Fuelling future cars

Abstract

The pressing need to improve the global urban air quality has provided the impetus for electric cars. Over the years, a great deal of research and development work has been carried out, and is still underway, on various types of electric cars. This article presents an assessment on the power and energy requirements of the electric cars, and provides a prognosis on their commercial viability. To be commercially viable, the electric cars have to perform beyond the conventional Otto and Diesel engine cars. An electric car, which fails in meeting this requirement, is unlikely to achieve anything but a niche market share.