The electric car revolution:

is it realistic or optimistic?
Governments and motor manufacturers around the
world are throwing money and resources into the
development of electric vehicles. But can electric
power really replace the internal combustion
engine before the middle of the century? Maybe it can,
but this is by no means certain.

Words in red are explained in the vocabulary guide; words in blue or green appear in the
worksheet below.

Electric vehicles have arrived. With technology led by Tesla, and all of the world's
major car manufacturers following along behind, electric vehicles are now a
common sight on the roads of most developed countries. Yet the situation in less
developed countries is rather different; the only African country to have started the
change to electric vehicles is South Africa and even there, electric vehicle sales
still account for less than 1% of the total. In South America, the situation is better, with
all Latin American countries beginning the move towards electric vehicles, particularly
Columbia which, in 2020, had a third of the continent's total electric car fleet. In
Russia, the wealthy were investing in imported electric cars until the invasion of
Ukraine stopped most imports; a very small number of electric vehicles
are manufactured locally. In India the government is promoting the purchase
of electric vehicles with tax exemptions and other incentives. So electric cars have
arrived, and their share of the market is increasing almost worldwide.
Does this mean, therefore, that the world is on track to phase out the use of petrol-
driven vehicles in less than thirty years? And does it mean that electric vehicles are
the sustainable solution to our transport needs for the second half of the century?
Unfortunately, to the disappointment of some people, the answer to both of these
questions has to be "no".
The massive development of electric vehicles can only be possible if two conditions
are met. Firstly, the expansion of electric vehicle manufacturing is dependent on the
fragile ability of manufacturers to source vastly increased quantities
of vital components and elements without which electric vehicles cannot operate; these
include lithium, cobalt and "rare earths" such as neodymium and tantalum, as well as
silicon chips which have already been in short supply since 2020. Secondly, few
countries currently have electricity grids that are anywhere near being able to cope with
the huge increase in demand for electricity that will accompany any rapid growth in
electric vehicle ownership. Without adequate supplies of all the vital ingredients of
electric motors and batteries, or without power supplies that are able to provide the
electricity required to recharge millions of electric batteries every day (as well as
supplying the current we need for everything else, such as lighting, heating, trains and
electric devices), the electric car revolution will run up against insoluble problems in all
but the most developed countries.

Governments and vehicle manufacturers are fully aware of these issues, but the
consensus among policy-makers seems to be that somehow technology will come up
with the answers, as it often has in the past. Analysts also predict that changing social
attitudes and environmental awareness will lead to a reduction in private vehicle use
and a fall in the numbers of vehicles on the roads. This prediction is likely to be right,
though not necessarily for those reasons alone; any shortage of essential components
will force up the cost of electric vehicles, and any shortage of battery recharging
facilities or capacity will discourage people from buying electric vehicles, leading to a fall
in the number of vehicles on the roads.
Ultimately the success of the transition to electric powered vehicles will depend on
advances in technology in three fields; the weight of batteries, the amount of power that
they can produce, and the speed at which they can be recharged... or exchanged.
It may surprise you to learn that electric vehicles are not a new idea; indeed, at the
start of the automobile age in the late 19th century, America had as many electric cars
as gas-driven cars, and New York's biggest taxi company used electric vehicles. In
order to keep their taxis on the road when the batteries ran low, they set up
battery points at strategic locations where instead of recharging their batteries, drivers
would just exchange them for fully recharged ones, a process that took no longer than
refilling with gasoline.
Thus battery exchange stations, rather than battery recharging points, may perhaps
solve the problem of slow recharging times which currently prevents owners taking
their electric vehicles on long trips. Yet battery exchange is not an option with today's
large heavy batteries. While the latest generation of Lithium-ion batteries are almost
twice as efficient as the batteries being used just five years ago, they remain big and
heavy. Before batteries can become easy to exchange, a quantum leap in battery
technology is needed, one which will allow batteries to store much larger amounts of
electricity in much smaller and lighter units. Teams of top electrical engineers in
universities and private laboratories worldwide are working on battery technology, and
progress has been rapid.... New types of lithium batteries are being developed, but the
radical discovery that will revolutionize battery design is still to be made.
As for the availability of clean renewable electricity in sufficient quantities to cope with
demand from all the world's electric vehicles, progress in this direction is
already underway. Ideally, notably in hot countries and outside cities, recharging points
will be autonomous, generating their own electricity from solar panels and wind or water
turbines and storing it either mechanically or in high-powered batteries. The technology
already exists, and a California company, Beam Global, recently installed 30 solar-
powered recharging stations in sunny parts of the state.
So are people who believe in the ability of technology to solve all our problems being
realistic, or over-optimistic? And will other problems such as environmental issues and
the availability of vital materials throw a spanner in the works? Will all the world's
countries be able to complete the electric vehicle revolution, or will the world's poorer
nations get left behind.... yet again? For the time being, progress is upwards, but can it
continue? In terms of volume, the electric vehicle revolution has only just got
underway.

WORDS :
-vehicle pronounced ['viə-kul] - car, truck, van etc.
-internal combustion engine: the petrol (gas) engine used in cars and trucks
- fleet: the total number of cars
- manufacture (verb) : to make, to produce
- exemption: dispensation, authorisation to not do something
- incentive: encouragement, something to make someone want something
- is on track to: is going fast enough to
- sustainable: permanent and not bad for the environment
- grid: network
- power: electricity or other sources of energy
- device: machine, apparatus
- gas, gasolene (American) : petrol (British):
- quantum leap: a radical new development
- underway: started, in progress.
1. Multiple-choice cloze exercise. Understanding the text.
Choose the nearest equivalent of each of the following expressions: click down arrow
and select the correct answer.

 Account for: a) pay for b) form c) are under

 The purchase of : a) the buying of b) the modification of c) the following of

 Phase out : a) increase b) slowly start c) gradually end

 Been in short supply.. : a) been hard to find b) been easy to find c) been

smaller

 Supplies : a) sales b) quantities c) orders

 To run up against : a) go faster than b) be helped by c) be hindered by

 Shortage : a) reduction b) insufficient quantity c) acceleration

 Got underway : a) begun b) finished c) slowed down

2. Writing exercise: explain in your own words the meaning of the following words:

 sight
 the wealthy
 components
 are fully aware of
 to cope with demand
 slow recharging times
 throw a spanner in the works

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