DRIVING ELECTRIC
Get behind the wheel of an all-electric vehicle and discover how we’re beating our addiction to gasoline-fuelled cars
WORDS SCOTT DUTFIELD
© Getty / Shutterstock / AdobeStock / Ariel / Jaguar
DID YOU KNOW?
The Polestar 3 holds the record for the longest trip on a single charge, covering 581.3 miles
Over the last couple of decades, the world has seen a boom in the sale of all-electric vehicles (EVs). It’s estimated that by 2029 there will be 17.36 million EVs on roads worldwide. Unlike their combustion engine cousins, EVs don’t require the use of fossil fuels, such as petroleum and diesel, to function. Instead they rely on a giant rechargeable lithium-ion battery at the base of the vehicle to supply the electrical energy needed to move its wheels. It’s a simple concept that’s completely overhauling the automotive industry, but it’s taken a long time to get to where we are today in terms of commercial technology.
Although it might seem like EVs are a relatively new invention, they’ve been around since the 1800s. Inventors around the world, including in Hungary, the Netherlands and the US, have tried their hand at switching out the combustion engine for an all-electric alternative. One of the first electric vehicles capable of carrying passengers was engineered in London by Thomas Parker in 1884. What looked like a horse-drawn cart needed no such animal assistance and depended solely on a lead-acid battery for power.
Did you know?
The UK has 75,000 public EV chargers
Ever since Parker’s petrol alternative trundled down the road at up to 12 miles per hour, the world has introduced electric cars of all shapes and sizes. And there are three different types to choose from. The first is the battery electric vehicle (BEV), which is solely powered by an internal battery that’s charged by an external power source. These batteries use the exchange of positively charged ions of lithium through a liquid called an electrolyte to obtain their energy. When the car is driving around and using energy, lithium ions move from a negatively charged electrode called an anode to a positively charged electrode called a cathode. The journey between the two electrodes generates free-moving electrons in the anode, which the vehicle uses for power. When that power is spent and the dashboard is flashing red for a fuel top-up, it’s time to charge up the battery. When an electrical current is passed into the battery, it causes the positively charged lithium ions to move from the cathode to the anode. A car’s battery is full when all the lithium ions have gathered at the anode, ready to be released.