October 2019

OCTOBER 2019 AFTERMARKET 27 EYEBROW www.aftermarketonline.net TRAINING COURSES OFFERED &%$#"! " #% % # " % % &% #%! % % &% % % % &% # % % % &% ! "% "! % # " #% % &% # # % # #"% %"! % % &% ! % " %" " # % % &%$ # " #% " % # " % % &% %" " # %! ! %! # ! " #%" # % % &% ! "%" " # % # % % !% ! &% ! ! " % # % %"! # # Frank Massey is one of the UK’s leading experts in vehicle Diagnostics with over 40 years of industry experience. He is renowned in the motor industry for his unrivalled expertise and knowledge as well as running a successful commercial workshop. +*)( ')&%$%$#( "!*) ( &) ( ! * &) ( *% %$#( !' ( )% $" ( &$ ( "!$ $" ( %$( &( ( +( ( & )!&" ( ( "! )( &( % ( )&$# ( ! ( * "' ( %$')! *"%$#( '!! ( &$ ( ' " $% * ( ! (%$(' ( ( !) ! !% ! % # ! " #% % #" "% ## "" &% % annette@ads-global.co.uk % %% | %% !$ % 01772 201597 www.autoinform.co.uk engagement. Pico Diagnostics also provides a battery test facility with very similar results to a conductance test. It is also worth a word about correct battery support. While downloading software or conducting diagnostics, voltage drop over networks is critical and may lead to functional failure. I have been very outspoken over the current euphoria with plug-in EVs. Because of this, let me make this a technical critique and not just personal or political. The current known lithium reserves are estimated at around 350 million tons. Most of it is politically accessible – Australia has a lot of it. The demands can be simply split into three equal parts, batteries, lubricants and ceramics, and propulsion and weapons technology. A 65-watt lithium battery requires 10kg of lithium. If current predictions are correct with 500 million EVs by 2040, the global resources will only last 18 years. This does not factor in the economic expansion from emerging markets like China, India, and South America. It also does not factor in the much bigger battery demands for 4x4, small commercial vans and high-performance vehicles. Lithium recovery and extraction from exhausted batteries only offers 20% at best. Disposal will be an environmental problem as lithium is essentially a brine, with the fourth lightest mass in the periodic tables. Charging is without doubt one of the most contentious subjects. Some manufacturers are claiming a very short stop over, with high current charging strategies. Other considerations include the poor business model for charging stations, lots of vehicles stationary over long periods of time, together with the power network required to carry the load. Also, what about the operating overheads for charging ports? For me the biggest issue is the primary energy source. Coal, oil, gas, biomass, nuclear and renewables are all currently used to produce electricity. Given production processes, transportation, energy loss in the conversion processes it doesn’t look so clean anymore. The current marketing reminds me of the video format wars; Betamax versus VHS, with V2000 also angling for market share. In the same way, we have hybrids and plug- in EVs all competing, except the goal is the myth of clean transportation for the future. My opinion for future personal vehicle development lies with the hydrogen cell. Back in our home video format war comparison, while the tape formats were fighting it out in the 1980s, the higher-picture quality benefits of laserdisc and uncompressed audio, decades before Blu-Ray, were ignored by consumers in the UK in favour of home taping convenience. There were a few markets though, notably Hong Kong, where laserdisc was the dominant home video format. In an interesting twist, China has announced an ambitious programme for hydrogen powered vehicles. Europe on the other hand rarely gives even lip service to this obvious development. I suspect the problem with new clean vehicle technology is how governments will apply taxation in place of gasoline and diesel.