Two months after taking office, Joe Biden announced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan that includes $174 billion in grants, subsidies and other spending to encourage Americans to switch to battery electric vehicles (BEVs). [emphasis, links added]
Since that initial “investment,” billions of dollars have been poured into increasingly unsuccessful efforts to convince or trick car buyers into switching.
These huge expenditures, combined with the coronavirus pandemic and war funding, have ballooned the national debt to Simply paying the interest on that debt would result in a 76% income tax rate. Many fear that profligate spending will bring the country's economy to the brink of collapse.
The mistake lies in this concept: Government knows best.
Nothing illustrates this tautology better than the plethora of battery-electric vehicle alternatives appearing on the world stage, including a variety of hydrogen-powered engines and new autorotation engines.
None of this is heavily subsidized, nor does it require a heavily subsidized national network of charging stations.
Some may be surprised, but even new york times As early as 2021, people questioned the wisdom of Biden's bold move into pure electric vehicles. Niraj Chokshi writes that $174 billion “may not be enough to push most Americans toward electric vehicles.”
Joshi doubts that “the generosity of the federal government” only transfers part of the cost of pure electric vehicles from buyers to the public, and whether consumers can be convinced of the benefits of electric vehicles. Biden's subsequent resort to short-term authorization of a technology that lacks a track record “only reinforces Chokshi's observation.”
Chokshi's report makes it clear The $15,000 EV battery and its need to be constantly charged remain the biggest hurdle to public acceptance At the time it was considered the “only” path to a clean energy future.
There is no talk on Capitol Hill or in the media of support for other low-carbon or “carbon-free” engine technologies.
But now it's clear that several companies are already working on developing alternatives to vehicles that require charging almost every day.
This may be convenient enough for wealthy people whose garages and home electrical systems can accommodate two charging ports, but for others it can be quite difficult and time-consuming.
A recent article stated Stellantis is investing $6 billion to build a new generation of engines capable of running on gasoline or Brazilian ethanol combined with plug-in hybrid technology.
Kohler Engines launched last year KDH hydrogen internal combustion engine, BMW, Toyota, Triton EV, Hyundai and many other car manufacturers are also manufacturing hydrogen fuel internal combustion engines.
Despite the federal government's push for a “one-size-fits-all solution” to the supposed problem of CO2 emissions, These and other automakers continue to pursue unsubsidized alternatives, possibly keeping it to themselves. Do they “know” that pure electric vehicles will never become popular?
Just this week, a new report touted A liquid nitrogen engine based on research from the University of Washington in the 1990s is cheaper and lighter than a BEV, even with a 100-gallon nitrogen tank.
The operation is similar to a steam-driven engine and produces zero pollutants. Refueling at existing petrol and diesel stations only takes a few minutes.
The prototype liquid nitrogen engine is far from ready for highway use, but like other alternatives to grid drainage plugs, has been overlooked as a potential solution in the federal budget.
And, like all other alternative engines, it does not rely on a Chinese-controlled lithium market.
Washington’s “wisdom” has already been to build an all-electric fleet Relying on today’s crumbling power gridas baseload power plants are shutting down in favor of intermittent wind and solar generation.
However, Research published in 2021 by Oak Ridge National Laboratory suggests that taking multiple paths to clean-burning vehicles is a superior approach.
“Hydrogen fuel cells are ideal for the trucking industry because their refueling times and range are comparable to gasoline-powered (diesel-powered) trucks, and their routes are predictable, which reduces the cost of developing hydrogen fuel cells,” said ORNL scientist David Cullen. threshold. [Read: Every truck stop in America could easily accommodate hydrogen-fueled trucks.]
Oak Ridge National Laboratory states Hydrogen fuel cells (or any other hydrogen engine) contain more energy per unit mass than lithium batteries or diesel fuel.
More energy and less weight are gold for the trucking industry, which consumes a quarter of U.S. fuel consumption while driving only 10% of total vehicle miles traveled.
Hydrogen may be an equally better choice for other heavy-duty vehicles, including school buses, but The Biden administration provides huge subsidies for all-electric school buses, but the results are often unsatisfactory (despite getting support from Vice President).
The Montgomery County Public School District in Maryland is the largest purchaser of electric school buses in the United States, with 326 buses ordered, delivered, or in operation as of December 2023, at a cost of $168 million.
But the county’s Office of Inspector General reported The region's enthusiasm for all-electric buses “has resulted in millions of dollars of wastage,” in part due to delayed deliveries and maintenance issues.
From February 2022 to March 2024, These pure electric buses failed to complete the route 280 times, with an average repair time of 13 days.
Last October, The school board believes it is necessary to purchase 90 diesel buses to compensate for the failure of the BEV buses.
nationwide, More than 90 percent of the more than 21 million students who ride school buses ride on diesel buses, with most of the remainder relying on propane. Today, less than 1% of children ride BEV buses, and many of the 12,000 “promised” BEV buses are not yet in operation.
Despite billions of dollars in generous federal aid, Hydrogen-powered buses could be delivered faster, cost less to buy and be more reliable in day-to-day operation.
Two-thirds of the “committed” all-electric buses will be funded by the EPA's Clean School Bus Program. Through 2022, the program will provide more than $900 million in funding for nearly 2,300 buses in 365 school districts.
In the second year, EPA invested another US$1 billion to purchase 2,700 more BEV buses in 270 school districts. In the third round, it invested another US$900 million to install 3,177 BEV buses in 500 school districts.
The Biden administration's parting words include another round of Clean School Bus Program funding and a new Clean Heavy Vehicle Grant Program from the EPA, Mainly for garbage haulers, dump trucks, bucket trucks, utility trucks and other box trucks.
School buses receive the largest subsidy in the $1 billion plan. Biden has indeed poured billions of dollars into hydrogen producers, but very little to support hydrogen engines.
Has the federal government taken a closer look at the cost and performance comparisons of the various low- and zero-emission engines already on the market or being tested in the field? Have government officials consulted automakers around the world about why they are developing non-electric vehicle engines?
Or is there another reason behind the Biden administration, in which Vice President Harris has been a leading spokesperson for electric school buses? Putting all your bets on China's tightly controlled technology?
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