The increasing interest in electric vehicles fits right in with Friday’s Earth Day environmental focus. Y.T. Cheng is a professor of materials science at the University of Kentucky. Cheng anticipates the pace of production for electric cars and trucks to continue to speed up.
“Many of our recent PhD graduates, they are employed in automobile companies to continue research to participate in their R and D activities. Battery materials research and battery manufacturing.”
Cheng expects more focus on lower-end electric vehicles priced below $30,000. He said environmental benefits can come even without full renewable energy sources.
“Even though the electricity may be produced using unrenewable sources, but producing electricity in the power plant is more efficient then to use that electricity to drive vehicles than burning the gasoline in the individual vehicle.”
Cheng said EV interest is being shown by Toyota, Honda-GM, Ford, and Volkswagon. Toyota announced last fall plans to expand to around 70 electrified models globally by 2025.
