Is electric drive the best “green” vehicle technology?
Absolutely. Electric engines are far more energy efficient than other types of engines; you get more distance traveled for every joule of energy spent. A typical well tuned and maintained heat engine (gasoline, ethanol, etc) has a mechanical efficiency of around 20%. That is only 20% of the energy stored in the fuel makes it to the drive train. Typical efficiencies for electric 3-phase induction motors are above 80% and can be over 95%. Another major advantage is electric motors don’t care where the power comes from. This means you can any electrical storage/production source to power an electric vehicle. To name just a few: batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, super capacitors, solar cells, and generators.
