The importance of electric vehicles in terms of environmental protection
This report examines in turn the ecological, energy, economic, political and social issues raised by the electric vehicle, then reviews the state of the art as regards this new mode of transport, assesses its economic competitivity and identifies the forms of public aid necessary to bring it to the stage of normal commercial marketing. The report’s conclusions are unambiguous: The electric car is a major innovation which has undoubted importance from the point of view of the environment. France is in a good position, with its dynamic automobile industry, to pick up this challenge. However, more research is needed, mainly to improve the performance of the power storage system. An essential prerequisite is to develop evaluation, testing and a standardisation centre, and to make provision for a far-reaching programme of public information. Finally, only a determined policy on the part of the public authorities will ensure rapid success of the electric vehicle. The report also contains a technical annexe covering the components and technologies involved in the vehicle: batteries, fuel cells, electric motors, hybrid vehicles and recent technological innovations.
Short title:
e-Vehicles
Start date:
1993-01
End date:
1993-07
Project leader:
Office Parlementaire d´Evaluation des Choix Scientifiques et Technologiques of the French Parliament (OPECST)
Country:
France