The midnight washing machine
Let's talk about the E in EVs. The electricity. Where's it going to come from? Can wind and solar provide enough power to charge our batteries? Can it be reliable enough? Or will this end in a terribl...
25 Sep 202551min
Going nuclear
Could nuclear power be the key to sustainable motoring? We don't mean putting atomic reactors under car bonnets. What we mean is: whether nuclear power could generate electricity so cheaply it could b...
7 Aug 202546min
EV v AI
What does the explosion of AI mean for the electrification of motoring? Will there be enough power to sustain both? And if push comes to shove, won't governments prefer sexy data centres to humdrum EV...
23 Jul 202537min
The great road-pricing debate
What happens to taxes on driving when we stop using petrol and diesel? Governments will have a big fiscal hole to fill. One answer is road pricing for electric vehicles. But will it put people off BEV...
15 Jul 202533min
Critical Mass 4: the politics
We've heard about the big idea - taxing cars by weight and mileage, not engine type. We've looked at the science, the money, and the practicalities? But what about the politics? What could persuade go...
3 Feb 202527min
Critical Mass 3: the money
So how would this radical new system work in practice? How much would motorists actually pay? Would petrol still be taxed, too? And could you cheat your way around it? Those are the questions Nick an...
28 Jan 202528min
Critical Mass 2: the science
In the last episode, Nick and Felix pitched their big idea - to tax cars by weight, not type of engine. They say mass is the critical environmental factor, in an electrified world of motoring. But wha...
21 Jan 202529min
Critical Mass episode 1: the big idea
Tax cars by a formula based on weight and miles driven. That's the concept we're explaining in our second series, where we're joined by Felix Leach, Associate Professor of Engineering Science at the U...
14 Jan 202527min
