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Electric Cars
A new report from GlobalData,
Technological Developments Reducing
Range Anxiety for Electric Vehicles
,
points out that in an attempt to reduce
the transport industry’s contribution
to global CO
2
emissions, which
currently stands at 23% (source:
the International Transport Forum),
Governments continue to offer
incentives to promote EV adoption.
The UK Government, for example,
provides grants of up to £5,000 or
25% off the cost of an electric vehicle,
as well as exemption from car tax.
There are also local initiatives, such as
London Congestion Charge discounts and
free parking.
Even so, Department of Transport
figures reveal that in the first 18 months
of the Plug-in Car Grant scheme (from
Jan 2011 to June 30, 2012), just 1,706
claims were made.
The high purchase price of electric
cars is one reason for the low take-up,
but more fundamental are the limitations
of existing battery technology and
the absence of a widespread charging
infrastructure that together have limited
EV use to commuting within city limits.
GlobalData’s report identifies some of
the ways in which car manufacturers are
helping to reduce ‘range anxiety’ – the
fear of running out of battery power.
These include faster recharging and
increased ranges on a single charge (e.g.
by switching to petrol power when a
battery becomes depleted or using solar
panels as an additional power source).
It also highlights developments
in battery technology, notably the
replacement of NiMH batteries used in
97% of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs)
with advanced Lithium-ion (Li-ion)
batteries, which should increase the range
of HEVs from 200km to 300-500km per
charge.
Recharging infrastructure
Equally important is the establishment
of a network of public charging stations
Power networking
where drivers can quickly recharge EV
batteries. In a survey of more than 1,000
consumers carried out for Chargemaster
by Aurora Market Research, 83% of
respondents said that the lack of a
national charging infrastructure was a
concern.
Progress is being made in this area,
with the establishment of rapid charge
networks that will enable customers to
charge a battery in 30 minutes or less
compared to 3-4 hours with a standard
charger.
By the end of this year, Chargemaster
Plc, operator of the POLAR national
electric vehicle charging point network,
hopes to have installed 4,000 standard
and quick charge bays in public
locations throughout the UK, including
railway stations, shopping centres and
supermarkets.
Meanwhile, Roadchef has started to
roll out a network of motorway-based
rapid charge points for electric vehicles,
with the switching on of its first rapid DC
charging system at Clacket Lane services
on the M25. Over the next six months,
it plans to install pay-as-you-go charge
points at other Roadchef Motorway
Service Areas across the country.
Green energy supplier Ecotricity
is involved in a similar scheme at 27
Welcome Break motorway service
stations, with the added twist that
the charging points are all powered by
renewable energy from the company’s
wind and solar farms.
Another option being pioneered by
EV charging infrastructure specialist
Better Place is a network of battery
switch stations where drivers can swap
a depleted EV battery for a fully charged
one in the time it takes to fill a car with
petrol. This summer, it opened a switch
station at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
that will give 10 Renault Fluence Z.E.
Electric taxis operated by three Dutch taxi
companies virtually unlimited range as
they drive to and from Amsterdam.
Electric cars have failed to live up to
expectations, but are still seen as an essential
weapon in the fight against greenhouse gas
emissions.With the continued support of
Governments and ongoing improvements in
battery technology and recharging networks,
could their time be about to come?
Energy Saving Trust is working with 20 organisations
across the UK to demonstrate how electric fleets can be
the driving force behind powerful savings.
Boots UK, London Fire Brigade, Network Rail, Surrey
County Council, Southwark Council, Tristar, the University
of Cumbria,Wm Morrisons PLC, York City Council and 11
other organisations are taking part in the Energy Saving
Trust’s Plugged-in Fleets initiative, run in partnership with
EDF Energy.
As part of the scheme funded by Transport for London
(TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT), experts
from Energy Saving Trust and EDF Energy will analyse each
organisation’s fleet to identify where electric vehicles can
best be used.
Findings and case studies from the initiative will be
published in a final report helping fleet managers in other
organisations identify how they can make savings by
introducing electric vehicles into their fleets.
CarolineWatson of the Energy Saving Trust, said: “Our
recent Plugged-in Fleets report has shown that organisations
can save money now when selectively introducing electric
vehicles within their fleets, and our Fleet Advice team can
provide practical and impartial recommendations to help
companies achieve this.”
www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
Plugged-in