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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Electric Vehicle Basics

Program Document ·
OSTI ID:1998656

Electric vehicles (EVs) use electricity as their primary fuel or to improve the efficiency of conventional vehicle designs. EVs include all-electric vehicles, also referred to as battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). In colloquial references, these vehicles are called electric cars, or simply EVs, even though some of these vehicles still use liquid fuels in conjunction with electricity. EVs are known for providing instant torque and a quiet driver experience. Other types of electric-drive vehicles not covered here include hybrid electric vehicles, which are powered by a conventional engine and an electric motor that uses energy stored in a battery that is charged by regenerative braking, not by plugging in, and fuel cell electric vehicles, which use a propulsion system similar to electric vehicles, where energy stored as hydrogen is converted to electricity by the fuel cell.

Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Vehicle Technologies Office
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-08GO28308
OSTI ID:
1998656
Report Number(s):
NREL/FS-5400-87125; MainId:87900; UUID:6ef22457-e2ec-4a8c-88a5-4a732a851379; MainAdminID:70383
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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