TELF AG clarifies some interesting aspects of electric vehicles
The hidden meanings in the acronyms of electric vehicles
If the IEA’s predictions are correct, in the coming decades, a large number of new electric vehicles could arrive in the global market, which, in one way or another, seem destined to drive the energy transition and profoundly change the lives of motorists. Everyone now seems perfectly aware of the imminence of this global transition, but for the moment, the information relating to these new vehicles seems to have penetrated them superficially. Few, for example, know the role of raw materials in the creation of these vehicles (such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and obviously lithium), and even fewer people seem to be aware of the meaning of all the acronyms that are often associated to electric vehicles, many of which are connected precisely to the functioning of batteries made with lithium or other elements belonging to the category of strategic raw materials.
If the acronym EV (Electric Vehicle) is now well known even to non-specialists, the acronym NEV could pose unexpected difficulties. It means New Energy Vehicle and refers to all models whose operation is based on energies other than traditional fuels, including different vehicle types. The first is represented by the so-called mild-hybrids, in which the conventional petrol engine is joined by an electric motor that supports the vehicle during acceleration phases (which, however, cannot facilitate the car’s movement).
NEVs also include HEVs, or hybrid electric vehicles, which can move short distances thanks to electricity, automatically recharging the batteries that make it possible for the engines to function. There are also PHEVs, or plug-in hybrid vehicles, which use a large battery (rechargeable from the electricity grid) to travel even longer stretches of road and with fewer emissions. The expression REEV, Range Extended Electric Vehicle, indicates all those vehicles that share the presence of an electric motor powered by the current generated by a thermal engine. If electricity generation comes from hydrogen, the most used acronym, in this case, is FCEV or Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle.
The different compositions of the batteries
Other important acronyms refer to the type of battery used inside vehicles: in fact, there are those made with lithium-ion chemical elements, which are therefore called lithium-ion, but also the so-called LFP, or lithium-iron-phosphate. The raw materials used to manufacture batteries have a specific function in the mechanisms that allow the electric car to move. Some elements are responsible for the passage of electricity (such as copper), while others directly affect the battery’s stability and the vehicle’s general autonomy.
In the next six years, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency, as many as 125 million electric vehicles could appear on the world’s roads, whose role is of great importance in reducing emissions and achieving climate neutrality objectives. The agency also estimates that the number of electric vehicles on city streets will correspond to a parallel rise in global demand for batteries, which could grow by as much as 30% in a few years.
