Burr! Its winter in the northern hemisphere and many shiver from the cold. The ‘Many’ include batteries.
We have know for generations that cold weather negatively affects electrical batteries. So, it should come as no surprise that Electric Vehicles (EVs) performance can suffer greatly when the temperatures are extremely cold. This phenomenon is not limited to this power source, diesel engines face similar challenges at very low temperatures.
Is It All Hype?
The IT research firm, Gartner has developed a model describing the process from the inception of new technologies to their general acceptance. The Gartner Hype Cycle is widely viewed as a reasonable model of this process and is applied to a wide variety of technological innovations. As the title suggests, technology undergoes a process of innovation, disappointment and finally broad acceptance. Moreover, this process can take many years with the demise of many startup companies that were perhaps even too early in the process.
According to Gartner, “Data-enabled services, electrification and smart cabins are a part of many technologies in this Hype Cycle. Most of these technologies continue to be in the Innovation Trigger and Peak of Inflated Expectations, showing they have a lot of potential to disrupt the automotive space, but yet have some way to go before reaching mainstream adoption.”
Diffusion of Innovations
Most readers are probably familiar with the so-called Technology Adoption model which is composed of five types of users/buyers:
- Innovators
- Early Adopters
- Early Majority
- Late Majority
- Laggards
For these and more reasons (including high prices), it seems that EVs may have a way to go before wide acceptance with more robust battery technologies. Finally, we previously challenged the perceived low Carbon Footprint of batteries and documented these technologies are not as green as portrayed. Interested readers can take a look at our blog Crippling Green discussion regarding the economics of Climate Change.
Where does your organization fall on either or both of these curves for battery technologies?
For More Information
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See our Economic Value Proposition Matrix® (EVPM) for additional information and a free version to build your own EVPM.
The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page. Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor of the just published book, “Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability.” His focus is on Operational Technologies.
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962). For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game. You can contact this author as well.
For more details regarding climate change models, check out Bjorn Lomborg ands his latest book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.
Regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our blog, Crippling Green.
For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author can put you in touch with Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts. If interested, check it out and give me a shout.