Interview: Kate Armitage, EDF Energy, and William Cutler, OLEV.
By: Dan Connell, Monday, May 10, 2010, AutomotiveWorld.com
The next five to ten years will undoubtedly prove to be crucial for the electric car market as OEMs launch new models and as governments start to construct infrastructures. However, many questions remain unresolved. How big is the business opportunity? How robust and reliable will the technology be in the hands of ordinary motorists? Can the supply chain sustain the growth envisaged? How is the roll-out process of cars and recharging networks going to be managed? Will some places become electric car hotspots while others get left behind?
Several industry experts discussed these issues at the recent AutomotiveWorld.com webinar, 'Bringing EVs to market: technical challenges and business opportunities'. As a follow on to this online seminar, AutomotiveWorld.com asked the members of the panel to expand on their respective presentations in a series of interviews featuring the questions asked by attendees of the webinar.
The last in this series are panelists Kate Armitage, Electric Vehicle Team Manager for EDF Energy, and William Cutler, Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Policy Advisor for the Department for Transport (OLEV), respectively.
EDF Energy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the EDF Group, one of Europe's largest energy groups and the UK's largest producer of electricity. EDF is a strong supporter of EVs and their infrastructure; the company already runs over 1,500 electric vehicles and is installing a charging infrastructure for the public. Kate Armitage's presentation focused on 'The Role of Utilities in the development of Electric Vehicles'.
The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) is committed to assisting the decarbonisation of transport and the transition to a sustainably lower carbon vehicle fleet. To achieve this, OLEV is working with the UK industry to position the region as a world leader in the development, demonstration, manufacture and use of ultra-low carbon automotive technology. In addition to tax incentives and support for stricter EU vehicle standard regulations, OLEV has committed in excess of £400m of support to encourage the development and uptake of ultra low carbon vehicles.
AutomotiveWorld.com: What are the utility companies doing to encourage consumers to install home generation systems?
Kate Armitage: Commencing April 2010, EDF Energy will be offering 'feed-in tariffs' for customer that install electricity generation at home - including Solar PV. Effectively, the customer will be paid per kw of electricity they generate, irrespective of whether it is consumed direct in the house or exported to the grid.
AW: Access to the petrol/diesel refuelling infrastructure is unrestricted, but there are concerns that access to the recharging infrastructure will require RFID and/or contracts with the owner of the recharging pole. Could this prove to be very problematic for customers?
Will Cutler: The option of charging at home creates a far greater ubiquity for recharging than the current provision of petrol stations allows for refuelling. In the short term, in the UK, we expect electricity to be provided free of charge at the point of use and for common standards and protocols to be created for access to publically available charge points through RFID tags.
AW: Is there no industry body trying to standardize batteries to allow for easy battery exchange in the future, through so-called filling stations?
WC: Rapid charging has the potential to recharge a battery in under an hour, and top up in around ten minutes. The exact time will depend on the type and capacity of the battery, the pre-existing state of charge and the rate of charge a particular battery can receive.
AW: The EDF Energy presentation was about off-peak charging, but the later North East presentation by Dr Colin Herron was about rapid charging in daytime/peak loading. Does this not indicate problems with respect to demand and supply timing?
KA: We anticipate that on-street rapid charging will make up a very small percentage of total EV charging. The majority will take place at home or work - where the requirement for a fast charge is less important. Rapid charging is also likely to be a premium price charge versus the low cost off peak charging.
AW: When you say EVs produce 30% less CO2, is this with electric charging current sourced from coal fired power stations?
KA: The 30% saving is based on the current UK grid mix, including coal, gas, nuclear and renewable. Over time, as the grid decarbonizes, this efficiency will improve.
AW: CO2 impact on EVs actually depends significantly on how electricity is produced in each country. This seems too often to go unmentioned in presentations. Are EVs mostly promoted/marketed sometimes a bit too 'greenly'?
KA: The CO2 savings are based on the whole UK grid mix. The best way to ensure CO2 savings is by utilizing spare off peak capacity.
AW: Will a smart grid technology ever come of age?
KA: We know that smart meters will be rolled out across the UK by 2020. Significant studies and trials are currently underway or are being planned that will prove the smart grid technology.
AW: Are there any plans to provide public charging for electric motorcycles and bikes?
WC: Most of the charge points being installed in the UK can be used by electric 2-wheelers.
AW: The passenger car industry has made a big transition from almost no EVs to a reasonable market size within a span of about ten years. What is your similar estimate for commercial vehicles?
KA: EVs will play a big role in the commercial vehicle market. There are many successful applications of commercial EVs, particularly where the geographic coverage is low and the route is well defined.
AW: Do you think a global battery standardization is necessary if batteries are leased and replaced for charging?
WC: For battery swapping a degree of standardization seems to be a pre-requisite.
AW: What do you think about secondary battery use - there is still a great deal of energy in those batteries - is this likely to lead to other uses of the energy storage?
WC: There are a number of potential business models, one of which focuses on off grid electricity storage.
AW: In the US, it's cheapest to plug in at night - is it the same in the UK?
KA: Yes
AW: How will countries deal with the problem of getting energy to the vehicle if no garage is available on the user's property?
WC: In these situations publically accessible charge points will be required. In addition, we expect some employers will provide charge points in in their car parks.
Published on Monday, May 10, 2010
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