Industry Comment
As UPS moves to an all electric fleet – will the UK follow suit?
By Delphine Clement, Mobility Segment Leader EMEA, Eaton.
The company currently operates around 50 electric trucks in the city but plans to increase this number to 170. A stationary battery storage system controlled by smart grid technology will be used to charge the vehicles systematically, so that electricity is spread equally between the fleet. This move is an encouraging step towards a
U
low carbon economy. UPS is one of the first companies to use battery storage to tackle the power issue generated by the charging infrastructure. However, there are currently still various barriers in place to stop this happening on a national scale. If the UK’s shift to electric vehicles is to become a reality, tackling the charging infrastructure must be put at the forefront of the conversation in order to encourage investment in this space.
If you build it, will they come? It has been estimated that by 2025 the cost of electric vehicles will be the same as that of traditional internal combustion engine cars. Many manufacturers are already capitalising on this advancement; for example, Toyota has recently announced that they will stop selling diesel-powered passenger cars in Britain by the end of this year. However, enabling the expected growth of e-mobility will require a national network of charging facilities on roads. To achieve this, it is crucial that industry leaders start to consider how to work closely with the likes of major supermarkets, hotels, airports or petrol stations to ensure that sufficient charging points are installed throughout the UK and Europe. This process will require them to consider what types of chargers should be installed as well as the audience that is likely to use them. These decisions will be influenced by factors such as user behaviour, autonomous vehicle uptake, commercial fleet management as well as external factors such as geography.
Tackling the growing demand Building a national network of charging facilities is the first step in the transition from traditional cars to electric vehicles. Yet implementing a charging system that expands across the UK will have a considerable impact on power and energy demand – resulting in another barrier that the energy sector will need to tackle to move forward.
28 | electrical wholesalerMay 2018
PS recently announced its aim to have an entire fleet made up of electric vehicles in central London.
If every driver were to switch to electric
vehicles tomorrow, the grid would likely struggle to keep up during peak hours – resulting in an overall failure to cope. To avoid this and support the transition towards an EV friendly marketplace, the energy sector must get the management of peak demand and grid stability under control.
One of the possible solutions is the extension
of the grid infrastructure, but this has the potential to be a long and costly process. Other options include load management, Vehicle2Grid or DC microgrids. However, perhaps the most attractive solution is the use of battery energy storage. Battery-based energy storage enables
charging sites – as well as businesses more broadly – to reduce their impact on the grid at peak times, with added potential to cut energy bills. They can also benefit from the additional savings to be made from improved power quality and back-up power capability, which can save substantial sums in product wastage and reduce the risk of downtime caused by any grid outages. Furthermore, both publicly-available charging sites and privately owned chargers can even gain
revenue through the provision of grid services, automatically storing power when it is cheapest and selling it back to the grid at a higher price when more electricity is required – helping to balance the grid in times of peak demand. It has been predicted that by 2025, the cost of lithium-ion batteries will have fallen by 25 per cent - to 109$/kWh. This rapidly decreasing cost of battery storage as well as technological advances in this area will make the transformation to electric vehicles possible – with the government, energy providers and the transport industry fully embracing this change.
The future is green The UK has already made significant progress in its journey to become a cleaner and greener Britain. By efficiently planning for a countrywide network of charging facilities on the road as well as smart power systems that include energy storage both inside and outside of the home, electric cars can charge as needed, and our transport can play a leading role in climate change mitigation.
http://www.eaton.uk.com Building a national network of charging
facilities is the first step in the transition from traditional cars to electric vehicles. Yet
implementing a charging system that expands
across the UK will have a considerable impact on power and energy demand.
www.ewnews.co.uk
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