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Guest column: An electric rail system is needed An electric rail system is needed By ROLF WESTGARD
In August, President Obama went to Elkhart, Ind., to announce $2.4 billion in grants "to develop the next generation of fuel-efficient cars and trucks powered by the next generation of batteries."
The electric car is popular in the press. Consider Mr. Shai Agassi, the founder of an electric car company called Better Place. In July 2008, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times called Agassi "the Jewish Henry Ford" who was launching an energy revolution that would end the world's "oil addiction."
In May 2009, Time magazine declared that Agassi was going to "help the world end its addiction to oil by transforming cars from their climate - changing, lung-polluting, gas-guzzling design to one that's clean, affordable and all-electric." The stories didn't mention that Better Place has just a concept car with a range under 100 miles, and a complex system for exchanging spent batteries on the road. Two other startup car companies - Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive - have been getting similar press treatment although their cars cost $90,000 plus.
Hybrid gas/electric vehicles like the Ford Fusion, Toyota Prius, and Honda Insight are cost effective and selling. The technologies behind those vehicles are durable, reliable, and affordable. Robert Bryce, author of the perceptive book, The Dangerous Delusion of Energy Independence, states that cars that don't come with an extension cord are here to stay, and should claim an increasing share of the automotive market.
GM, Ford, Chrysler, and Nissan are all planning to introduce electric cars. By 2020, Nissan expects 10 percent of the vehicles it produces to be all-electric. In early 2009, a company official said that it sees "electrification of the transportation sector as our highest priority."
A century ago, the New York Times declared that the electric car "has long been recognized as the ideal solution" because it "is cleaner and quieter" and "much more economical" than gasoline-fueled cars. Unfortunately, the problem today is the same as it was then - the low energy density of batteries. Lithium ion batteries are today's best. They have a capacity per kilogram of 150 watt-hours. Gasoline has a capacity of 12,000 watt hours per kilogram. This fundamental difference casts doubt on the near term potential of the all electric car.
Lithium ion batteries start degrading as soon as they leave the factory. They will last perhaps three to four years from the date of manufacture whether you use them or not. A lithium-ion battery pack needs an on-board computer to manage the battery. If depleted below its minimum voltage (2.4 to 2.8 V/cell), you will have a dead battery. On rare occasions, lithium-ion batteries can rupture, ignite, or explode when exposed to high-temperature environments, like in an area with prolonged direct sunlight.
The long term market for better batteries and electric cars with longer range is enormous. It doesn't need government supplied capital, as private investment is pouring into research.
A better place for that federal $2.4 billion would be developing the equipment for an energy efficient electric rail system project. It could cover at least the eastern half of the U.S. which has many large cities within a few hundred miles of each other. Comparable to President Eisenhower's interstate highway program, supplying the rolling stock and controls for a major passenger rail system would provide jobs and long term energy savings. General Motors Electro-Motive has been the world's largest locomotive builder, Pullman developed passenger cars, and electronic controls are up our alley. It's a manufacturing market that we can regain. The electric locomotives that transport passengers don't need batteries; their power is supplied along the line. Some of the technology would be applicable to urban rail systems like Central Corridor.
The U.S. has the engineering talent and facilities to respond to this opportunity. It's time for "all aboard".
ROLF WESTGARD is a a professional member of the Geological Society of America and a member of the Brainerd Dispatch's advisory board.
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