Engineers have demonstrated a practical way to use magnetism to transmit electricity wirelessly to recharge electric cars. Stationary wireless EV charging has already been piloted and promoted by companies like Connected Kerb in the UK and car manufacturers. Experiments with the mobile version have also been conducted. Clearly, the less often an EV has to stop to recharge the better. But this has run into the problems of energy conversion … [Read more...]
Latest data shows lifetime emissions of EVs lower than petrol, diesel
Critics of the rapid roll out of electric vehicles correctly say that their factory door emissions (i.e. CO2 emitted during manufacture) are higher than those for standard petrol and diesel cars. Then you have to add the emissions of the local grid (how renewable is it?!) that’s charging your EV. But the numbers behind those calculations are always changing. Eoin Bannon at Transport and Environment describes the findings of their new tool that … [Read more...]
Regulatory challenges to foster cross-border trade in electricity systems with increasing shares of renewables
The share of renewable generation in Europe’s power system is rising fast, but interconnection is not keeping up. Join us on May 19, 2020 to discuss this and related issues. More wind and solar makes the supply of electricity much more dependent on the weather. Nobody wants to build capacity only to switch it off when there’s too much heading onto the local grid. This could put an extra strain on delivering the Green Deal. One solution is to … [Read more...]
Accelerate EV infra, buildings refits to use electricity’s looming spare capacity
How do we turn the pandemic downturn into an executable opportunity, above and beyond targets and promises? Chris Nelder at RMI presents data on how electricity load has dropped during the lockdown in the U.S. That load will return when the economy recovers. In the interim capacity will go unused. New capacity in the pipeline could be delayed. Nelder suggests policy makers grasp the opportunity to fill that gap and use that capacity by directing … [Read more...]
The outlook for Powerfuels in aviation, shipping
The development and commercialisation of powerfuels is in its very early stages. Powerfuels are synthetic gaseous and liquid fuels produced from green electricity. The plan is to use them when there is no viable alternative, like aviation and shipping. The big hurdle is cost, currently in the range of €3-5/litre, or five to ten times the price of fossil fuels. Dolf Gielen and Gabriel Castellanos at IRENA and Kilian Crone at the German Energy … [Read more...]
How much subsidy do EVs need to be competitive?
Despite a wide range of subsidies and incentives, battery electric vehicles (BEV) make up only 1.4% of new car sales in the U.S. That the effective battery cost is zero to the consumer doesn’t seem to be lifting that number any higher. Meanwhile, in Norway the percentage is a much more impressive 42%, but those subsidies and incentives are far higher: the effective battery cost is negative 385 $/kWh for a typical 60kWh battery pack, i.e. a very … [Read more...]
Covid-19 and the EU car industry: any support should lock in EV targets
The coronavirus slump has come suddenly and hit hard. The deep thinking has already begun on the economics needed to turn around that slump without damaging our rising emissions ambitions. Julia Poliscanova at Transport & Environment looks at the car industry. Some have called for the new CO2 standards coming in 2020 to be postponed (though, notably, VW and BMW still support them). She explains that total car sales were already declining in … [Read more...]
Europe needs its own EV battery recycling industry
Europe needs its own battery recycling industry, and the EU’s European Battery Alliance should make it happen, says Raphaël Danino-Perraud writing for the IFRI Centre for Energy & Climate. For economic, strategic and environmental reasons, today’s overwhelming dependence on outsourcing – in this case to Asia - for battery manufacture and recycling needs to change. To start with, Asia provides over 90% of global car battery output, half coming … [Read more...]
China’s 2019 electricity generation reviewed as its next 5-year plan is drafted
Simon Göss breaks down the totals and additions for electricity generation in China. In 2019 the total reached 7,325 TWh (more than twice Europe’s) after adding 330 TWh (more than half Germany’s total). Of that 330 TWh, 120 TWh came from thermal (90%+ coal). But the numbers were dominated by renewables (hydro, wind, solar) which added almost 160 TWh. Though that’s the third year of declining renewables additions, wind and solar curtailment is … [Read more...]
Are national fossil fuel car bans compatible with EU laws, intra-trade, movement?
A growing number of EU nations are announcing laws to phase out the sale of new fossil fuel cars within the next 20 years. But are the proposed bans compatible with EU laws, or even workable given cross border trade and movement rights? If you are Dutch, why not buy your new petrol car in Belgium, then drive it back to the Netherlands? How do you enforce CO2 targets with foreign haulage fleets transiting through your nation? Eoin Bannon at … [Read more...]
“All new vehicles sold must be electric by 2030” but can your nation, state, city do it?
More and more nations, states and cities are announcing plans for the ramping up of EV adoption. Jim Conca takes a look at his home, Washington State in the U.S., where all new vehicles sold must be electric by 2030. He says the new rules imply his state will have 4 million EVs on the road by 2045, up from 52,000 today. He carefully crunches the numbers to see if this target is realistic. The good news is that grid capacity will only need to rise … [Read more...]
Machine learning cuts new EV battery design testing times by months, years
Normally, battery prototype testing can take months and years to find the optimal design for fast-charging and battery life. Now scientists from Stanford, MIT and the Toyota Research Institute have developed a machine learning programme that can cut battery testing times by 98%. They’ve applied it to EV batteries. The faster a new and improved design is proven and taken to market the more rapid the uptake of EVs we’ll have. Matthew Vollrath at … [Read more...]
UK to phase out petrol, diesel, hybrid car sales by 2035. Here’s how
This month the UK government promised to accelerate the phase-out of fossil-fuelled cars. From 2035 all new diesel and petrol car sales (including hybrids) are banned. Promises are one thing, realistic policies, plans and investment is another. Last year only 1.6% of new passenger vehicles sold were EVs and that has to rise to 100% in 15 years. Ashley Fly at Loughborough University sets out what needs to be done. First, skills and training; much … [Read more...]
EV Charging Infrastructure: “hidden” soft costs are slowing take up
You don’t buy an EV if you’ve nowhere to charge it. So the take up of EVs depends on the availability – and therefore the costs - of charging infrastructure. Rocky Mountain Institute’s Chris Nelder describes the surprising conclusion of their recent report “Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs”, that it’s the soft costs that are stubbornly refusing to go down in the U.S. That means things like permitting delays, complex utility … [Read more...]
EU pathway to 3m EV charge points by 2030
Right now the EU has around 185,000 public charge points, which is enough for today’s market (seven cars for each point). The current policy scenario targets 33m electric cars by 2030 (44m for climate neutrality). Transport & Environment’s Nico Muzi summarises their latest report that plots their ambitious pathway. It’s driven by the forceful idea of a European ‘right to plug’, and enabled by their new Public Charging Supply metric, using a … [Read more...]
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