Automakers Fund Gas Engines Over EVs to Cut Emissions, Protect Margins

Engineering Explained

Automakers cut more fleetwide emissions and safeguard profit margins by improving internal combustion engines across entire lineups than by diverting finite capital to low-volume electric models.

AI-assisted summary of Why Gas Engines Are Far From Dead - Biggest EV Problems — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2020-02-05

Key ideas

Internal combustion remains far superior in physical energy density: a single gallon of gasoline contains 33.7 kWh of energy, which is roughly 13 times more volumetrically dense and 50 times lighter than top 2018 lithium-ion battery cells. (1:21)
Automakers face steep financial hurdles with electrification, as long-range EV powertrains cost about $16,000 to manufacture compared to $6,500 for internal combustion engines, requiring an average sale price near $48,000 to achieve profitability. (7:05)
For automakers with constrained R&D budgets, achieving a modest 10% emissions reduction across an entire gas fleet cuts corporate lifecycle emissions by 10%, doubling the environmental benefit of releasing an EV that only captures 10% of sales. (9:45)
Global EV market share sat at roughly 2% across 2018 and 2019, held back by infrastructure gaps for street and apartment parkers and consumer tendencies to purchase for rare edge cases like remote road trips. (11:32)

Detailed notes

## Background Published by Jason Fenske on the YouTube channel Engineering Explained on February 5, 2020, this video explores why automakers are continuing to develop internal combustion engines despite the industry's shift toward electric vehicles. The description outlines how the presentation breaks down scientific hurdles, environmental trade-offs, manufacturing profitability, and consumer behavior to explain why combustion technology remains vital.

## TL;DR Host Jason Fenske provides an engineering and economic defense of continued internal combustion engine development, despite owning and appreciating electric vehicles himself. He highlights that gasoline holds dramatic volumetric and gravimetric energy density advantages over current lithium-ion batteries, which impose severe packaging and weight penalties on heavy or long-range transport. From a business and environmental standpoint, EV powertrains remain expensive to manufacture, and automakers with finite R&D budgets can often achieve greater fleetwide emissions cuts by improving all combustion cars rather than selling a low volume of clean EVs. Finally, practical consumer realities—including street parking, road-trip edge cases, and current low EV adoption—demonstrate that combustion engines remain necessary for decades to come.

## Atmosphere & style The presentation carries the clear, analytical feel of an engaging engineering lecture, balancing whiteboard math and technical citations with casual humor. Fenske uses relatable visual props, such as cans of sparkling water and gallon jugs, to make abstract energy density metrics immediately tangible. The tone remains measured, pragmatic, and refreshingly devoid of partisan EV-versus-gas hostility, presenting a candid look at technological and economic compromises.

## Bulletin - [01:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=81s) Internal combustion remains far superior in physical energy density: a single gallon of gasoline contains 33.7 kWh of energy, which is roughly 13 times more volumetrically dense and 50 times lighter than top 2018 lithium-ion battery cells. - [07:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=425s) Automakers face steep financial hurdles with electrification, as long-range EV powertrains cost about $16,000 to manufacture compared to $6,500 for internal combustion engines, requiring an average sale price near $48,000 to achieve profitability. - [09:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=585s) For automakers with constrained R&D budgets, achieving a modest 10% emissions reduction across an entire gas fleet cuts corporate lifecycle emissions by 10%, doubling the environmental benefit of releasing an EV that only captures 10% of sales. - [11:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=692s) Global EV market share sat at roughly 2% across 2018 and 2019, held back by infrastructure gaps for street and apartment parkers and consumer tendencies to purchase for rare edge cases like remote road trips.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=0s) Despite widespread EV optimism, continuing to refine and develop internal combustion engines remains an essential scientific, economic, and environmental strategy. - [01:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=81s) A single gallon of gasoline contains 33.7 kWh of energy, holding more total energy than the complete battery pack of an original first-generation Nissan Leaf. - [02:08](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=128s) Gasoline is roughly 13 times more energy dense by volume than the best-performing 2018 lithium-ion production cells, which maxed out at 684 Wh/L. - [04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=245s) At the cell level, lithium-ion battery storage weighs approximately 50 times more than an equivalent amount of gasoline, while complete packs can exceed a 100-to-1 mass penalty. - [05:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=344s) Severe battery weight penalties render heavy transport, long-distance aviation, and freight impractical for full electrification under current chemistries. - [07:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=425s) Electric cars carry an average initial purchase premium of roughly $12,000, creating an adoption barrier despite lower lifetime fuel and maintenance costs. - [08:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=510s) An EV powertrain costs roughly $16,000 to produce versus $6,500 for an ICE equivalent, forcing EVs to hit an average selling price of $48,000 before automakers become profitable. - [09:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=541s) Because mass-market $30,000 combustion vehicles deliver far healthier profit margins, legacy manufacturers rely on gas platforms to sustain their core business operations. - [09:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=585s) A 10% efficiency improvement across a 100% combustion lineup yields twice the fleetwide emissions reduction of launching an EV that achieves 10% of sales with half the lifecycle footprint. - [11:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=692s) Global market share for EVs remained at approximately 2% through 2018 and 2019, meaning 98 out of 100 car buyers still walked away with an internal combustion engine. - [12:17](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=737s) Charging convenience heavily favors homeowners with private garages, leaving millions of apartment dwellers and street parkers without practical charging access. - [12:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=765s) Consumers routinely buy vehicles for the '5% mentality'—rare edge cases such as hauling or spontaneous road trips to remote areas where charging networks are nonexistent. - [13:56](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=836s) Advanced internal combustion engineering concepts like pre-chamber ignition and gasoline compression ignition remain rational, high-impact paths to lowering global transportation emissions.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=0s) Introduction: Why Internal Combustion Still Matters

Jason Fenske opens by observing that the automotive industry, having generated massive wealth from internal combustion engines (ICE), claims the combustion engine is far from dead. While cynics might dismiss this as self-serving corporate talk, he believes the industry is entirely correct. He clarifies his stance right away: he is not advising anyone against buying an electric vehicle—he owns an EV himself and thinks they are great. Instead, the video aims to provide concrete evidence showing why continuing to develop and refine combustion engines remains essential.

A persistent frustration prompts this breakdown: viewers often comment on engine tech videos asking why automakers waste capital refining gasoline engines when the future belongs to electricity. As Fenske notes, creating this resource has a personal motive: “so a big part of this video is for selfish reasons so the next time that someone in the comments is bashing combustion engines i can say hey you know there still are good reasons why they exist here's the link”. He establishes four broad categories to evaluate the issue: science, environment, cost, and the consumer.

[01:21](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=81s) The Science: Energy Density by Volume

Turning to physics, Fenske explains that the single greatest scientific hurdle facing electric cars is energy density—the amount of energy that fits into a given physical space. Using a gallon jug of water as a visual prop, he cites the EPA standard stating that a single gallon of gasoline contains 33.7 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of potential energy. That lone gallon stores more total energy than the complete battery pack found in the first-generation Nissan Leaf.

Acknowledging that battery chemistry has advanced since the early Leaf days, Fenske references a 2018 study benchmarking eight different lithium-ion battery manufacturers. The absolute best volumetric density recorded was 684 watt-hours per liter (Wh/L). To visualize this disparity, Fenske arranges cans of LaCroix sparkling water on his desk to represent battery volume, jokingly adding that this was “more than just an elaborate plan to make my groceries tax deductible”. The math reveals that packing 33.7 kWh of energy at 684 Wh/L requires 139 individual cans. Gasoline boasts roughly 13 times the volumetric energy density of 2018's best production lithium-ion cells.

While critics might point out that liquid fuel sits in a uniform container while cans are separate objects, Fenske stresses that real-world batteries consist of thousands of individual cells that inherently waste space. Furthermore, the 139 cans account strictly for cell volume without including wiring, cell interconnects, thermal management channels, or the structural casing that forms an automotive pack. With packaging included, or if comparing against the study's worst-performing cell (which exhibited under half the density and would require nearly 280 cans), the space penalty grows even larger.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Volumetric Energy Comparison for 33.7 kWh accDescr: Visualizing the volume needed to store 33.7 kilowatt-hours of energy in gasoline versus lithium-ion cells.

subgraph Fuel["Gasoline Solution"] A["1 Gallon of Gasoline<br/>(33.7 kWh Energy)"] end

subgraph Cells["Lithium-ion Cells (2018 Best)"] B["139 Cans of Volume<br/>(684 Wh/L Cell Density)"] C["+ Structural Pack Hardware<br/>+ Cooling & Wiring Channels"] B --> C end

Fuel -. "13x more compact by volume".-> Cells ```

- 1 gallon of gasoline holds approximately 33.7 kWh of energy. - First-generation Nissan Leaf battery capacity was smaller than the energy contained in 1 gallon of fuel. - Best 2018 lithium-ion cell density measured was 684 Wh/L. - Matching 1 gallon of gasoline required 139 12-oz cans of volume in pure cell form.

[04:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=245s) The Science: The Extreme Weight Penalty

While volumetric constraints force engineers to sacrifice cabin space or design larger vehicles, weight imposes an even harsher limitation on electrification. A single gallon of gasoline weighs roughly 6 pounds. Drawing from the same 2018 research data, the highest gravimetric energy density observed was roughly 240 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg).

Holding up a can of grapefruit (Pamplemousse) LaCroix, Fenske illustrates that an equivalent amount of stored electrical energy in lithium-ion form weighs roughly 50 times more than gasoline at the cell level, with structural packaging adding even more bulk. When looking at full assemblies, the original Nissan Leaf pack weighed in excess of 600 pounds to supply less energy than a 6-pound jug of fuel, marking a greater than 100-to-1 mass discrepancy:

> “so if you were to look at a gallon of gasoline that weighs six pounds this has more energy in it than the original leaf's battery pack which weighed over 600 pounds over a hundred times heavier for less energy”

This mass difference dictates where electrification works. In stationary home backup systems, weight and volume are largely irrelevant. For passenger cars, current battery weight fits in a workable "sweet spot." However, heavy commercial transport, aviation, freight trains, and heavy towing struggle under current battery chemistries. An electric airliner would require so much battery mass to achieve range that it could carry no passengers or cargo. While densities will steadily improve, Fenske argues that until batteries reach parity, refining combustion engines remains essential: “well if there are applications today that currently require combustion engines we might as well make those combustion engines as clean and as good and as good and as efficient as possible while we still need them”.

[07:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=425s) The Cost: Purchase Price vs. Automaker Profitability

Fenske divides the economics into consumer expenses and manufacturer margins. An issue of SAE's *Automotive Engineering* magazine notes that an electric car carries an average upfront premium of around $12,000 compared to an equivalent combustion vehicle. Lower scheduled maintenance and cheaper fueling offset this over time, but the high initial sticker price remains an entry barrier. This dynamic breeds a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma: low sales volume prevents economies of scale from driving prices down, yet high prices keep sales volumes depressed.

Fenske pushes back on the idea that purchase price alone stalls mass adoption, arguing that vehicle purchases are rarely strictly analytical:

> “reason being is that if the only thing people were concerned about when buying a new car was total cost of ownership we'd all just be driving old 90s honda civics and we're not”

Automobile buying is deeply emotional; otherwise, luxury brands and performance vehicles would not exist. Instead, the true economic headwind lies in manufacturer profitability. Citing data from AlixPartners, Fenske notes that an EV typically needs to command a $48,000 price point to yield a profit. The powertrain components of a long-range EV cost roughly $16,000 to produce, compared to only $6,500 for a conventional ICE powertrain. Consequently, on an entry-level $30,000 vehicle, an automaker clears a far healthier margin selling an ICE model over an electric one. Because businesses are driven by profits, legacy carmakers will continue refining combustion platforms to safeguard their bottom line. Turning toward the third pillar—the environment—Fenske sets up the sheer scale of the global vehicle fleet, which is projected to grow to two to three billion vehicles worldwide.

- Electric vehicles carried roughly a $12,000 initial purchase price premium over comparable gas cars (per SAE). - EV profitability threshold required an average transaction price of around $48,000 (per AlixPartners). - Long-range EV powertrain production costs stood near $16,000, versus $6,500 for an ICE powertrain.

[09:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=585s) The Automaker's Dilemma: EV Math vs. ICE Improvements

With an enormous volume of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles projected to be sold between now and 2045, making those engines as clean as possible is an environmental necessity. Jason pulls out his whiteboard to analyze the problem from the perspective of an automaker with finite capital. He sets up a hypothetical case study using a smaller manufacturer—naming Mazda as the prime example—that operates with limited research and development funds and wants to lower its fleetwide lifecycle emissions. The automaker faces a strategic fork in the road: pour all available R&D capital into developing a brand-new battery electric vehicle, or invest that money into improving the efficiency of its existing internal combustion engines.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Automaker Fleet Emissions Comparison accDescr: Comparing the fleet emissions reduction of developing an EV versus improving internal combustion engines.

subgraph PathA["Option A: Develop Electric Vehicle"] A1["Allocate R&D to EV"] --> A2["EV captures 10% of total sales"] A2 --> A3["EV is 2x cleaner on lifecycle (50% reduction)"] A3 --> A4["Overall fleet emissions reduced by 5%"] end

subgraph PathB["Option B: Improve Combustion Engine"] B1["Allocate R&D to cleaner ICE"] --> B2["Achieve 10% emissions reduction"] B2 --> B3["Applies across 100% of vehicle sales"] B3 --> B4["Overall fleet emissions reduced by 10%"] end ```

Under the first scenario, if the company builds an electric car and achieves an optimistic 10% share of total sales with an EV that is twice as clean over its full lifecycle compared to an ICE model, the math only yields a modest outcome. Because the remaining 90% of the fleet remains untouched, the company's overall emissions drop by just 5%. Conversely, if that same budget is spent developing a cleaner combustion technology—such as a system that cuts emissions by 10% across the board—that benefit applies to 100% of the fleet, yielding an overall 10% fleetwide emission reduction. As Jason argues, “It was actually cleaner and likely much more profitable for your business to develop a new internal combustion engine technology than to go the EV route.”

- Projected combustion engine sales through 2045 provide strong justification to continue optimizing the platform. - An EV accounting for 10% of sales with half the lifecycle emissions cuts corporate fleet emissions by only 5%. - A 10% emissions reduction applied across an entire 100% combustion lineup delivers double the net impact (a full 10% reduction).

---

[11:32](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=692s) Consumer Reality, Practical Convenience, and the Logic of Ongoing ICE Development

Automakers cannot build in a vacuum; they depend on consumer demand. In both 2018 and 2019, electric cars represented only around 2% of total global market share. Translating that to a showroom floor, out of every 100 customers buying a vehicle, only two walked away with an electric car. While marketing plays a role in driving interest, real-world utility and lifestyle constraints dictate buying behavior. Jason emphasizes human psychology, noting, “Something I've always said and will continue to say is that people are lazy.” For an EV to win over average buyers, it must be more convenient than what they currently drive. While an EV is undeniably convenient for a homeowner with a dedicated garage and a Level 2 fast charger, it is far less practical for the millions of drivers who live in apartment complexes or rely strictly on street parking.

Buyers also consistently purchase vehicles sized and equipped for rare edge cases—the "5% mentality." Just as many people purchase full-size pickup trucks simply because they might haul mulch once a year, buyers choose gasoline vehicles because they know they can embark on a cross-country road trip anywhere without charging bottlenecks. Jason relates this directly to his own garage: although he owns a Tesla, he has intentionally left it behind and taken his Subaru Crosstrek on specific road trips because the necessary charging infrastructure simply did not exist along his route.

For multi-car households with a garage, having an EV for local commuting makes complete sense, but single-car households and street parkers face entirely different trade-offs. Returning to the automaker's dilemma: if a smaller manufacturer like Mazda directs all its resources toward an EV that only 2% of the car-buying public actually purchases, the net environmental benefit to their fleet is negligible. Jason concludes by affirming that he loves electric cars and loves his own Tesla, but notes that under current technological, infrastructural, and economic conditions, continuing to engineer novel combustion concepts—such as pre-chamber ignition and gasoline compression ignition—remains both logically sound and essential.

- Global market share for electric vehicles was approximately 2% in both 2018 and 2019. - Vehicle buying decisions are frequently driven by edge-case usage occurring roughly 5% of the time (e.g., road-trip freedom or towing/hauling). - Real-world infrastructure gaps still force multi-car owners like Jason to choose gas vehicles (such as his Subaru Crosstrek over his Tesla) for destinations lacking reliable chargers. - Advanced internal combustion concepts like pre-chamber ignition and homogeneous charge compression ignition / gasoline compression ignition remain vital, rational engineering paths.

## Notable quotes > [09:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=585s) It was actually cleaner and likely much more profitable for your business to develop a new internal combustion engine technology than to go the EV route. — Jason Fenske

> [07:05](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hatav_Rdnno&t=425s) if the only thing people were concerned about when buying a new car was total cost of ownership we'd all just be driving old 90s honda civics and we're not — Jason Fenske

## Mentioned Jason Fenske, Engineering Explained, Nissan Leaf, Tesla, Subaru Crosstrek, Mazda, Honda Civic, LaCroix, EPA, SAE, Automotive Engineering, AlixPartners

## Video description Why Are Car Makers Still Developing Internal Combustion Engines? Subscribe for new videos every Wednesday! - https://goo.gl/VZstk7 Recommended Books & Car Products - http://amzn.to/2BrekJm

Why are car manufacturers still improving and spending money on combustion engines in the year 2020? Should all development research be going into electric cars and electric vehicle technology? Unfortunate news if you think ICE transportation is going away in the near future to be solely replaced by electric vehicles (EVs).

The internal combustion engine is still incredibly relevant today, and can still use further improvements in order to reduce global emissions. In this video we'll discuss scientific issues facing electric cars, environmental problems with ditching combustion engine research, how cost impacts customer decisions and manufacturer profits, and ultimately how consumer choice plays a large role in this industry. If you've ever wondered why combustion engines are still being developed, this video breaks down all the details.

Related Videos: Are EVs Actually Cleaner? - https://youtu.be/6RhtiPefVzM Are Teslas Green? - https://youtu.be/2rywz73vwKw Are Lithium Batteries Bad? - https://youtu.be/1mXSMwZUiCU Living With An Electric Car - https://youtu.be/cXkRcuwoIm4

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中文简报

车企投资燃油发动机而非电动汽车以减排并保障利润率车企通过改进全系车型的内燃机，相比将有限资金转移至低销量电动车型，能够实现车队整体更大幅度的减排并维护利润率。主持人Jason Fenske从工程与经济学角度论证了继续研发内燃机的合理性，尽管他本人也拥有并赞赏电动汽车。他指出，与现有锂离子电池相比，汽油在体积和质量能量密度上拥有巨大优势，而电池则给重型或长途运输带来了严重的布局和重量负担。从商业和环保角度来看，电动汽车动力系统的制造成本依然高昂；研发预算有限的车企如果对所有燃油车进行改良，往往能比仅销售少量零排放电动汽车在整个车队层面实现更显著的减排。最后，街头停车、极端长途自驾等现实场景以及目前较低的普及率均表明，内燃机在未来数十年内仍必不可少。内燃机在物理能量密度上依然占据绝对优势：一加仑汽油含有33.7千瓦时能量，其体积能量密度约为2018年顶级锂离子电芯的13倍，重量也轻约50倍。 (1:21) 车企在电动化过程中面临严峻的财务障碍，长续航电动汽车动力系统的制造成本约为16,000美元，而内燃机仅需6,500美元，前者需达到接近48,000美元的平均售价方可实现盈利。 (7:05) 对于研发预算有限的车企而言，若能使整个燃油车车队的排放小幅减少10%，即可将企业生命周期排放降低10%，其环保效益是推出一款仅占总销量10%的电动汽车的两倍。 (9:45) 2018年至2019年间，全球电动汽车市场份额约为2%，受制于街边及公寓停车基础设施不足，以及消费者倾向于针对偏远自驾等罕见极端用车场景进行购车考量。 (11:32)

Source quotes

[9:45] Jason Fenske: It was actually cleaner and likely much more profitable for your business to develop a new internal combustion engine technology than to go the EV route. [7:05] Jason Fenske: if the only thing people were concerned about when buying a new car was total cost of ownership we'd all just be driving old 90s honda civics and we're not

Original transcript

[0:00] hello everyone and welcome according to [0:03] the industry that has made a ton of [0:05] money selling combustion engines the [0:08] combustion engine is going nowhere [0:10] and of course they'd say that but here's [0:13] the thing they're right so in this video [0:15] i want to discuss why the combustion [0:17] engine still has a long life ahead of it [0:20] and some of the challenges facing [0:22] electric cars and i want to be clear [0:24] about my goal i'm not saying that you [0:25] shouldn't buy an electric car i bought [0:27] an electric car and i think they're [0:29] great my goal with this video is to [0:31] provide you with evidence that there are [0:32] still many good reasons to continue [0:34] improving combustion engines so a common [0:37] comment i get on this channel whenever [0:39] i'm talking about a new piece of [0:40] internal combustion engine technology is [0:43] why would the manufacturer continue to [0:45] develop the combustion engine when we [0:47] know the future is electric and when [0:48] they could be investing that money in [0:50] electric cars so a big part of this [0:52] video is for selfish reasons so the next [0:55] time that someone in the comments is [0:56] bashing combustion engines i can say hey [0:58] you know there still are good reasons [1:00] why they exist here's the link because [1:03] i'm certainly going to continue making [1:05] videos about cool and interesting [1:06] combustion technology as well as [1:08] technology involving electric cars so [1:11] we're going to divide the video into [1:13] four categories the science the [1:15] environment the cost and the consumer in [1:17] each category we'll discuss the [1:19] associated challenges okay so let's [1:21] start off with science from a physics [1:24] standpoint the biggest challenge [1:25] currently facing electric cars is energy [1:28] density in other words how much energy [1:30] can you put into a certain space so here [1:33] i have a gallon of water now according [1:35] to the epa if this was a gallon of [1:38] gasoline it would have the equivalent of [1:40] 33.7 kilowatt hours of energy in it so [1:44] in just this one gallon of gasoline [1:47] there is more energy than in the entire [1:50] battery of the first generation nissan [1:52] leaf now times have changed batteries [1:54] have improved since the first generation [1:56] nissan leaf so i found a study in 2018 [1:59] that was looking at eight different [2:01] lithium ion battery manufacturers and of [2:04] them i looked at what was the best [2:05] energy density they found in a [2:07] lithium-ion battery cell that number was [2:10] 684 watt hours per liter so i want to [2:14] provide a visual demonstration of what [2:16] that means so here we have a gallon of [2:18] gas and now what i want to see is how [2:20] much space do we need in order to have [2:22] that same amount of energy but in the [2:25] form of lithium ion batteries we're [2:27] going to do that using cans of lecroy [2:30] not because i'm sponsored this isn't [2:31] sponsored i'm just basic and so if you [2:34] do the math which of course i did the [2:37] equivalent energy by volume of one [2:41] gallon of gasoline you would need 139 [2:45] cans of lacroix representing our lithium [2:49] ion batteries now this is more than just [2:52] an elaborate plan to make my groceries [2:54] tax deductible this is wild to look at [2:57] by volume gasoline is 13 times more [3:01] energy dense than the best of [3:03] lithium-ion batteries in 2018. and you [3:06] might be saying to yourself well this [3:08] isn't really that fair of a comparison [3:10] visually because all of the gasoline is [3:12] tucked away in one nice little [3:13] convenient spot whereas the lithium ion [3:16] is spread out in all these individual [3:18] cells but that's kind of the point [3:20] because gasoline just goes into a tank [3:22] and it just sits in one spot batteries [3:25] are made up of thousands of individual [3:27] cells which aren't that space efficient [3:30] so keep in mind what we're looking at [3:31] here is the volume required for just the [3:34] cells this doesn't take into any [3:36] consideration cell connections [3:38] wiring cooling routing that's going [3:40] through these batteries and the overall [3:41] structure that's holding these all [3:43] together so the space is actually going [3:45] to be much larger than what you see here [3:48] and on top of that remember we're [3:50] looking at the best example from a study [3:52] in 2018. if we were to look at the worst [3:54] example the energy density was less than [3:56] half and that would mean we would double [3:58] what you see here [4:00] just to have the same amount of energy [4:02] as one gallon of gasoline by volume now [4:05] so far we've just talked about volume [4:07] and of course volume is important for [4:09] packaging within a car so if previously [4:11] you only needed this much space but now [4:14] you need this much space well then [4:16] obviously you have a bit of a problem [4:18] because you either have to take away [4:19] from existing space within the vehicle [4:21] or your vehicle has to be larger to fit [4:24] all of that energy but we haven't yet [4:25] touched on weight and this is where [4:27] gasoline has an even larger advantage so [4:30] one gallon of gasoline weighs about six [4:34] pounds and it has the equivalent energy [4:36] of 33.7 [4:37] kilowatt hours now from that same study [4:40] i looked at previously the best [4:42] battery's energy density was about 240 [4:45] watt hours per kilogram what does that [4:48] mean well if this can were to be [4:50] gasoline represented here by lacroix's [4:53] best flavor pamplemousie then it would [4:56] weigh 50 times less than the equivalent [4:59] amount of energy in lithium-ion form and [5:02] remember this is just talking about the [5:04] battery cells the battery pack itself [5:07] would be even heavier so if you're to [5:09] look at a gallon of gasoline that weighs [5:12] six pounds this has more energy in it [5:15] than the original leaf's battery pack [5:18] which weighed over 600 pounds over a [5:21] hundred times heavier for less energy so [5:24] why is this a problem well it depends on [5:26] what you're trying to do with that [5:28] battery if you have a lithium ion [5:30] battery pack at your house as a backup [5:32] energy source for when the power goes [5:34] out it's not really a problem you don't [5:35] care how much space it takes up you [5:37] don't care how heavy it is it's just [5:38] sitting somewhere and it's able to help [5:40] you out if you then stick it in a car [5:42] however it means that car is [5:44] significantly heavier and the larger the [5:46] item that gets kind of the more [5:48] detrimental it becomes to that object so [5:50] think about a plane or a train or you [5:53] know big freight trucks or when you're [5:55] towing so these are scenarios where it [5:57] becomes challenging to because of how [6:00] much a lithium ion battery pack weighs [6:02] so if you were to think about a plane [6:03] for example you know it's trying to fly [6:05] it needs to be as light and as compact [6:08] as possible so if you were to have [6:09] enough batteries on board the thing that [6:12] the thing could actually fly somewhere [6:14] it would take up all the space within it [6:15] and you wouldn't have any additional [6:17] weight allowed for passengers the thing [6:19] would just be full of batteries it'd be [6:20] really heavy and sure it would fly [6:22] somewhere but it wouldn't take anybody [6:23] with it and it wouldn't go very far so [6:25] right now we're really in the sweet spot [6:27] where passenger cars make sense but [6:29] things larger than that don't quite yet [6:32] the good news is battery technology [6:34] continues to improve so as that battery [6:36] technology continues to improve the [6:38] battery itself will take up less space [6:40] and it will weigh less and eventually [6:42] we'll get closer and closer towards what [6:45] we have with gasoline we're not going to [6:46] get here but we can reduce it and it can [6:49] improve significantly we're just not [6:51] there yet so what does that mean well if [6:53] there are applications today that [6:55] currently require combustion engines we [6:57] might as well make those combustion [6:59] engines as clean and as good and as [7:01] efficient as possible while we still [7:03] need them okay so now let's talk about [7:05] cost and there are two issues here so [7:08] first of all electric cars are expensive [7:11] according to this automotive engineering [7:13] magazine from sae electric cars are [7:15] about 12 000 [7:17] more for the initial purchase price so [7:19] yes the maintenance cost and the [7:20] operating costs are going to end up [7:21] being lower but that initial purchase [7:23] price is significantly higher and so [7:26] because of that a lot of people avoid [7:27] buying them now part of this is a [7:29] chicken and egg scenario because because [7:32] not many people are buying electric cars [7:34] not many electric cars are produced and [7:36] because not many electric cars are [7:37] produced they're very expensive [7:39] economies of scale the more you make the [7:41] cheaper they become so in this scenario [7:44] if more people bought electric cars [7:46] they'd be cheaper but more people can't [7:48] buy electric cars because they're too [7:50] expensive now i want to be very clear [7:52] and that i don't think the initial [7:54] purchase price is the big deterrent from [7:56] electric cars i don't think that's the [7:57] big reason why we don't see mass [7:59] adoption and reason being is that if the [8:02] only thing people were concerned about [8:04] when buying a new car was total cost of [8:06] ownership we'd all just be driving old [8:08] 90s honda civics and we're not we buy [8:11] new toys car buying is a very emotional [8:14] experience it's not a logical experience [8:17] and because of that all of the luxury [8:19] brands exist if all of us only thought [8:21] about total cost of ownership no luxury [8:24] brand period would exist no fun cars [8:27] would exist we just have all the boring [8:29] simple machines that could get us from [8:31] point a to point b that cost us the [8:33] least amount but people buy things that [8:35] they enjoy and so because of that reason [8:38] i don't think it's that strong of an [8:39] argument that cost alone is what is [8:41] keeping people out of electric cars [8:43] however where cost does get involved and [8:45] where i think this does play a role is [8:48] in terms of profit for the manufacturers [8:50] according to a study by alex partners in [8:53] order for an electric car to be [8:55] profitable today it needs to cost forty [8:58] eight thousand dollars quite a bit and [9:01] the power train cost for that electric [9:03] car is about sixteen thousand dollars [9:05] for a long range ev versus about sixty [9:08] five hundred dollars for a combustion [9:11] car so think about this if you're a [9:12] manufacturer and you wanna sell a car to [9:15] a customer for thirty thousand dollars [9:17] you can make significantly more profit [9:20] if you sell that 30 000 car as a [9:22] combustion car versus an electric car [9:26] and for better or worse manufacturers [9:28] are going to follow what makes them [9:30] profitable and in this case it's [9:32] combustion engines all right so let's [9:34] move on to the environment and talk [9:36] about why we should be improving [9:38] internal combustion engines so according [9:40] to this reading [9:42] there's going to be about two to three [9:44] billion [9:45] internal combustion engines sold between [9:48] now and 2045. that alone sounds like a [9:51] pretty good reason to improve them and [9:53] make them better if we're gonna sell [9:55] that many anyways they might as well be [9:57] as clean as possible but let's look at [9:59] it from a manufacturer's point of view [10:01] you knew i was gonna work a whiteboard [10:02] into this video so let's say you're a [10:05] small car manufacturer with a [10:06] hypothetical name something like mazda [10:09] and your goal for your company is to [10:11] improve your overall emissions and so [10:14] you're a small company you don't have a [10:15] ton of money and so you have to make a [10:16] decision of what do you want to do with [10:18] that research and development money do [10:21] you want to put it into an electric car [10:23] or do you want to improve your [10:24] combustion cars so let's say you choose [10:26] to create an electric car and that ends [10:29] up accounting for about 10 of your sales [10:32] which is actually an optimistic number [10:33] based on today's sales data and those 10 [10:36] percent thankfully these electric cars [10:38] are twice as emissions friendly life [10:40] cycle versus the combustion course great [10:43] you've improved them but it's only 10 of [10:45] your sales so your overall emissions are [10:48] only reduced by 5 [10:50] because you still have 90 of your cars [10:52] unchanged well then you could also [10:54] choose to instead of spending that money [10:56] on developing an electric car to develop [10:58] a better internal combustion engine and [11:01] create a new technology that reduces [11:02] emissions by let's say 10 percent 10 [11:05] isn't a crazy number to improve [11:07] emissions by now because all of your [11:09] vehicles are combustion engines that 10 [11:12] applies across the board and that means [11:14] you have an overall emission savings of [11:17] 10 [11:18] so it was actually cleaner and likely [11:21] much more profitable for your business [11:23] to develop a new internal combustion [11:25] engine technology than to go the eevee [11:27] route and part of this yes is due to [11:30] consumer choice which brings us to our [11:32] last point finally let's talk about [11:35] consumers so a large part of selling a [11:37] car is knowing that there exists a [11:40] market out there to purchase that car in [11:43] 2018 and in 2019 the global market share [11:47] for electric cars was about two percent [11:50] so if you owned a car dealership and a [11:52] hundred people came to your car [11:53] dealership and bought cars only two of [11:56] them walked out with an electric car now [11:58] marketing is the business of teaching [12:01] you what you want to buy and so part of [12:03] this is that we've been marketed [12:05] combustion engine cars more often unless [12:07] you've been watching recent super bowl [12:09] commercials but it also does come down [12:11] to consumer choice and that plays a [12:13] massive role lots of people still want [12:16] combustion cars it's easy to think why [12:18] doesn't everyone have an electric car if [12:20] you have a garage and you have a way to [12:22] fast charge that vehicle however [12:25] something i've always said and will [12:26] continue to say is that people are lazy [12:28] so if you want to convince people to buy [12:30] something it needs to be more convenient [12:32] than what they already have now if you [12:34] have a garage and again a way to charge [12:36] it often electric cars will be more [12:38] convenient than a combustion car however [12:41] if you live in an apartment or if you [12:42] street park your vehicle which hello a [12:45] lot of people do then a combustion car [12:48] is easily going to be more convenient [12:49] and so a lot of people are going to [12:51] choose that people also often buy cars [12:53] that they rarely need for their intended [12:56] purpose say five percent of the time [12:58] that's why you see a ton of pickup [12:59] trucks because one day they might need [13:01] to buy mulch but along that five percent [13:04] mentality people buy gasoline cars [13:06] because they know they can road trip [13:08] anywhere and everywhere i've experienced [13:10] this with my tesla there are trips in it [13:12] that i have intentionally taken my [13:14] crosstrek instead because the charging [13:17] infrastructure doesn't exist where i [13:18] want to go so if you only have one car [13:22] it's often very logical for it to be a [13:23] combustion car if you're a family with [13:26] multiple cars in a garage it makes [13:28] complete sense to have at least one of [13:30] those vehicles as electric for [13:31] everything around town but that's not [13:33] everyone's case and then if we take back [13:35] into consideration that currently two [13:37] percent of buyers are buying electric [13:39] cars and let's say again you're mazda [13:42] you're trying to clean up your fleet and [13:44] so you invest everything into an [13:45] electric car that only two percent of [13:48] the people buying your cars are buying [13:50] then you're not really cleaning up your [13:51] fleet because not enough people are [13:53] buying that car in order for it to [13:55] actually make a difference so again none [13:57] of this is to say that electric cars are [13:59] dumb or that you shouldn't buy one i [14:01] love them i love mine but there are [14:03] still many good reasons why combustion [14:06] engines still exist and why they should [14:08] continue to be improved so ultimately [14:10] i'm going to keep making videos about [14:12] pre-chamber ignition or gasoline [14:14] compression ignition engines or whatever [14:17] else automakers think up mostly because [14:19] i think it's cool but also because it's [14:21] actually logical based on today's [14:23] circumstances so thank you all so much [14:26] for watching and if you have any [14:27] questions or comments of course feel [14:29] free to leave those below