Tag: electric vehicles

The horse is here to stay

horseless carriage
A turn of the 20th-Century horseless carriage.

‘The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty — a fad.’ — American banker to potential investor in 1903

Even at the dawn of the 20th century, your crazy uncle was spouting off nonsense about things he didn’t know anything about.

I guess back in those days, social media rants took place at the local church, tavern or letter to the editor. New technologies have always brought out the doubters and naysayers, I guess.

One hundred years ago. Sarah T. Bushnell published a biography called “The Truth About Henry Ford” in which she told the story of the banker who advised the attorney that drew up incorporation papers in 1903 for Ford’s automotive company.

The attorney had been asked to invest in the Ford Motor Co., but was hesitant and sought out advice from his banker.

“My advice is not to buy the stock,” the banker said. “You might make money for a year or two, but in the end you would lose everything you put in. The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty — a fad.”

We all know how that turned out.

Read more on the turn-of-the-20th-century opposition to the horseless carriage in “Get a Horse!”, an article written in the 1920s by one of the inventors of the automobile, Alexander Winton.

Fast forward 100 years.

We’re at the beginning of a revolutionary transition in which electric vehicles will replace gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Auto manufacturers are building more EVs each year with commitments to make electric vehicles the vast majority of their production by the 2030s.

There seem to be an incredible number of Teslas already on Oklahoma roads.

Despite the upward trajectory and inevitable march of technology, I’m seeing rants against EVs every day on the social media platforms where I hang out. A lot of ‘crazy uncles’ are poo-pooing the potential of electric vehicles, along with alternative power generation from wind and solar energy.

ev scamsI’ve seen photos and graphs and charts that allege that electric energy is just as harmful to the environment as fossil fuels because of the mining for minerals and the ultimate disposal of batteries.

If you Google “electric vehicles” and “scam,” you get dozens of articles showing that the world is being played.

I’m no expert, but I choose to believe that scientists and innovators have taken all of that into consideration.

So, I assume a lot of folks — especially Oklahomans — are feeling threatened by alternative power and transportation because of our long-standing ties to the oil and gas industry.

It’s sort of ironic that oil and gas-dominated Oklahoma is home to one of the world’s first large scale electric vehicle battery remanufacturing and recycling ventures, Spiers New Technologies.

Founded less than a decade ago by Dirk Spiers, the company has shown phenomenal growth, quickly outgrowing its original 23,000 square feet of manufacturing space to now occupying its current 200,000 square feet in its operations center along SE 89th Street just east of I-35.

Spiers also operates a European location and provides battery lifecycle services to virtually every automaker with the exception of Tesla. The company showed such potential that it was acquired in 2021 by Cox Automotive.

I’ve had the opportunity to interview Dirk on several occasions and hear his views on the future of electric vehicles. You can read an earlier post with Dirk here.

But I want to share some of his perspective again in this post, because I think it’s both worthy and accurate.

“In the next five years, the cost of an electric vehicle will be cheaper than a combustion engine,” Spiers said. “So, we are only at the beginning of where we are going.

“The Devon tower — and I think it is a great building — is now more than 50 percent empty. That shows you how they (and Oklahoma City) misread the future. And now the Devon tower stands there as a symbol of Oklahoma City prosperity, but it is half empty. A relic of an industry in decline.

“The good thing is that you know eventually that everyone will drive an electric car. Those cards have been played. So, we are on the right side of history” 

Although he added that the transition is not going to happen all at once, we’re watching Dirk’s predictions playing out every day.

Meanwhile, I’ll end this with the long-ago perspective of another futurist, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice H.B. Brown in a 1908 article entitled “The Horseless Carriage Means Trouble.”

“The automobile is doubtless a most useful vehicle, but one is not likely to lavish upon it the fond attention he bestows upon his horse or dog. A man may admire his own carriage, but his affections are reserved for the horse that draws it and the dog that follows it. Whatever the outcome may be, every true admirer of the horse will pray that it may not be the extinction or dethronement of the noblest of all domestic animals.”

Now there’s your crazy uncle.

negative screen]

Dirk Spiers and his passion for electric vehicles

Spiers New Technology founder Dirk Spiers in the foyer of his company’s OKC headquarters.

I was invited recently to tour the electric vehicle (EV) battery pack remanufacturing facilities of Oklahoma City’s Spiers New Technologies (SNT), a booming business that virtually created an industry niche.

You can read the story here. 

Founder Dirk Spiers was incredibly accommodating. He provided me and my colleague from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science & Technology (OCAST) an up-close look at the massive operation at SE 89th Street where Spiers remanufactures, repurposes or recycles as many as 2,000 EV batteries per month.

Dirk then patiently answered our questions about the business and why Oklahoma City works so well for a venture focused on electric vehicles when there are very few driven in Oklahoma. The short answer is that OKC is conveniently located geographically in the heart of the U.S., so shipping to and from SNT is less challenging than if it was located on either coast.

All of that is in the story I wrote for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. However, a few remarks from Dirk did not make the cut for the Chamber story, and I wanted to share them here because I think he’s an important alternative energy industry voice.

“We are the black sheep in Oklahoma. This is an oil and gas state. When people say ‘energy,’ they mean ‘oil and gas.’ And I think oil and gas was maybe good for Oklahoma for a while, but not anymore.”

Dirk speaks about alternative energy sources like solar, wind and vehicle electrification with an evangelistic fervor. Here are his comments in Q&A form.

Q. How do you describe your company’s reputation here in a state that has been dominated for decades by the oil and gas industry?

A: First of all, I think we are the black sheep in Oklahoma. This is an oil and gas state. When people say ‘energy,’ they mean ‘oil and gas.’ And I think oil and gas was maybe good for Oklahoma for a while, but not anymore.

The Devon tower — and I think it is a great building — is now more than 50 percent empty. That shows you how they (and Oklahoma City) misread the future. And now the Devon tower stands there as a symbol of Oklahoma City prosperity, but it is half empty. A relic of an industry in decline. In fact, I think the majority of office buildings here are empty.

The good thing is that you know eventually that everyone will drive an electric car. Those cards have been played. So, we are on the right side of history, it’s just a matter of navigating through a really difficult year because of COVID. Also, it will not all happen at once.

But look at oil and gas. It has been a particularly bad investment for investors lately. Big Oil is not so big anymore. Stranded assets are now becoming a real thing. Dividends are more difficult to sustain. What I find interesting is that the European oil companies are starting to pivot. In the U.S., they are still in denial.

Q: What can Oklahoma do to signal that it is ready for a future with electric vehicles and alternative energy sources like solar and wind?

A: First of all, you need to embrace electrification a lot more. Don’t come up every year with legislation for taxation that doesn’t make sense and is punitive. Do something that is fair and forward looking. But I can see some progress there. I am hopeful.

Solar and wind are important here in Oklahoma. but be more forward looking and don’t try to renegotiate an existing (wind) deal. Renegotiating an existing deal is never a good sign that you are trustworthy.

Solar is completely under-used in Oklahoma. I think it’s the fourth brightest state, and I don’t see many solar panels.

No. 2, allow Tesla to sell and service cars in the state. You can’t say with your right hand, come here, we’re the best state, and with the left hand say we don’t want you to sell your goods here. That’s hypocritical.

Q: Do you consider yourself an evangelist for alternative energy use?

I do believe and always believed in climate change. Climate change is real. It’s here and the effects are increasingly worrisome and easy to see. In the USA it became a political issue and people are still debating this. Only here. Climate change is here, so, deal with it and let’s not lose more time.

Not sure I am an evangelist. But read the newspapers, understand the trends. When you do you know that solar is going to become — if it not already is — the cheapest form of energy, that wind is going to become the cheapest form of energy. and that we are all eventually going to drive electric vehicles. It is not that difficult. Actually, it is good. Who wouldn’t benefit from cheaper and cleaner forms of energy? Who wouldn’t enjoy driving a much better car than what they drive now? We don’t watch black and white TV anymore either on big boxes.

In fact, when you buy the latest TV or smartphone, why would still choose antiquated technology when buying a car?