Is it really an adventure when you drive your new Rivian R1T Adventure Edition pickup into Badlands National Park in South Dakota or the Everglades in Florida and you can’t get out?
The new truck is among a new class of expensive electric pickups and sport utility vehicles the auto manufacturers market as off-road and rugged. Read the fine print and you’ll quickly notice your need to constantly stare at your battery gauge so you stay within range of charging stations.
Battery anxiety is such an issue with on-road electric vehicles that consumers return one in five for that very reason. Now we want to build them bigger and take them into the mountains, the jungle or the desert?
Feeling jittery? Save the lithium pill for your battery.
The current impracticalities of any real type of outdoor adventure with an EV are endless, which is a shame when so many technologies exist to solve current problems.
Every solution seems to manage the stress of range anxiety with navigation software, mobile assistance and even gas-powered loaner programs, but none of them provide anti-fragile support.
Despite the grand ambitions of automakers evolving to electric, only 45,892 public charging stations currently exist in the United States when 300,000 are needed to accommodate their commitments.
To resolve the off-road challenge, Jeep last year launched a network of EV stations at trailheads across the United States to support its Wrangler 4Xe. Rivian revealed a partnership with Under Canvas to install EV charging at upscale campgrounds. BMW donated 100 charging stations to national parks. Even if charging exists at a trailhead, where does that leave you when you’re barely into Grand Canyon National Park?
When your Ford F-150 Lighting taps out, pack the books and board games because you’ll find yourself with a lot of 8-hour idle charging time on your hands, if you can reach a station.
Even that all depends upon whether the power is still available in a few years. The Department of Energy estimates that 24 million EVs will start to stretch grid capacity. It might not seem like much with 1.5 million EVs sold in 2021, but note that sales of U.S. EVs jumped 72 percent in the fourth quarter to a record 147,799.
Even worse, if you’re too far from a charging station on your off-road adventure, you’re likely too far away from a cell tower to call anyone when you run out of juice.
Don’t reach for the lithium prescription yet. New technologies arrive every day to eliminate your anxiety. We can “Keep the world adventurous forever” by solving problems a little differently than anticipated.
New wind turbine designs and solar panel advancements capture more clean energy with a smaller footprint than ever before. Natural gases such as butane, propane and methane produce more power with less emissions.
Siemens and Nexii are out with a turnkey prototype with medium- and high-level capabilities for parking lots. The capabilities made available by such Level 3 charging technologies reduces refill time to as little as 30 minutes.
Vanadium redox batteries can store electricity to offer a consistent source of energy for charging electric SUVs.
Further, 5G capabilities that mobile network operators such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon advertise are still largely limited to heavy population centers like New York and Los Angeles. Erecting and maintaining permanent cell towers simply wasn’t as cost-effective in rural environments.
The densification models changed when COVID lockdowns exposed the digital divide. People continue to leave dense city environments for the fresh air and space of rural living. The need for broadband and EV charging needs to follow them.
The ability to truly adventure far off into Yellowstone Park with an electric truck or SUV lies within reach. So far a range-anxiety nightmare in the elements with no energy or communication is all we have going for us. Driving too far down the dirt road less traveled leaves you stranded with no ability to call in a search and rescue team.
Fortunately range anxiety wanes in intensity as technologies become more advanced. So, instead of worrying, you’ll be able to binge on Inventing Anna or call your parents (your mom misses you) while your Audi e-tron Sportback charges for 30 minutes.
Leave the lithium prescription at home.
