Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States have grown every year since hybrids and EVs picked up in the contemporary market at the turn of the century, but EV ownership hasn’t made it to the mainstream yet for many Americans. To demystify the ins and outs of EV ownership, we’ve tackled the topic in a multipart series on the Resources Radio podcast.

https://www.resources.org/common-resources/wrapping-up-rffs-resources-radio-series-what-lies-ahead-on-the-road-to-vehicle-electrification/

Electric Vehicle Series: The Road to Vehicle Electrification

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Sebastian Blanco, editor-in-chief at SAE Media Group and a journalist on the automotive and vehicle-technology beat. This episode jump-starts a multipart series on electric vehicles (EVs), including the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this first episode of the series, Blanco discusses the foundations of EV ownership. He covers different EV makes and models, the logistics of charging EVs at home and on the road, pro tips for locating charging stations through smartphone apps and other resources, and insights on EV maintenance based on his experience. 

Future episodes dive deeper on battery technology, charging stations, and driver experience. Listen in and stay tuned for those additional episodes in this series! Please let us know if we’ve missed any questions that you’re curious about; we may address those in a future podcast episode or blog post. And if you’re not interested in EV-ery detail, then tune back in after a few weeks, when we’ll return to our normally scheduled programming, which covers all kinds of topics in environmental economics.

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Related episodes in this series:

Demystifying Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Sebastian Blanco; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/demystifying-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-sebastian-blanco

Innovations in Electric Vehicle Batteries, with Micah Ziegler; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/innovations-in-electric-vehicle-batteries-with-micah-ziegler

Expanding Access to Electric Vehicle Chargers, with Kimathi Boothe; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/expanding-access-to-electric-vehicle-chargers-with-kimathi-boothe

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/electric-road-trip-the-pros-and-cons-of-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-kristin-hayes

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References and recommendations:

PlugShare app for electric vehicle charging infrastructure; https://www.plugshare.com/

Flo app for electric vehicle charging infrastructure; https://www.flo.com/products/software/flo-mobile-app/

Alternative Fuels Data Center from the US Department of Energy; https://afdc.energy.gov/

“Transport Evolved” YouTube series; https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved

“State of Charge” YouTube series; https://www.youtube.com/StateOfChargeWithTomMoloughney

Demystifying Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Sebastian Blanco

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Micah Ziegler, an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, about the science, policy, and economics behind electric vehicle (EV) batteries. This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers some of the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this second episode of the series, Ziegler discusses the history of the development of EV batteries (which might be longer than you think), the materials that are used in batteries, and technological advancements that have improved battery efficiency over the past century. Ziegler also highlights policy tools that may be especially effective at reducing the costs of clean energy technologies such as EV batteries. 

Future episodes will dive deeper on charging stations and road trips—stay tuned for those. And as you listen, please let us know if we’ve missed any questions that you’re curious about; we may address those in a future podcast episode or blog post. And if you’d rather not spin your wheels on this topic, then tune back in after a few weeks, when we’ll return to our normally scheduled programming, which covers all kinds of matters related to environmental economics.

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Related episodes in this series:

Demystifying Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Sebastian Blanco; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/demystifying-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-sebastian-blanco

Innovations in Electric Vehicle Batteries, with Micah Ziegler; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/innovations-in-electric-vehicle-batteries-with-micah-ziegler

Expanding Access to Electric Vehicle Chargers, with Kimathi Boothe; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/expanding-access-to-electric-vehicle-chargers-with-kimathi-boothe

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/electric-road-trip-the-pros-and-cons-of-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-kristin-hayes

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References and recommendations:

“Re-examining rates of lithium-ion battery technology improvement and cost decline” by Micah S. Ziegler and Jessika E. Trancik; https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/ee/d0ee02681f

“Determinants of lithium-ion battery technology cost decline” by Micah S. Ziegler, Juhyun Song, and Jessika E. Trancik; https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2021/ee/d1ee01313k

“Evaluating the causes of cost reduction in photovoltaic modules” by Goksin Kavlak, James McNerney, and Jessika E. Trancik; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421518305196?via%3Dihub

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/301943/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-by-eric-carle/

“All the World” by Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee; https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-the-World/Liz-Garton-Scanlon/9781481431217

“Energy Firms, Green Groups and Others Reach Deal on Solar Farms” by Ivan Penn; https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/12/business/energy-environment/solar-farm-agreement.html

“Americans don’t hate living near solar and wind farms as much as you might think” by Allyson Chiu, Emily Guskin, and Scott Clement; https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2023/10/03/solar-panels-wind-turbines-nimby/

“Demand for minerals sparks fear of mining abuses on Indigenous peoples’ lands” by Julia Simon; https://www.npr.org/2024/01/29/1226125617/demand-for-minerals-sparks-fear-of-mining-abuses-on-indigenous-peoples-lands

“The U.S. is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story” by Julia Simon; https://www.npr.org/2023/05/21/1172679786/carbon-capture-carbon-dioxide-pipeline

Innovations in Electric Vehicle Batteries, with Micah Ziegler

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Kimathi Boothe, the vice president of energy operations at Dunamis Clean Energy Partners, about infrastructure for charging electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States. This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this third episode of the series, Boothe discusses types of EV chargers, trends toward standardizing chargers, factors that influence the density of EV charging stations in a given area, and improving access to EVs. Boothe also talks about federal policies that have helped expand the charging network in recent years. 

Boothe’s insights will be applied to the real world in next week’s episode about cross-country road trips in an EV—stay tuned. And as you listen, please let us know if we’ve missed any questions that you’re curious about; we may address those in a future podcast episode or blog post. If you’d rather steer yourself toward other topics, then tune back in after a couple weeks, when the podcast will return to our normally scheduled programming, which covers all kinds of matters related to environmental economics.

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Related episodes in this series:

Demystifying Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Sebastian Blanco; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/demystifying-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-sebastian-blanco

Innovations in Electric Vehicle Batteries, with Micah Ziegler; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/innovations-in-electric-vehicle-batteries-with-micah-ziegler

Expanding Access to Electric Vehicle Chargers, with Kimathi Boothe; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/expanding-access-to-electric-vehicle-chargers-with-kimathi-boothe

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/electric-road-trip-the-pros-and-cons-of-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-kristin-hayes

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References and recommendations:

“James: A Novel” by Percival Everett; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738749/james-by-percival-everett/

Expanding Access to Electric Vehicle Chargers, with Kimathi Boothe

In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Kristin Hayes, senior director for research and policy engagement at Resources for the Future, about her experience at the wheel of an electric vehicle (EV). This episode continues a multipart series on EVs, which covers the most practical matters that EV users need to know. In this fourth episode of the series, Hayes discusses her experience with charging stations on a recent long-distance road trip, the comparison between the fuel costs of driving an EV versus a hybrid or internal combustion engine vehicle, and possible research questions about the future of uptake and infrastructure for EVs in the United States.

This is the final episode in our series on EVs. As you listen, please still feel free to let us know if we’ve missed any questions that you’re curious about; we may address those in a future podcast episode or blog post. Next week, the podcast will return to our normally scheduled programming, which explores all aspects of environmental economics.

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Related episodes in this series:

Demystifying Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Sebastian Blanco; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/demystifying-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-sebastian-blanco

Innovations in Electric Vehicle Batteries, with Micah Ziegler; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/innovations-in-electric-vehicle-batteries-with-micah-ziegler

Expanding Access to Electric Vehicle Chargers, with Kimathi Boothe; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/expanding-access-to-electric-vehicle-chargers-with-kimathi-boothe

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes; https://soundcloud.com/resourcesradio/electric-road-trip-the-pros-and-cons-of-electric-vehicle-ownership-with-kristin-hayes

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References and recommendations:

“How to Know a Person” by David Brooks; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/652822/how-to-know-a-person-by-david-brooks/

Electric Road Trip: The Pros and Cons of Electric Vehicle Ownership, with Kristin Hayes

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.