To give you EV newbies some context, and this is my opinion so take it for what it's worth, EV's are just starting.
I estimate EV tech is about where computer tech was in the eighties. We're just past 5.25" floppies and into the 3.5" floppies with a massive 1.44Mb of storage. At this point the 387 CPU's are all the rage with the 487's on the horizon. Fast forward to today, what is the status of computers? You carry more computing power in your pocket than you thought possible. Terabyte storage is cheap, they have friggen cameras on chips.
EV's are electronics, energy storage is a tech problem. The last ten years batteries have tripled in energy storage and the price has plummeted. The only reason battery charging or battery swaps are an issue is because we're dealing with 3.5" floppies and haven't made it to the USB's yet. I'll go so far to say that the whole push for charging stations is a temporary problem that time will obsolete. If you knew what the tech was two years ago, you're way behind. If you knew what it was a year ago, it's still in use, but older tech. Advancements are being made weekly in labs, and just the past week two battery companies have limited production in batteries that are twice as dense as what is in EV's right now. In the lab a new tech was introduced that dramatically increases the energy density of the motors, estimated by a factor of ten.
Now that the big companies are putting serious money behind it, you will see steady and quick advancements in the tech. Recharging a race car is a temp problem.
Just like internal combustion engines, the main issue with performance is heat. The more efficient the motor, controller and battery become, the more electrons you can push through the same components. There are few issues with electric drive, the biggest being energy storage and long distance racing is worst case use of the tech. You find solutions here, you move the tech forward.
With regards to lithium, another temporary issue. We will have high demand as batteries are inefficient and the demand for new EV's to replace ICE grows. As tech improves, you can get more energy stored for less lithium (and related materials). As the initial demand is satisfied, there is more lithium on the street that will get recycled. As energy density continues to improve, new mining will drop off as existing lithium recycled will be able to fill most of the need for growth of the industry and the initial demand surge due to changing technology is gone. Just as lifetime degrading of the batteries has improved dramatically over the last decade, it will continue to do so to the point where batteries will be a lifetime purchase and we'll have energy cubes to put in the RV, to power the cabin or provide power assist to your trailer while your sedan pulls it. It will become a commodity mush as your smart phone has. Cheap, small, plentiful. It's just tech and that is the route tech goes. Internal combustion engine (ICE) has no chance and in these early stages it is already being overpowered. The new Hummer, 11,400 ft/lbs of torque! Enjoy the engines now, they are yesterdays tech. And yes, I do enjoy the sound of a loping cam, I have swapped V8's into four cylinder cars, put motorcycle engines into quads and bored and stroked ATV motors. Different tech, different way to get more power, more options in drivetrain configuration, it will advance our sport.
I think the biggest challenge for Lordstown will be the ability of a hub motor to take the beating. If that survives, then charging and staying on time will be the next one. With Brenthel, the durability of the suspension should not be an issue, but the unsprung weight will compromise the performance and beat the occupants though the mass of the battery will help in that regards. There's no doubt they have several challenges ahead of them. I'm very interested to see how they perform...especially with hub motors as I am looking to go that route too. Not in my next EV build, down the road when we've been able to prove it out.
Absolutely fun times!
www.bloomberg.com
