from Sept. 1, which the company says would allow it to recover the costs of providing them over 10 years.
Some consumers say the proposed rate hike would reduce the incentive for others to make the switch to an electric vehicle.
The regulatory regime forces consumers to buy “efficient” and expensive vehicles.
How did the government get into the business of decreeing how many miles per gallon new cars (and trucks) must deliver? The authority to do this is nowhere to be found in the Constitution — though some will say, rightly, that there were no cars (or trucks) around when the Constitution became the law of the land in 1789.
The owner of a 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat with an extended-range battery regrets buying the electric truck after attempting a road trip, only to abandon it and finish the drive with a gas-powered rental vehicle.
Dalbir Bala of La Salle, Man., left the truck in Minnesota last month after he said he tried unsuccessfully to charge the battery at two different charging stations.
“It was really a nightmare frustration for us,” Bala said.
Wait until the “Rolling Blackouts” caused by load shedding start, then the real fun will set in.
The development of lithium-ion batteries has changed the concept of energy storage. As their use expands, a potential downside is becoming more apparent, with resulting fires proving difficult to control and human lives being put at risk. House fires, car fires, and ship fires emphasise the scale of the problem.
Three pickup trucks lined up on a highway in front of a Tesla in Phoenix, Arizona, to form a rolling roadblock. The Tesla driver, a computer scientist, moved lane to wait for them to let him past. What came next was unexpected: a video on social media from the incident in June shows a belch of acrid black smoke from the engine of one of the trucks, enveloping the electric car following behind.
The Tesla driver had been caught by a “rolling coal”, a deliberate modification of a diesel engine to increase the engine’s horsepower – while also dramatically increasing pollution. It is also illegal: Sinister Diesel, one of the companies selling “defeat devices” used to roll coal, agreed to pay a $1m (£780,000) fine this week for breaking environmental laws.
It was not a one-off. Since at least 2014 rolling coal has become a symbol of dirty protest against the rise of electric vehicles (EVs). Around the world, the electric car has been caught up in the culture wars, as tensions grow around the shift from the era of fossil fuels to net zero carbon emissions.
After revelations of child labor and treacherous conditions in many cobalt mines, automakers and mineral companies said they would adhere to international safety standards
FUNGURUME, Democratic Republic of Congo — Alain Kasongo, burly and goateed, worked for four years driving the heavy trucks that hauled away tons of cobalt ore from a gaping hole at one of the biggest mines in Congo. The vibrations from the equipment and the jolts of driving over rough ground during his 12-hour shifts could be bone-rattling, he said. Finally, the pain in his spine grew so unbearable that he needed surgery.
Canada is pouring billions of taxpayer dollars into electric vehicle battery plants, but is this the best way for policymakers to grab a piece of the EV supply chain?
It’s a question some industry watchers are asking now that the federal government has committed $13 billion toward a Volkswagen AG battery plant in St. Thomas, Ont., as well as $15 billion in funding for the construction of a Stellantis NV-LG Energy Solution battery plant in Windsor, Ont.
While batteries are a key component of the EV market, Greig Mordue, a professor of engineering at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and former general manager of Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada, thinks the incentives were “over-the-top,” and ultimately won’t give Canada the edge over the United States it is looking for.
Recently on Twitter, Alberta MP Shannon Stubbs, Tory shadow minister for energy and natural resources, put forth a series of tweets on Ontario’s Ring of Fire region, heretofore a promised land of metals and minerals invoked as an enabling resource for the Trudeau government’s electric vehicle (EV) dreams.
In a recent critique, television star and car enthusiast Jeremy Clarkson has voiced serious concerns about the safety of electric vehicles, calling them “bloody dangerous.” His concern goes beyond cars to other devices powered by batteries, like electric bikes. Clarkson writes, “People have died, and that’s not surprising when you learn that a fully charged e-bike contains the same explosive energy as six hand grenades.”
When it comes to EV chargers, Canada is way behind the U.S., analysis shows
Canada’s most populous provinces are falling behind many U.S. states when it comes to building fast charging stations for electric vehicles, a CBC News analysis shows, raising questions about whether this country’s infrastructure is ready for a transition to cleaner energy.
Quebec and B.C. fare the worst among Canada’s large provinces in terms of the number of publicly accessible fast charging stations compared to the number of electric vehicles on the road, according to CBC’s analysis of data from Transport Canada, Statistics Canada and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Tax payer dollars should not be paying for the toys of the Rich.
What caused the fire?
The Fremantle Highway caught fire off the Dutch island of Ameland on July 26. The car carrier had set out from Bremerhaven, Germany, to sail to Singapore. The cause of the fire has not been definitively established, but it is possible that the battery in one of the electric cars on board ignited.
This can happen, for example as a consequence of a production error. On Friday evening, the Dutch authorities reported that the fire had died down and was emitting less smoke. However, it is still burning, and it is not clear for how long the freighter can withstand the heat.
According to the German environment ministry, the ship is carrying 1,600 tons of heavy fuel oil and another 200 tons of marine diesel oil. There is still the danger of an environmental disaster.
Communist country’s extensive penetration of the British economy poses national security risk
A coming influx of Chinese electric cars represents a security risk as they could be remotely controlled to “paralyse” Britain, according to the head of the industry’s professional body.
Britons face “major security issues” from Chinese cars, warned Professor Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
In a report due to be shared with car makers and regulators, Prof Saker said there was “no way” of stopping Chinese cars coming under remote control.
