Aerospace Journal

During an interview with Peter Rawlinson, the Chief Executive of Lucid Air, he stated that the company’s revolutionary electric vehicle technology seeks to rank their car as the best EV made globally. Rawlinson’s experience in the automobile design business comes from working on both the Lotus, United Kingdom’s legendary sports car, and the Tesla S. He said that the Lucid Air seeks to transform the motor business game-changer for the world’s future mobility.

In a statement to Arab News, Rawlinson announced that Lucid Air plans to scale-down their transformative car design in manufacturing affordable models. The company’s focus is to make a global impact by producing cars that accommodate all social classes, not just manufacturing luxury cars. The groundbreaking car technology originates from Saudi Arabia, a renowned international hub developing its conventional hydrocarbons. However, the growing electric vehicle industry threatens Saudi Arabia’s oil companies, and once the fossil-fuel-powered transportation is phased out, these corporations are at risk of shutting down.

Rawlinson attributes Lucid Air’s thriving success to the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns a majority share after a $1 billion investment into the project back in 2018. Peter believes that the company’s launch is a significant take-off moment for the EV market. Next year, lucid Air plans to avail the car to the Middle East, following a scheduled premiere in the United States next spring. The transformative car technology’s remarkable qualities include higher performance, more comfort, and a more extended range than all-electric vehicles.

Lucid Air targets the luxury saloon customer segment currently dominated by German automakers such as Mercedes and BMW, pricing the car between $90,000 to $170,000 based on the car model and customer specifications. The company scheduled price reductions to begin after one year of operation. Rawlinson announced that Lucid Air aims to rival Tesla, the EV production prodigy, despite the preceding Tesla’s prospect. He said that the car designs available in the EV market need more effort to take it a notch higher.

Lucid Air plans to dominate the overly populated fossil-fuel-powered vehicle customer segment in Europe, as a strategy aimed at challenging Tesla’s supremacy in the world’s EV market. The $100 billion luxury car niche market offers excellent potential for the company. Rawlinson thinks gasoline-powered automakers such as Porsche and Audi are yet to achieve the range and car performance that Lucid attained with the Lucid Air.

To conclude, more EV automakers such as Lucid, that just launched the revolutionary car technology for Lucid Air, continue to open up great opportunities for the development and adoption of better electric vehicles. The future of mobility depends on the production of affordable EVs to enhance consumer uptake. 

Close to a decade ago, scientists came up with the concept of building many solar and wind energy farms to test their viability and reliability in resolving the problem of greenhouse gas emissions from using fossil fuels. These scientists from the University of Delaware (UD) and the Delaware Technical College came up with this concept after heated discussions on the advantages of transitioning to these energy sources and their similar challenges.

The scientists reported that solar and wind energy farms would replace 100 percent of the national grid energy based on 100 days annually. The increasing intensity of the sun radiations and winds sweeping through coasts is the basis of suggesting an increase in the number of projects dealing with this development. The scientists fully delved into this matter and came up with this rather radical idea of building more and more wind and solar energy plants with other fuel cells to diversify renewable energy sources.

The scientists piloted their project comparing the results with the periodical weather data measurement in a four-year plan. The pilot project found that supplying more electricity during the peak demand period was cheaper than storing it for usage when the demand arises.

In the past, the biggest challenge in the renewable energy industry was the cost of developing the facilities to tap the renewable and supplying it to households and businesses. Currently, the economy has developed and expanded to accommodate the pursuit of these renewables without crumbling. Additionally, it would be cheaper to achieve the set regulations on pollution by the Paris agreement than rigidly adhering to fossil fuel power plants’ use.

With the strict adherence to the zero-emissions plan, countries must purpose to fully maximize their potential of generating renewable energy to support the fight against environmental pollution. The coronavirus pandemic has opened people’s eyes to see the viability of renewable energy pursuit as a replacement for fossil fuels. Since the introduction of lockdown measures, people dumped their cars in garages minimizing the emissions from these ICEs. The people have witnessed a gradual increase in air quality and intend to keep this trend by replacing their cars with electrics that are not as emissive as the ICEs.

To sum up, the idea of overly investing in particular sources of energy would be viable if the government and its devolved units tried it out in phases, after which they can entirely switch to the most suitable energy source.

Hesitations of major energy corporations to go green continue to undermine efforts aimed at curbing climate change. Recently, Galina Alova from the University of Oxford conducted a study report that indicated about 10% of international energy utility corporations are developing their capacity for renewable energy faster than for gas and coal. A journal, Nature Energy, published the research findings from the study. The main finding showed that out of a sample of 3,000 utility companies studied, a huge percentage continued to depend heavily on fossil fuels. But for the utilities adopting alternative renewable energy resources, 60% still operate fossil energy portfolios. 

According to the report, the utility companies with the most sluggish transition are based outside Europe. Galina said that the utilities’ renewables-prioritizing agreement identified in the study consists of organizations with large-scale operations and great market shares in the countries they are set-up. Alova noted that most of the corporations continue to, side-by-side, develop their capacities for fossil fuel, although at slower rates. 

Galina’s research highlighted the missing link between the steps required to curb the crisis and the actions the utility sector took so far. Most of the hesitant corporations face a carbon lock-in because fossil fuels contribute to approximately 33% of every company’s energy capacity. Alova said that unless the companies decommission their fossil fuel facilities, a significant share in these portfolios faces permanent stagnation. She suspects that an increase in the electricity sector momentum is a major cause of the slow transition.

Approximately 10% of utilities advocate for gas-fired power facilities are from the United States, Russia, and Germany. Galina commented on the close relationship between renewable energy and natural gas, saying that most companies often select both hand-in-hand. Media news reporting huge investments in renewables tends to overshadow updates on funds going into natural gas development. Other reports consider natural gas as the transition fuel, attributing the fuel to the little carbon footprint that allows load-balancing services for the inconsistent generation of renewable energy. 

Dave Jones, the lead electricity analyst at Ember, concurred with Galina Alova’s research findings that indicate how energy companies’ misunderstanding of natural gas’s future continues to undermine the transition. Most corporations plan to construct huge centralized power facilities that use natural gas instead of coal. Jones said that wind and solar continue to provide accessible alternative sources of electricity. 

In summary, utility companies must promptly adopt the steps designed to tackle climate change, starting with the go-green initiative. An increase in fossil fuel use greatly raises the carbon emission levels, a hazard to the planet’s ozone layer. Without the ozone layer, Earth’s inhabitants are at risk of high solar radiation levels with devastating effects. 

Government-owned electricity hulk PLN projects that Indonesia requires over 31,000 fresh electric vehicle charging points by 2030 to attain government aims. Public as well as Private operators, require to invest $3.7 billion to set up 31,000 commercial charging points throughout a decade, as per the PLN’s station advancement road map.

More than a third of the points shall be situated in Jakarta, whereas the rest in cities, far east towards Makassar, South Sulawesi. Aside from gas points, such charging points shall be constructed at shopping malls, market areas, flats, among other areas with big parking spots. PLN tech deputy president Zainal Arifin stated on Tuesday, 1^st of September that such points majorly provided to commercial are ever-on-the-go cars like taxis, buses as well as wired motorcycle taxis. Personal cars could re-charge while at home.

Zainal further added that the utmost effectual manner was charging throughout the entire night so that they could make that electricity less expensive. PLN’s path map, as well as the energy ministry’s regulation, tick two additional boxes on a list of guidelines, hoped to stand-in Electric Vehicles development in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. The two bumf form upon Presidential Regulation No.55/2019 on Electric Vehicles.

The agency predicts more than 326,000 Electric Vehicles on the road between 2020 and 2025 that would reduce Indonesia’s dependence on oil. This product is massively imported at the expenditure of bulging the nation’s trade shortfall. As per the present traffic police information, there were 1,419 Electric Vehicles, 95% of which were motorbikes, in Greater Jakarta from last year in August.

The energy ministry’s fresh guidelines backup Electric vehicle maturity through regulating charging socket kinds and centralizing business license issuance for three-point kinds- battery replacement, commercial charging as well as reserved charging. Hendra Iswahyudi [regulation No.13/2020] from the ministry of electricity remarked that the law was consumer safety; hence the consumers had to be bestowed the choice. On the 1^st of September, the ministry inducted the nation’s foremost constellation of battery replacement points for electric motorbikes. The points are maintained by start-up PT “EzyFast” Energi Pratama. The figure for battery replacing points in Indonesia is anticipated to get to 52,125 by 2030 to contain electric engines, as per the energy ministry and the corporation regarding the Assessment and Application of Technology [BPPT].

Nonetheless, Zainal and Hendra recognized that many tasks lingered like enlisting regulations over battery re-usage. Electric vehicles cost thrice above their fossil fuel-powered equals. In contrast, motorbikes cost 1.5 times more, as per research by a Jakarta-founded energy think tank, an Institute for Essential Services Reform.

Xpeng Inc. is China’s number-one manufacturer of smart electric cars. The company designs, develop, produces, and markets electric-vehicles to serve the ever-growing Chinese middle-class consumers. Xpeng’s mission is to pioneer the Smart EV revolution using data-driven technology to shape future transportation’s versatility.  

On August 27, during a public-address statement, Xpeng announced that the company seeks to secure $1.5 billion by extending its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. Xpeng announced plans to stock 99.7 million American receptacle shares at $15 as the offering price per share. Initially, the company gave a price of between $11 and $13 for each depositary share; the price is increasing to $15 due to a stably growing demand for the company’s offer. Every depository share is equivalent to two of Xpeng’s ordinary stock shares.

Xpeng said that the guarantors for the company’s deal, Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, and Bank of America, plan to organize a 30-day recourse to purchase an additional 15million share. The electric-car maker intends to trade using the ticker XPEV. The American Depositary Shares (ADS) anticipate trading on NYSE within this month, depending on customary closing conditions.

Xpeng’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) signifies the latest Chinese company to rival Tesla but still acquire funds in the United States. In September 2018, an automobile company, NIO, made its first market appearance at a very low offering price but grew to greater than double because investors venture into the electric-car revolution. Another automaker, Li Auto, amassed $1.1 billion during its Stock Market Launch on July 30.

Recently, Tesla commissioned its Shanghai factory to intensify its presence within China and satisfy the country’s increasing engrossment for electric automobiles. Tesla started supplying Model 3 sedans to the Chinese market in December but began manufacturing its Model Y crossover in the newly opened factory. However, Chinese based electric-vehicle manufacturers continue to enjoy strong funding rallies to recover from 2019’s low trade. Nio is ranked in the led after securing nearly $1 billion in finance from government-owned corporations.

In conclusion, the potential for electric-automaker growth as there are indicators of progress in the adoption of Smart Evs in China and the world at large. A steadily growing market for electric-automaker initial public offering indicates investor’s engrossment towards the industry that continues to expand. This move is a huge step towards achieving a good mobility experience for future transportation.

Honda Motor intends to launch its first substantially produced electric vehicle called Honda e. The company announced that this electric vehicle would feature in its September sales with a single EV going for $42000 in Japan. The car has a fantastic feature where the door mirrors have been substituted with high-tech fanatic’s cameras.

Honda e has a mileage range of 300 km before a recharge. This range is shorter compared to other EV makers mainly because the company was focusing on resizing the car and, in turn, taking a smaller battery. The vehicle features a length slightly more than three meters with an explicitly defined parking mechanism for small parking spaces. One of Honda’s lead engineers, Tomofuni Ichinose, the attractive feature for this car is the compact size that allows it to maneuver the busy streets.

The substitution of the door mirrors with cameras is another exciting feature that the Honda company hopes can attract many customers. The cameras will give the driver a clear vision of what’s behind it in all weathers. The digitized dashboard provides the driver with an additional clear image of the surroundings of this electric vehicle. Many Japanese automakers are speeding up their electric vehicles’ production so that they can favorably compete in the automotive industry. For example, Nissan Motors has rolled out its Ariya EV to mark the beginning of its upcoming launches in the same line. Nissan intends to inaugurate its first EV SUV into the car market come 2021.

Elsewhere, Toyota Motors unveiled its electric vehicle in the Lexus product line in the Republic of China. This car will grace the European and Asian markets fully come next year. Another company that will be launching its first electric vehicle this year before supplying it into other markets is Mazda. Research reports in the UK reveal that last year’s annual electric vehicle sales escalated to a tune of 1.7 million units. A crucial factor that will propel the further upscale sales of Evs is the strict adherence to environmental policies, which will see to it that the units sold exceptionally grow close to ten times before the end of the upcoming decade. Asian countries are slowly switching to the Evs after viewing the propensity with which Europe is growing.

Customers are likely to buy massive quantities of Honda e because its price is substantially low when estimated with its features. The car is already in the market but with limited amounts to observe its uptake rate by customers. Nonetheless, Honda has explained that more units will be produced before this year to meet demand. In conclusion, Honda’s strategy is to generate both Evs and hybrids to meet the customers’ needs. The performance of Honda e among Honda’s competitors will determine if the company can fully delve into EV production.