THE TECHNOLOGY DRIVING THE SHIFT TO ELECTRIC VEHICES
The electric vehicle (EV) industry has experienced remarkable transformation over the past decade. Thanks to relentless innovation, electric cars have moved from being a niche curiosity to a mainstream mode of transportation. But while the overall presence of electric vehicles on the road is growing, thanks to the increasing importance of environment friendly technology as well as the ever-improving choice and decreasing running costs, they aren’t yet ready to be considered ‘mainstream’.
A key factor in ensuring the market grows and adapts to the needs of the consumer is the continued development and innovation of the machinery. Electric vehicle battery technology must keep striving towards efficiency and longevity; the production process must become greener, and legislative efforts must be maintained. Boldness is required too — autonomous vehicles will be in demand, catching the interest and imagination of a multitude of consumer types.
The need to make batteries more powerful and faster-charging while also cheaper, safer and easier to recycle means innovative design measures must be taken. As manufacturers look towards the future, they will also need to consider ways to make charging easier and more accessible, faster, and potentially even wireless.
Battery companies and automakers are investing heavily to build cheaper, denser and lighter batteries. New technologies run the gamut. Some give old battery chemistries a new twist for incremental improvements. Others change the battery form factor or battery assembly for significant gains in performance or costs. In the future, radically different chemistries and other big breakthroughs are expected to emerge.
The move to OCPP 2.0.1
Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP) is an application protocol for communication between electric vehicle charging stations and a central management system. It is an international, open-source, vendor-independent standard which is available for free. The latest version, OCPP 2.0.1, has new and improved features for device management, transaction handling, credit card payments, security, smart charging functionalities, support for display and messaging and the extensibility of OCPP. OCPP 2.0.1 also offers the option to support plug and charge for electric vehicles supporting the ISO 15118 protocol.
Charging without cables.
It’s common today for smartphones and emerging in the EV marketplace, with the promise of making EV ownership more convenient and appealing. There are two ways wireless charging can work. One is electromagnetic inductive charging, where the EV parks over a charging pad that uses electromagnetic waves to transfer energy to the EV battery. This approach is in the marketplace today but limited to a few EV models and mostly home-charging use. The other is dynamic in-road wireless charging, which uses devices embedded in the roadway that supplies electricity to the EV as it is driving. Numerous trials are in place to demonstrate the feasibility of dynamic charging which, with widespread implementation, could lead to smaller EV batteries that are continuously charged and no more range anxiety.
Battery innovations for faster charging and lower costs
Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are gaining traction in the marketplace with the recent announcement that Ford Motor Company is building a plant to make these alternative EV batteries for use in some models. LFP batteries charge faster than the standard nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) EV batteries and cost less to manufacture but are less energy dense and have shorter range. Investment dollars are also flowing to the development of solid-state batteries for their promise of greater range, shorter charging times and improved safety.
On-site energy resources and smart energy management
EV charging operators, including public EV charging network operators and hosts as well as private operators like fleet depots, office building owners, and auto dealers, are using on-site energy storage and energy generation in addition to electricity from the grid to power their EV charging. Smart energy management software optimizes the use of these distributed energy resources — typically battery banks and solar panels — to reduce demand charges and lower operational costs, enable energy resiliency, and maximize use of renewable energy.
Advanced driver assistance system (ADAS)
Unlocking new possibilities, advanced driver assistance systems are already in application and paving the way toward greater autonomous capabilities. These solutions come in various levels and not only provide EV drivers with more convenience and comfort on the road, but also make their cars safer — allowing the car to keep an eye on the road at the same time.
Such solutions are already evolving to enable self-driving cars, which could eventually overthrow the conventional ways to travel.