Electric vehicles

MIT researchers have found that while battery and fuel production for electric vehicles creates higher emissions than traditional cars, those emissions are offset by the greater energy efficiency of EVs. “Currently, the electric vehicle in the U.S., on average, would emit about 200 grams of CO2 per mile,” says senior research scientist Sergey Paltsev. “We are projecting that with cleaning up the grid, we can reduce emissions from electric vehicles by 75%, from about 200 (grams) today to about 50 grams of CO2 per mile in 2050.”

Prof. Chris Knittel speaks with Stacey Vanek Smith on The Indicator from Planet Money podcast about the high price of oil and what that means for electric vehicles. “If everybody believed EVs were taking over next year, we would see oil prices tank now,” says Knittel. “The fact that they’re not tanking suggests that the markets think there’ll be sustained demand for oil for quite some time.”  

Regent, a company founded by two MIT graduates, has created a seaglider, an “all-electric vehicle [that] is a cross between a boat and an airplane,” reports CBS Boston. “It can travel up to 180 mph, never flying higher than a wingspan above the water.” 

MIT startup SolidEnergy Systems has signed a deal with GM to develop next-generation electric vehicle batteries that are expected to cut the cost of the technology by 60%, reports Michael Wayland for CNBC. “The new batteries feature lithium metal instead of lithium-ion like today’s EVs use,” writes Wayland. “The switch changes the chemistry of the battery to enable higher energy density and longer range from a similar-sized battery or comparable range with a smaller battery.”

MIT researchers have developed an online interactive tool aimed at helping consumers quantify the costs of buying an electric or gas-powered vehicle. The tool demonstrates how electric vehicles may initially be more expensive, but are often cheaper in the long-run, reports Veronica Penny for The New York Times. Prof. Jessika Trancik notes that she hopes the tool will “help people learn about how those upfront costs are spread over the lifetime of the car.”

WCVB-TV’s Mike Wankum visits MIT to learn about the Solar Electric Vehicle Team. “We are trying to prove that we can move away from cars that rely on gasoline or diesel,” explains undergraduate Salem Ali, “and move towards more electric vehicles, and potentially even vehicles that you don’t have to plug in.”

Optimus Ride, a startup founded by MIT alumni, will start a self-driving car shuttle service at an industrial park in New York City, reports the Associated Press. “The free service is expected to transport some 500 passengers daily on the yard’s internal roads,” the AP explains.

MIT startup Optimus Ride is launching a self-driving shuttle service at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, reports Andrew J. Hawkins for The Verge.

The Economist highlights how MIT startup Indigo is developing an engine system that could be incorporated within an electric vehicle’s wheels. The Economist notes that Indigo believes their system, “a module that incorporates brakes, steering and an active suspension, as well as a motor, overcomes both the electrical problem and the unsprung-weight problem, thus paving the way for in-wheel drives to become mainstream.”

A new MIT study suggests that “strings of plastic balls dangled in the ocean could harvest enough cobalt for hundreds of thousands of electric car batteries,” reports David Adam for New Scientist. The researchers think the system could “catch enough dissolved cobalt from seawater each year to make a battery for every Tesla Model 3 that has rolled off the production line so far,” says Adam.

Forbes reporter Chuck Tannert spotlights alumnus R.J. Scaringe, founder and CEO of the electric vehicle company Rivian Automotive. Scaringe explains his motivation to build electric vehicles: “It was frustrating knowing the things I loved were simultaneously the things that were making the air dirtier and causing all sorts of issues, everything from geopolitical conflict to the smog to climate change.”

Writing for Axios, research scientist Apurba Sakti examines Norway’s transition to electric vehicles. “EVs become the preferred choice of most consumers once they try them; range anxiety can be addressed; the electricity grid was able to absorb the additional demand for electricity in the short run; and perhaps most important, temporary subsidies and incentives can kickstart the adoption of new green technology,” Sakti writes.

Washington Post reporter Peter Holley highlights MIT startup Superpedestrian, which is developing an electric scooter that is “capable of operating on a single charge for several days, self-diagnosing mechanical problems and removing itself from circulation using ‘vehicle intelligence.’”

Prof. John Sterman speaks with Marco Werman of PRI’s The World about the future of the American car market. According to Sterman, “the U.S. still has the opportunity, if the federal policies were aligned with our long-term interests, to have a major role in the new car and transportation and mobility industry that’s taking shape.”

MIT startup Rivian has announced they are planning to bring two new electric vehicles to the market in 2020: an SUV and pickup truck with four motors, reports Russ Mitchell for the Los Angeles Times.