America still playing catchup as EV battery technologies grow

When I was a kid, there was a conspiracy theory that an intrepid inventor had built a carburetor that would allow a car to travel 100 miles on a gallon of gas.

However, it was said that the oil companies had bought the patent and made sure that this genius invention never saw the light of day. Allegedly, the auto companies were complicit

These days, one can go to the internet and read about potential battery or fuel cell technologies that will provide vast range, well beyond the 220-to-300 miles that today’s Lithium-ion batteries deliver and be able to be recharged much faster.

However, these are not conspiracy theories.

There are a variety of battery technologies — sodium-ion, ETOP, semi-solid state, and solid state — that promise longer range per charge and shorter charging times that are in the prototype phase and automakers such as Toyota that say they will have such cars on the market by the end of this decade.

Of course, China — which controls 70% of the EV battery market — is ahead of the U.S. and the question is can the U.S. catch up? Globally, there is a surge in the purchase of EVs, except in the U.S. where the end of the $7,500 EV tax credit in the Big Beautiful Bill caused new EV sales to plunge.

When I was in Shanghai last year, the EV and gas-powered cars were distinguished by their license plates. The EVs had green plates and those plates were free. The gas-powered cars had the white plates, and they could only be purchased through a monthly auction. Those plates cost between $12,500 and $14,000 on top of the price of the car.

China has a cut-throat market for EVs, so such incentives are an attempt to goose that market — 50% of new car sales in China are now EVs or hybrids — but it has the side benefit of helping to deal with the air pollution in Chinese cities, though, yes, China still burns too much coal to generate electricity.

While the current higher gas prices in the U.S. are causing Americans to give EVs another look, the question of range anxiety and charging times are still impediments. What happens if you can get 750-to- 1,000 miles to a charge and can recharge sufficiently in 10 minutes?

People who own EVs often scoff at these anxieties. Most people don’t drive hundreds of miles in a day that often, and they charge their EVs overnight in their own garages. If you have solar cells on your roof, so much the better.

I was at the North American International Auto Show in 2007 when the Chevy Volt hybrid was introduced. GM’s studies indicated that average Americans drove about 40 miles a day to work, errands, etc. So, the Volt was designed to run 40 miles on pure battery power before the gas engine kicked in.

However, I suspect that until we have these newer super batteries available in a wide variety of cars, Americans will hang back.

The more fundamental question is will these new batteries be built in the U.S. or China or perhaps Europe? The Chinese government is subsidizing the development of battery technology because it sees it as a pillar of the 21st century economy.

The current administration in the United States sees such technologies as the “green new scam” or “woke.” It is “drill, baby, drill” and the administration is pursuing an America First supply chain policy to develop lithium mines and processing in the U.S. OK, but what if lithium becomes the technology of the past?

How much damage can one man’s prejudices ultimately do to America’s technological and energy future?

• Keith Peterson, of Lake Barrington, served 29 years as a press and cultural officer for the United States Information Agency and Department of State. He was chief editorial writer of the Daily Herald 1984-86. His book “American Dreams: The Story of the Cyprus Fulbright Commission” is available from Amazon.com.