Page 19 - European Energy Innovation - autumn 2017 publication
P. 19
Autumn 2017 European Energy Innovation 19
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
be electric, this would only mean an depends on many factors, first of which fast leaps forward. MOBI’s Battery
additional demand for electricity of of course the battery. In a Tesla you Innovation Centre performs ground-
1,4%. We should not forget that the can cover 400km today, but the typical breaking research in collaboration with
introduction of renewable energy autonomy of electric cars is more in key European players.
sources is gearing up. Their share in the range of 150km. However, things
the production of energy will only are changing fast. More and more car WILL EVERYONE DRIVE ELECTRIC
increase. It does create other issues manufactures are bring electric cars on VEHICLES IN THE NEAR FUTURE?
though. What if there is no wind and the market with a driving distance of No more combustion engines.
sun? At these moments we either need around 400km and this at acceptable Breathing clean air in our cities,
to rely on other sources or we need prices ranges. Driving range is also hearing birds instead of traffic. Is it an
to invest more in energy storage. The dependent on driving style, weather unrealistic vision for the future? The
battery of an electric vehicle can play conditions and the desired comfort. reality is that we cannot change an
an important role in energy storage. If you would like a temperature of 22 entire fleet overnight. The average
degrees in your car in the middle of lifetime of a car is 14 years. In other
When too much electricity is winter, this demands a lot of energy words, if you buy a diesel car today, it
produced, it can be stored in the from your battery. Yet manufacturers will still be on the road in 2030.
batteries of cars. When there is not are looking into to tackling these
sufficient electricity, they give it back to issues too. Nevertheless we are at a turning point.
the grid. This is what has been called It is not just diesel gate that drives
V2G or ‘vehicle to grid’. Furthermore For the average consumer driving the market. Tesla has opened the
second life batteries will makes range is a key factor when considering market by offering models that go way
electric vehicles more economically a car. We call this ‘range anxiety’. Yet beyond the small city car. A whole new
attractive. Will there be enough electric more than 95% of our daily trips are type of consumers is now interested
cars to envisage this? We do indeed less than 100km. 30% of all our vehicles in electric cars. All manufacturers are
need a large fleet of electric vehicles never drive more than 100km per working on electric models. So things
to realise this and those are entering day. We could make a start replacing are moving.
the market rather slowly. In anticipation these 30% with electric vehicles. Yet
of this gradual introduction, we need consumers have a tendency to upscale On the basis of MOBI’s consumer
to rethink our electric supply system their car for the occasional longer behaviour models, we predict that
drastically if we want to increase the trip. Most of the cars on our roads are by 2020 about 5 to 10% of new cars
share of renewable energy sources. oversized, with a large trunk for the sold in Belgium will be electric. We
annual summer holiday. also depend on policy makers and
In other words, our grid will need to be the incentives they offer. As a result of
remodelled, even independent from The need for public charging fiscal policy, in Norway for example the
the introduction of electric vehicles, infrastructure is dependent upon best selling car is not petrol or diesel
purely because of the need to increase families owning a garage. In cities this but an electric car.
the share of renewable energy is a problem. Less then 11% of families
sources. in Brussels for example have a private But we still have not answered the
garage. Apart from standard charging question about the number of electric
V2G applications have an impact on points, fast chargers will find their cars in 2050. Or should we look at the
the life expectancy of the battery of an place on motorways, in cities and in issue from a different perspective?
electric car. It is therefore important suburban areas. These fast chargers How many electric cars do we need
to research how we can give batteries can fully charge a battery in 15 to 25 by 2050 to generate additional
a ‘second life’ and how they can be minutes. employment, improve our health and
recycled. If the capacity of a vehicle quality of life and slow down climate
battery declines to 80%, we assume it The development of batteries is taking change? l
is no longer serviceable. Yet it still has
80% storage capacity. So it could be Professor Joeri Van Mierlo is Director of MOBI: Mobility, Logistics and Automotive
used for other applications, such as Technology Research Centre. He lectures at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and is an
to support the grid, for micro-grids or internationally recognised expert in the field of electric vehicles.
home storage, etc.
He is the Vice president of the European Electric vehicle association (www.avere.org) and the
HOW FAR CAN YOU GET IN AN scientific chairman of the International Electric Vehicle Symposium EVS30 (www.evs30.org).
ELECTRIC CAR?
Driving range is an important issue and
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