Differences Between Pure Electric Vehicle, Range Extended Electric Vehicle and Fuel Cell Vehicles

1. Pure Electric Vehicle (PEV)

This is what we often refer to as a pure electric vehicle,  only a lithium battery (no combustion engine) provides power with the help of an electric motor to drive the car forward.

Advantages:

(1) Very little energy is lost from charging into the battery, to the battery driving the motor, driving the vehicle at low cost and emissions;

(2) The sources of electricity are varied. It is less polluting and less costly than thermal power;

(3) There are peaks and valleys in social electricity consumption. Many of the country's unit capacities are wasted during idle power hours, while charging vehicles at this time can cut the valley and fill the peak, optimising the demand for electricity on the grid and saving social costs;

2. Extended-Range Electric Vehicles (EREV)

Generate electricity through fuel, charge the battery and the electric motor drives the car. The electric motor drives the car and has the good characteristics of an electric car. It can be equipped with smaller capacity batteries, low weight and low cost. Because it can generate electricity through fuel, there is no mileage anxiety. The disadvantage is that it cannot provide power at the same time as HEV fuel and electricity, and the power is not as good as HEV.

Advantages:

The advantages of supercharged electric vehicles are similar to pure electric, the difference is that the engine can be used to power the battery. It has the advantages of quietness and high starting torque of electric vehicles, and can be used as a pure electric vehicle, with lower cost of use by only charging and not refuelling under convenient charging conditions.

3. Fuel cell vehicles (FCV)

Fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) provide the energy needed for driving by converting the chemical energy of fuel into electric energy, and the vehicle is driven by an electric motor. Currently, the main type of fuel is hydrogen. The energy of fuel cell is replenished by adding fuel, so the time is similar to refuelling. In addition, the fuel cell energy conversion process is highly efficient, noiseless, and has no pollutant emissions. The biggest difficulties at present are the difficulty in obtaining fuel, the difficulty in storing and transporting fuel, and the scarcity of hydrogen refuelling stations.

Advantages:

(1) There is no problem of range and energy refilling. No range anxiety.

(2) No problems of high-capacity battery life and cost of pure electric vehicles, and high pollution from high-capacity battery end-of-life like pure electric vehicles.