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Politically inconvenient truth about electric cars
By Paul Betts and Song Jung-a

Published: December 11 2008 19:24 | Last updated: December 11 2008 19:24

President Nicolas Sarkozy would dearly like to end Frances rotating presidency
of the European Union on a high note by brokering this week a deal on a grand
European response to global warming and energy efficiency. The ultimate plan is
to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20 per cent with member states at the same
time drawing their future energy needs from clean renewable sources by the same
percentage amount. Under the circumstances, it is no surprise that the
automobile industry has found itself at the heart of the climate change debate.


Indeed, Mr Sarkozys own government commissioned months ago one of Frances
leading energy experts  Jean Syrota, the former French energy industry
regulator  to draw up a report to analyse all the options for building cleaner
and more efficient mass-market cars by 2030. The 129-page report was completed
in September to coincide with the Paris motor show. But the government has
continued to sit on it and seems reluctant to ever publish it.

Yet all those who have managed to glimpse at the document agree that it makes
interesting reading. It concludes that there is not much future in the much
vaunted developed of all electric-powered cars. Instead, it suggests that the
traditional combustion engine powered by petrol, diesel, ethanol or new
biofuels still offers the most realistic prospect of developing cleaner
vehicles. Carbon emissions and fuel consumption could be cut by 30-40 per cent
simply by improving the performance and efficiency of traditional engines and
limiting the top speed to about 170km/hr. Even that is well above the average
top speed restriction in Europe, with the notable exception of Germany. New
so-called stop and start mechanisms can produce further 10 per cent reductions
that can rise to 25-30 per cent in cities. Enhancements in car electronics as
well as the development of more energy efficient tyres, such as Michelins new
energy saver technology, are also expected to help reduce consumption and
pollution.

Overall, the Syrota report says that adapting and improving conventional
engines could enhance their efficiency by an average of 50 per cent. It also
argues that new-generation hybrid cars combining conventional engines with
electric propulsion could provide an interesting future alternative.

By combining electric batteries with conventional fuel-driven engines, cars
could run on clean electricity for short urban trips while switching over to
fuel on motorways. This would resolve one of the biggest problems facing all
electric cars  the need to install costly battery recharging
infrastructures.The report warns that the overall cost of an all-electric car
remains unviable at around double that of a conventional vehicle. Battery
technology is still unsatisfactory, severely limiting performance both in terms
of range and speed. The electricity supply for these batteries would continue
to come from mostly fossil sources.

The misgivings over the future of the electric car may explain why the French
government appears to have spiked the report. It probably considers it
politically incorrect, especially when some of Mr Sarkozys big business chums
such as Vincent Bollor and Serge Dassault are developing either electric cars
and lobbying hard. Renault too has struck a deal with Israel to jointly develop
a mass-market electric vehicle. To paraphrase Al Gores documentary on climate
change, Paris may feel it is not the best of times to publicise the
inconvenient truth about electric cars.

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