- The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) says that a more efficient battery could cut EV costs by up to $4,800 and charging times by a third.
- Smaller batteries and more efficient EVs could cut demand on the power grid by 20%.
- The ACEEE proposes the EPA to consider upstream CO2 production in a vehicle's battery pack as a way to incentivize automakers to focus on vehicle efficiency.
It’s easy to forget that electric cars are remarkably efficient. Unlike any combustion-based engine in which the potential energy from its fuel is lost mostly via heat and friction, electric motors convert most of their energy into forward motion. Just think of it this way: A 6,300-lb Ford F-150 Lightning can travel 320 miles on the energy equivalent of about four gallons of gasoline.
Still, just because EVs are more efficient than their fuel-powered counterparts doesn’t mean vehicle efficiency as a whole is now irrelevant. If manufacturers were to put the spotlight more on vehicle efficiency, it could make EVs even cheaper. By a lot, actually. A recent white paper released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) says that more efficient EVs would enable vehicles to get away with using smaller batteries. In turn, these smaller batteries would be cheaper to make, therefore cutting prices. The ACEEE estimates that smaller batteries could cut on average $4,800 from an EVs price.
According to the ACEEE, this is all based on the current average mi/kWh rating of all EVs on sale. The collective asserts that when averaged out, EVs achieve 2.5 mi/kWh which isn’t all that great. One of the most popular EVs in the world, the Tesla Model Y, averages around 3.5 mi/kWh. This is decidedly better than average in the compact EV crossover class. The ACEEE says that improving the average efficiency rating of a 300-mile EV from 2.5 mi/kWh to 3.5 mi/kWh would make EV adoption quicker since it would cut prices and allow more vehicles to be made with the same amount of battery materials.
Still, a lack of efficiency among some EVs doesn’t mean going electric isn’t worth it. A 2.5 mi/kWh car costs about $960 per year to recharge, compared to a standard ICE car’s roughly $2,000 worth of fuel costs. A 3.5 kWh/mi EV would be even cheaper at $680 per year. Similarly, the study says that more efficient cars would gain more utility out of charging stops of all types since the same amount of energy would go much further in a more efficient car when all variables are equal.
These are things that most EV veterans have already learned. I’ll even admit that part of the reason why our Hyundai Kona test sans DC fast charging worked so well is because the Kona is so efficient. Its 64.8 kWH battery and 4.0 mi/kWh consumption average meant that the car gained a lot of utility in a short amount of time. If I did need to DC fast charge, the Kona only took 40 minutes despite its not-so-great 85 kW max charging speed. By comparison, the Rivian R1S that I have this week uses a 149 kWh battery and has hovered around 2 mi/kWh. It took longer than the Kona to do the 10-80% charging sprint despite having a max charge rate nearly three times that of the Hyundai. It also costs nearly three times as much to recharge the Rivian.
But, it’s hard to get consumers and automakers alike to understand why we should focus on efficiency. Brands like Lucid have made it a priority, but on the other hand, Dodge has been open about how its clientele doesn’t care about efficiency or range for its forthcoming Charger EV.
The ACEEE thinks that one of the best ways to get buyers and brands to focus on EV efficiency is to rewrite policy. Currently, as far as the EPA is concerned EVs are all roughly the same when it comes to tailpipe emissions. The ACEEE thinks that the EPA should start considering upstream CO2 emissions, which would hold brands accountable for the large batteries that their cars use. A cheaper EV with a smaller battery should no doubt generate less CO2 in the production of its battery. That'll be good for the environment and, in the long term, good for your wallet.
Contact the author: kevin.williams@insideevs.com
