Advertisement

The front view of the DFAC ER-30 electric vehicle
The front view of the DFAC ER-30 electric vehicle

Introducing electric cars into Ghana

Some few days ago, while I was registering the first full-electric salon car from China – a model DFAC ER-30, with a rooftop solar panel - at the Tema DVLA station, a lot of admirers and officers on duty took pictures, and expressed joy, and hoped that more electric cars would soon be brought into the country.

I had, before then at the Tema Port, lectured onlookers about the advantages and practicality of owning an electric car, especially in a developing economy like ours. True, we don’t have any infrastructure in place to service or repair any major faults, but, the advantages are overwhelming.

There are only three major parts in the electric car – the battery pack, which could last for about eight years, the motors which drive the wheels (no servicing for ac motors; dc motors do require change of carbon brushes in the future), and the control box which contains the digital electronics - guaranteed to work, and is replaced by the manufacturer if a fault develops.

This contrasts very sharply with our petrol or diesel engine cars that have hundreds of parts, and thus need serving or replacements more frequently. The charging of the battery pack of an electric car is done with the common household supply of 220Volts from an AC outlet, or with the output of a modest solar inverter, depending upon the capacity of the batteries.

For those who harbour concerns about the distance or range to be covered after a full charge, particularly for long-distance travels, the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) may be the answer, if affordability is not a concern (costs about 37,000 USDollars); this car pairs a gasoline engine with one or more electric motors and a rechargeable battery pack. The benefit is that one can drive on electricity alone, and switch to petrol or diesel when the car is about to run out of its electrical charge.

1. Electric cars are money-savers – no more trips to the petrol pump!

When ordering the electric car, one needs to select the options according to one’s requirements and resources; suffice to say, that the cost-insurance-and freight (CIF) values can vary from say 5,000 USDollars (for a 5kW motor, 120km range, max speed of 60km/h, with minimal options) to 12,000 USDollars (60kW motor, 255km range, max speed of 115km/h, with full options). By comparison, an American-made Tesla goes for around 35,000 USDollars, depending upon the model and options.

The cost of electricity to charge the car from zero to 100% is a fraction of what one would normally spend at the fuel pump station (about 10% in the U.S., and cheaper if night rates apply); the charging is usually a topping up done at night, with the plug at home; one could use a speed charger (to achieve 80% in one hour) - with a 50A breaker system installed at home, or use a slow charger with the normal 13A socket (it charges about 10% of capacity in one hour).

But, away from home, one could do a short top-up at any place where there is an appropriate 220VAC power source, using an extension socket, or at a convenient petrol station along the route; the electricity meter would indicate how much the charge costs.

If one has a solar panel system (about 3kW or more), one could charge the vehicle during the daytime – then, there is no cost or increase to the electricity bill. The range of the electric car, as specified by the manufacturer, is the most noted information about the car, e.g. when the range is specified as 250km, the car could be driven from Tema to Accra for about three times – depending upon the delays in the traffic – before running out of charge; but it is prudent to top up at night to ensure that the car has close to maximum charge.

The pieces of information below are intended to give a broad overview of the history, technologies involved, and the trend that electric cars are likely to follow - they will most likely eliminate the petrol and diesel cars in the foreseeable future.

2. China is leading the way to the adoption of electric cars.

The automobile industry is undergoing many innovations; from the use of composite steel and aluminium materials which provide stronger, safer, but lighter frames in the construction of modern cars, to the use of technologies that ensure little or no pollution from exhaust gases and longer range – distances driven, after refuelling or recharging.

Foremost amongst the innovations, is the development and adoption of electric cars or electric vehicles (EVs) in many countries; China’s Society of Automotive Engineers have said that, by the next decade, 40% of all passenger-vehicle sales in the country should be full electric or plug-in hybrids (vehicles with two power systems; one electric, and the other, internal combustion engine (ICE) for highway speeds and distances). The

The European Union is also targeting about 20% of the cars on its roads to be electric by the year 2025, and has proposed ending the manufacture of petrol and diesel cars by the year 2040. This, then will herald the ‘End of the ICE Age’ vehicles - those cars with heat engines that use pistons, hence petrol or diesel as fuels to run them.

By contrast, EVs produce no exhaust gases or pollutants, and therefore have no exhaust pipes, and hardly produce any sound; these attributes are the driving force for the increasing adoption of EVs around the world. ICE vehicles, on the other hand, produce exhaust fumes, which damage the environment and contribute to the green-house effect, and thus exacerbate the global climate change.

Above all, prices of EVs are ever falling, due to mass production, and competition, especially from China, which is adopting EVs on a massive scale. Currently, China-made EVs are becoming comparable in price to ICE vehicles, of the same capacity that we are importing from elsewhere.

3. How the EV cars have evolved.

The history of the electric car is very much akin to the development of the car battery. In the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, before ICE vehicles were manufactured, electric vehicles of different designs and modes were produced; they used lead-acid batteries of various capacities and sizes. Electric automobiles were popular because they were clean, quiet, and easy to operate.

However, after the invention of ICE vehicles at the beginning of the twentieth century, two developments contributed to improvements in gasoline-powered vehicles, so much so that they out-competed the electric cars of that era:

(i) In 1912, Charles Kettering invented the electric (battery) starter, which eliminated the need for a hand crank.

(ii) Around the same time, Henry Ford developed an assembly line process to manufacture his Model-T cars. The assembly was efficient, and ensured that the prices of his petrol-driven vehicles were affordable for average-income families in America.

Only few electric-powered vehicles survived beyond the 1920s; and so research on electric cars took a back seat, from 1920 to1960, until environmental issues of pollution, and concerns for the depletion of oil resources ignited a competition for a more environmentally friendly means of transport – California (a U.S. state) led the way in promulgating environmentally stringent regulations for cars.

Technologies that support reliable battery-driven vehicles have since picked up in the last two decades or more, and automotive electronics have become so sophisticated and miniaturized, that they are now ideal for EV applications.

Digital electronics are particularly being used in control boxes to replace transmission systems and to control other functions of EVs.

Earlier concerns about the range or distance covered by electric cars, before recharging, are being resolved with research and development of ever improving lithium-based battery technologies.

These improvements are increasing the range of EVs, from an average of about 200km a couple of years ago, to about 400km now. Also, the increasing installation of free recharge stations in many dedicated locations, including supermarkets, restaurants, highway rest-stops, etc., have eased the fears of EV owners about getting stranded when they run out of battery charge.

4. The main parts of the EV - the battery pack, the motors and the control electronics:

Unique to the electric vehicle is the battery pack; this is normally made up of Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that act as storage cells; the Lithium-ion battery has an energy density three times greater than that of a lead-acid battery. Lithium-ion batteries also hold their fluid in absorbent pads, that won't leak if ruptured or punctured during an accident; these batteries are made by specialty suppliers.

The battery packs are usually installed in a T-formation down the middle of the floor of the car, with the top of the "T" at the rear to provide better weight distribution and safety.

Together with the battery pack, is the control panel; this unit regulates energy flow from the battery pack to the motors, and adjusts the vehicle’s speed under normal driving conditions.

The electric motor converts electrical energy from the battery and transmits it to the drive train; both direct-current (DC) and alternating current (AC) motors are used in the propulsion systems for electric cars, but AC motors do not use brushes and require less maintenance. From a standstill, the motors can produce 100% of their torque, and thus accelerate the car from 0 to say 80km/h in a few seconds; there are no gear shifts, by which one could lose acceleration for a brief interval - it just accelerates from the start in no time.

In summing up, EVs, in many cases,

(i) utilise multiple small motors instead of one big engine;

(ii) use batteries instead of a fuel tank;

(iii) employ extensive software systems in a control box instead of a transmission unit.

Hence, compared to ICE vehicles, there is very little maintenance requirements for the EVs.

Also, most EVs utilise the so-called ‘regenerative braking’, by which, during a braking action, the EV converts its kinetic or stopping energy to electrical energy to recharge the battery system.

5. Ghana ought to include EVs in the proposed VW assembly plant.

Global carmakers like Volkswagen are hedging their bets, that electric cars are the future; in the world’s largest EV market, China, VW is facing strong competition from other Chinese competitors, notably, BYD, and also from Tesla, the California-based EV flagship, founded by Elon Musk.

Tesla broke grounds earlier this year with one of its biggest electric-car factories on the other side of Shanghai from where VW is building its new plant. It is obvious, that EVs represent the latest technology industry that China has targeted to dominate.

According to news reports, Ghana is in talks with Volkswagen - to assemble vehicles in Ghana ( https://www.omanghana.com/breaking/ghana-talks-volkswagen-plans-assemble-vehicles 8/31/2018 ).

The report pointed out that, Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, is in talks with Volkswagen AG, over plans to assemble VW vehicles in Ghana; this is as part of Germany’s stated foreign policy agenda to strengthen development co-operation in Africa.

This announcement was made, when President Akufo-Addo hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the second leg of a three-day Africa trip, to encourage private investment linked to the Group of 20’s “Compact with Africa” initiative. “We’re particularly happy to hear about the possibility of an agreement being signed today involving Volkswagen,” President Akufo-Addo said, as he and Chancellor Merkel briefed reporters in Accra. “Hopefully, ultimately, one day the production of vehicles will be done here in Ghana”, the President said.

It is my wish that Civil Society Organizations and others would advise and encourage our officials to include the assembly of EV cars in Ghana, such that our vehicles industry could join the modern trend in the use of electric cars – based on all the reasons and advantages as described in this write-up.

In a related news report, a Slovak company, Sirieco, plans to set up a plant in Nigeria, to assemble electric cars. The plant will be located at Calabar, in the Cross River State, Nigeria. ( northafricapost.com/30686-slovak-company-plans-to ... 5/9/2019) ·

Globally, the combined sales of passenger EVs, including full-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles - jumped 47% from the first half of 2018 to the first half of 2019, to 1.1 million vehicles (according to a McKinsey and Co. car data report).

The surge is being driven by a combination of factors: declining cost and improving technology, notably for batteries; increasingly convenient electric-charging infrastructure, particularly in large cities; and hefty government support in most developed countries.

6. The Future

Electric cars are very important to the future of the automobile industry and to the environment; however, its ultimate acceptance by the Ghanaian public will be based on price considerations, and the continued improvement, performance and availability of EV cars in Ghana.

My hope is that, our mechanics and other artisans would quickly master the technology and techniques involved in the assembly of electric cars; after all, our mechanics have been quick to repair and reconstitute the engines and various parts of many cars – e.g. Toyota parts in Mercedes Benzes, and vice versa.

They certainly should be able to remove the engines from ICE vehicles, and re-fit them with imported electric motors, battery packs and control electronics boxes – to turn them into veritable electric cars; it is not beyond our skills! Alternatively, in view of the state-of-the-art technologies used in the control systems, we could go into joint-venture operations with the producers – to set up operations here - to assemble EVs, and to convert our ICE vehicles into EVs.

For Ghana, a budding oil-producing nation, with reserves of crude oil under exploration and production, it may seem incongruous to promote EVs, which would eventually diminish the market for crude oil.

However, as one could infer from other players in the oil industry, like the Emirates, Iran, Norway, and even Saudi Arabia, the trend is to diversify from the oil economies, and to invest in the new green technologies. The oil glut that would arise could be channelled to other applications, particularly in the power production sector - for Ameri, Karpower, Asogli, and our other thermal power plants in the country.

The good news for consumers is that fuel would become cheaper and cheaper by the year, both for vehicles and household consumption.

Who knows, maybe hydrocarbon-based fuel-cells would one day be perfected to replace Lithium batteries, and then oil could bounce back to business.

In the meantime, Ghana has also discovered Lithium deposits in the Volta Region; re: the citifmonline.com report below:
( citifmonline.com/2018/01/ghana-discovers-new-mineral-lithium-in-commercial-quantities/ ).

Ghana has discovered a new mineral, Lithium in commercial quantities. Lithium, which is among the top 10 most expensive minerals in the world, was discovered in the Volta Region by the Minerals Commission. According to the Chief Executive of the Commission, Kwaku Addai Antwi-Boasiako, the mineral was identified during a nationwide exploration exercise.

The news report listed many uses of Lithium, including the manufacture of heat-resistant glass, ceramics, for high temperature lubricants, etc., and, most importantly, in the manufacture of batteries, which is the major component of the electric car.

Simply put, with our deposits of Lithium, Ghana could be well positioned to become a major player in the manufacture of batteries, particularly for those used in electric cars.

Finally, any EV manufacturer which sets up base here in Ghana must be required to work with our highway authorities to install recharging stations along our major roads, much like MTN or Vodaphone, which have installed transmission towers across the length and breadth of the country.

In the meantime, petrol filling stations could be encouraged to include metered electricity charging stands for use by EV car owners - at a small profit.
So, eventually, and in the not-too-distant future, Ghana Must Go Electric!

- The writer is Engineer-retired, IAEA; Consultant KERSL, Tema.
Contact: [email protected]

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |