The Silent Revolution: Electric Vehicles (Part 1)
How are e-mobility and charging infrastructures increasing?
Written in partnership by MAHLE and BABLE GmbH
An Intro
In times of open discourse around climate change and with the obvious need for more sustainable solutions in everyday life, transportation and mobility bear significant weight in the discussion. The current development in this area is also called the “second greatest inflection point” in mobility. It is the need for more sustainable and energy-efficient mobility in reaction to urbanisation, air pollution and traffic congestion (Dhawan et al., 2019). A major breakthrough in this regard was the electrification of vehicles.
In a collaboration between MAHLE chargeBIG and BABLE GmbH, a series on e-mobility was created. Each week, a new chapter will be published introducing you to the field of e-mobility and the development of the charging infrastructure. In addition, a Use Case (best practice example), as well as expert insights, are included in the series. We are looking forward to publishing and answering all your questions regarding the exciting and ever-developing field of e-mobility.
Disclaimer: We know active mobility is a fundamental component of the decarbonisation of transport but also recognise the role of electric vehicles for those whose circumstances prevent them from choosing a bicycle. To read more about bicycles, check out another BABLE Smart Cityzine article:
What’s with EVs anyways?
Germany is now the second-largest market for electric vehicles, only after China (Roland Berger, 2021). If the base-case study of McKinsey becomes reality, around 120 million EVs will be on the road by 2030 (China, EU and the US). But who will cover the demand for charging stations to support this transition? An extensive charging infrastructure to meet the demand of the future is inevitable.
In addition to the growth of the electric vehicle stock, the number of public charging stations has also increased. According to McKinsey’s 2016 EV consumer survey (in China, Germany, and the US), the main barriers to purchasing an EV are the price and the driving range. However, with new innovations and an overall transition towards more sustainable and environmentally aware solutions, the prices decline while the ranges expand. What is left is the third greatest barrier: access to efficient charging stations (Kane et al. 2021). This fact shows the importance of charging infrastructure for electric mobility.
Currently, charging stations are being installed by commercial centres and public authorities along with some employers and private investors to stimulate the market for EVs. This also sheds light on the opportunity for workers to charge their EVs while at work.
Additionally, the European targets to reduce the emissions of the land transport sector are relevant. The target firstly aims to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 by 8% from transport compared with 1990 levels. Secondly, the target aims for an overall 60% reduction by 2050 in greenhouse gas emissions from transport compared with 1990 levels (European Environment Agency (EEA), 2019).
To meet environmental goals through the transition from conventional to electric urban mobility systems, incentives and investment into public charging systems are essential (Helder et al. 2021, 24). Complications arise with the implementation of public charging stations by city authorities regarding safety, access and parking spaces for people that do not have private parking spaces or driveways at home (Helder et al. 2021, 27). The latter is often a challenge in urban settings where people live in housing blocks.
The following Figure 2 shows all public charging points worldwide and does not distinguish between different charging speeds.
Particularly interesting, Figure 3 shows the average number of electric vehicles which are sharing a public charging point. It is easy to see that the number of vehicles per charging point has almost doubled on a global average since 2010. It can be deduced from this that in the past ten years, charging infrastructure has not been built up at the same rate as new vehicles have been registered. This trend is also particularly evident in Germany and the United States, compared to the global average.
In summary, e-mobility is coming. Taking the second largest market for electric vehicles into consideration, the demand for new vehicles in Germany is increasing. However, especially since the strong growth in 2020, Germany is lagging behind with its charging infrastructure. While the market size for charging infrastructure was about $3.8 billion in 2019, it is projected to increase to up to $25.5 billion in 2027 (Alliedmarketresearch, 2021).
But is there even enough electricity for the rise of EVs? And what alternatives to public charging are offered to electric car drivers?
In this article, we will examine the different usage scenarios for charging electric vehicles.
Is there enough electricity for the rise of EVs?
Filling stations providing petrol and diesel are an essential part of the European mobility infrastructure. Figure 4 displays the number of petrol stations in the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey in 2018, divided by country. Overall, there are over 75.000 petrol stations operating in the EU, compared to around 18.000 in non-EU-member countries. In total, there are 83.000 petrol stations operating in these countries, representing a well-established infrastructure throughout Europe.
On the contrary, the charging stations for alternative fuels and EVs are a relatively new part of the mobility infrastructure. As can be seen in Figure 5, the number of filling stations with liquified natural gas (LNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquified petroleum gas (LPG), hydrogen and charging points for electric vehicles are less expanded than petrol and diesel stations in the EU. As for EVs, the number of public electric charging points has been increasing to almost 192.000 (<22 kW) slow charging points and to more than 21.000 fast charging points (>22 kW) in the EU.
This discrepancy in the infrastructure of filling stations and electric charging points is the natural result of the difference in the number of petrol/diesel-based vehicles compared to the significantly fewer alternative vehicles in the EU. Furthermore, the timespan for filling/charging differs fundamentally. The filling of CNG, LNG, LPG and H2 take similarly as much time as refuelling petrol. However, the charging timespan of an EV depends on the vehicle, the charging rate and capacity of the battery as well as the charging point, the state of charge of the battery and the environment (e.g. colder temperatures increase the charging time) (PodPoint, 2020). When using low voltages; for example, charging can take up to several hours. Nevertheless, there are fast-charging technologies that cover a similar timespan as the other fuel options.
Most importantly, a main determining factor is the availability of different kinds of electricity. Depending on the local electricity, it is possible to produce electricity for EV charging through renewable energy sources, such as wind power or solar power.
Nonetheless, the storage of power still constitutes a barrier to charging at home because most people are at work during the day when, for example, solar power is strongest.
Charging EVs with locally produced sustainable electricity could, at the very least, decarbonise urban mobility significantly. Furthermore, current scientific studies show that concerns regarding the violation of the electric grid, in particular the distribution grid, can be dispelled (Shaukat et al., 2018). With the controlling and optimisation of the charging process, grid constraints and limitations can be minimised (e.g. Groß et al., 2020). In fact, the controlled charging of electric vehicles can lead to a higher rate of photovoltaic self-consumption (Groß et al., 2020). Another benefit is the electric vehicle battery itself since it can offer additional services, such as stabilising the grid by offering additional electric storage capacities (Shaukat et al., 2018). In addition, through bidirectional charging (so-called Vehicle-To-Grid), electric cars can directly contribute to the balancing of fluctuating renewable energy sources (Shaukat et al., 2018).
By creating large-scale, easy to operate and accessible charging infrastructure, especially in cities and metropolitan areas, the obstacles of e-mobility can be diminished.
If electric vehicles charge, electricity from renewable sources can be used directly in transport and help to reduce the problem of insufficient power storage capacity. In the last few years in Germany, the share of electricity from renewable sources has significantly increased. In 2019, more than 40 % of the gross electricity consumption was covered by green electricity. Default charging point operators (CPOs) run their charging stations exclusively with green power.
In Germany, a secure energy supply can be assured despite the increase in e-mobility. In 2019, Germany had a significant export surplus of electrical energy abroad. With a total consumption in Germany of around 520 TWh, the share of e-mobility is 2.4 TWh and thus only 0.5 % of the total consumption. The power grids are ready for e-mobility.
In general, there is enough energy available; however, the challenge is the peak power. During the peak hours, such as in the morning at work or in the evening at home, the peak power must be generated at a high cost. This problem can be avoided through intelligent charging infrastructure by regulating power peaks while charging electric vehicles. If necessary, charging power for the e-vehicles can be reduced as soon as other consumers; for example, buildings or machines, need more power. Due to such “peak-shaving”, surcharges for electricity costs can be minimised. Through load management, taking into account all other non-controllable consumers in the power grid, the limited electrical power can be distributed to many electric vehicles. Thus, the installation of charging infrastructure is possible while minimising the impact on grid connection investment.
Stay tuned for Part 2 next week!
Want to read more about how EVs are being used? Just BABLE it!
