CLEVELAND, Ohio – Electric vehicles are coming, and automakers aren’t the only ones adapting.
Cleveland-Cliffs sells new types of metal and more. Goodyear has already come out with some EV tires. And with its subsidiaries, including FirstEnergy, Ohio Edison and Illimating Co., it must make sure the electric grid is ready to charge them all.
But electric vehicles aren’t just around the corner. According to the US Department of Energy, by 2020 less than 1% of the transportation sector will rely on electricity. Vehicles with an internal combustion engine, often referred to as ICE vehicles, still dominate the roads recently.
With the future of electric vehicles, when that future comes, it will change things for many Northeast Ohio companies. And you’re already looking ahead.
How EVs are driving the evolution of Goodyear tires.
Electric vehicles, like their gas-powered counterparts, are of course driven by tires. But those tires have to be better in many ways, explained David Reese, Goodyear’s vice president of product development.
“The pace has definitely increased in the last few years, but these are things we’ve been working on for at least a decade,” Reese said.
Some changes are noticeable. The average electric vehicle is heavier than a traditional vehicle, so the tires must withstand heavy loads.
Electric motors, known for their fast acceleration, also generate a lot of torque, so they need a more durable tread.
Other changes are more subtle, such as reducing tire rolling resistance, which is the friction between the tires and the way the vehicle overcomes to move. With less rolling resistance, the vehicle can get better fuel economy, whether it’s a gas or electric vehicle.
The region is a big focus for electric vehicle manufacturers, Reese said.
A less obvious change: how do the tires feel? The internal combustion engine is loud enough to cover the tire noise. But the electric vehicle is very quiet, so drivers are more likely to notice the noise of the tires.
Reece Goodyear has developed Sound Comfort Technology, tires with built-in foam.
Another change, aimed at autonomous vehicles, involves non-pneumatic tires. Since these tires are airless, they are not prone to flats. That will be a big focus in some applications, such as self-driving robots that deliver deliveries, Reese said.
Most of these changes were a focus for Goodyear. But race electric vehicles are accelerating the development of tires.
Many electric vehicles are choosing to put Goodyear tires on their vehicles, he said. In December, the company unveiled its first electric vehicle replacement, the Electrive GT.
“The OEMs are helping to push the industry forward,” Reese said. We are delighted to be an integral part of this new vehicle architecture.
How FirstEnergy coordinates charging, how to get electric vehicles on the grid
Imagine if every house on the block had a dryer at the same time. If enough drivers choose electric vehicles with gas power, the picture on the power grid can become a reality.
That’s what FirstEnergy is preparing for and why it’s offering pilot programs focused on EV charging, said Camilo Serna, the company’s vice president of pricing and regulatory affairs.
It’s too far though. A U.S. Department of Energy study says about 25% of vehicles in Ohio need to be electric to hit the grid. As of 2020, EVs will account for 1% of vehicles in the state.
The country could reach that level by the 2030s, but it’s hard to predict how government incentives and new vehicles will change that pace.
We have to plan for the future with EVs as we have many customers, Serna said.
Part of that plan is a future pilot program where drivers can use smart chargers that FirstEnergy can connect to. It gives FirstEnergy information, and allows the company to delay and charge.
For example, many people plug in their chargers when they get home from work, around 7 p.m. FirstEnergy may delay some chargers, some at 9 p.m., others at 11 p.m.
Disrupting the chargers will reduce peak demand and generate more power through more grid improvements, Serna explained.
“What we want to do is add all this cargo as needed with minimal investment,” Serna said.
This can be good for customers, because electric vehicles have the potential to reduce the price of electricity, Cerna.
Rate is calculated as the excess of cost, or how much energy is used divided by the cost of running the grid. If electric vehicles use more electricity and FirstEnergy doesn’t have to spend as much money on grid upgrades, Cerna will help reduce costs.
Serna said that utilities can improve the system in the future, by installing new transformers or power lines, but the grid is mostly ready for electric vehicles. Utilities underwent major improvements in the 1960s and 1970s when air conditioners became popular.
FirstEnergy is also offering pilot programs designed into battery storage so that Superchargers can tap into the grid during off-peak hours. It’s also looking at fleets, such as a parking lot full of delivery vehicles and how to handle those loads.
Electric vehicles require more metal and special materials from Cleveland-Cliffs
According to the company’s chief financial officer, Celso Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs and automobiles are linked at the hip. And they see the shift to electric vehicles as positive.
“You need steel not only for the vehicles of the future, but to build the infrastructure for the vehicles of the future,” Goncalves said.
Rockies is the largest supplier of steel to every automaker in North America, and the shift to EVs will increase demand for steel. According to Goncalves, the average of electric vehicles is 1.1 tons, with an average of 1 ton of internal combustion vehicles.
For more than a decade, Goncalves has tried to make cars easier. Because of the heavy batteries in electric vehicles, that trend changes a little to handle large loads.
But the types of steel also change, Goncalves explained. One example is non-conductive electrical steel, a special material needed for electric motors. He said Cliffs is the only North American supplier of that steel to vehicles.
Steel is more sophisticated than people think, Goncalves said. The Cleveland-Cliff Research Center works with car manufacturers to design their vehicles, and the steel used by each vehicle can be different.
“People think of steel as a commodity,” Goncalves said. But that’s not right. “These are very specific specifications that every automaker and every car needs.”
