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| Fig. 1: Tesla Charging Station. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Since its inception, the automotive industry has yet to experience a revolution the likes of what it faces today. Soon enough electric vehicles will dominate the roads, forcing pioneer companies such as Ford, BMW, and Toyota to move quickly in efforts to pivot and capitalize on this growing movement. As concerns over the emerging issue of climate change continue to mount, governments, states, and cities have been eager to take initiative, making certain that their communities are playing their part in this automotive overhaul to save the environment. In 2017, the world witnessed record global sales of electric cars, increasing 54% from 2016. Although China accounted for nearly half of the total sales of electric vehicles, the United States and its European companions are following suit.
Despite these global efforts and the rapid growth of electric vehicles, the classic gas-guzzling automobile still dominates the market. Today, electric vehicles account for less than 1% of the global car fleet, a number that is expected to rise to 14% by the year 2030. Currently, a major bottleneck that is stunting the growth and popularity of electric vehicles is the underwhelming infrastructure that supports them. As of the end of 2017, there were an estimated 48,472 EV public charging stations in the United States. Their development and continued urgency will play a large role in supporting the electric mobility movement going forward.
The future of electric vehicles has become increasingly dependent on its surrounding infrastructure as well as overcoming the initial barriers that people see when deciding on making the transition from gas to electric. We are seeing increased initiative from major automotive companies to help combat these barriers. Recently, under a new partnership, Volkswagen and Tesco promise to roll out over 2,400 electric vehicle charging bays across 600 Tesco stores in the next three years. [1] Policies such as the ones California has put in place under the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project are reinforcing these trends towards EVs by issuing over $350 million in rebates since the program started in 2009.
A major selling point of EVs thus far has been the attractive option of being able to charge your car in your own garage at night, similar to the way you charge your cell phone. This would require the additional installation and purchase of a roughy $1,000 home charging system, or, of course, more ubiquitous charging stations such as Tesla's seen in Fig. 1. Volkswagen and Tesco claim customers will be able to charge evs using a normal 7kW charger for free or a rapid 50kW charger for a cost in line with the market rate. [1] The solution seems simple enough, and over time the hassle will become a necessity. However, what happens when you want to take a road trip and your car battery cant make it all the way from point A to point B? This is where the charging station plays such a pivotal role. Key hurdles such as charging speeds, availability, and clean production will be pivotal.
Although policies are beginning to support the development of both private and publicly accessible charging outlets, consumers still suffer from range anxiety and charging time trauma. [2] The biggest shortfall of EVs today is their lack off acceptable range. However, with battery efficiency increasing and costs expected to decrease by 50% in the next five years, average range should increase to an acceptable 200-300 miles with an accompanying charging time of 10-15 minutes. [2] In addition, Electrify America, the Volkswagen subsidiary, has plans to install high capacity charging stations all throughout the US, investing $2 billion in EV charging infrastructure and education nationwide. [2] As more energy companies, automakers, utilities and grid service providers form alliances to develop EV support infrastructure, public funding could be gradually withdrawn from the build-out of public charging, moving towards self-sustaining and business-driven solutions.
It will require an international sized effort to combat the deeply entrenched fossil fuel cars our current day. However, there is hope. Continually announced investments in R&D, larger scale manufacturing facilities, and rapidly increasing political pressures are promising and indicative of a growing international acceptance. signal confidence in the future of electric mobility. Such milestones are set to further catalyse major improvements in battery life, battery life-cycles, and battery cost reductions. All of these factors, aimed at improving the overall ubiquity of electric vehicles and their charging stations, signal confidence in the future of electric mobility.
© Charlie Beall. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] J. Davey and C. Pitas, "Tesco, Volkswagen to Develop UK Electric Vehicle Charging Network," Reuters, 30 Nov 18.
[2] E. A. Taub, "For Electric Car Owners, 'Range Anxiety' Gives Way to 'Charging Time Trauma'," New York Times, 5 Oct 17.
