This blog explores electric vehicle (EV) charging and how it’s set to shape up in the future. It explores innovations in charging, and looks at the road ahead for the UK charging infrastructure.
Put simply, an EV charging system is made up of several key components. An Electric Vehicle Charger that converts AC or DC power into an appropriate voltage to charge an EV battery, a Power Grid that provides the power to the charger, and a Meter to measure the energy consumption. All of these components require cables to connect between the vehicle and the grid.
'Good to knows' on cable
As you can see above, cable is fundamental to EV charging, and development has had to keep pace with the vast array of advancements that are happening at lightning speed - from vehicles to charging points. In summary:
Cable materials & designs have had to innovate
There’s a greater level of product flexibility within Low Smoke No Halogen (LSNH) materials chosen to manufacture suitable cables. Improved design parameters include high performance data elements in composite EV cables to allow improved levels of communication between the vehicles and charging points.
Fast charging has driven cable design
The need for increased charging speeds is resulting in greater levels of power demand, meaning superchargers and some rapid chargers require increased diameter conductors to ensure efficient transfer of energy to vehicles.
Insight into the UK EV market
So, what about EV’s themselves? There’s fast-growing demand for EV’s in the UK. One of the biggest drivers is the impending ban in 2035 of internal combustion engine (ice) vehicles powered by fossil fuels, even though it was extended from 2030 by Rishi Sunak. Year-on-year, there’s been a 77% increase in EV registrations with 16,200 new vehicles taking to the roads (source: New AutoMotive, August 2023 vs. August 2022), and this steep upward trend is forecast to continue at pace.
Network constraints
As we strive towards Net Zero in the UK, it’s obvious that decarbonised road transport is pivotal to getting there. Electrification is the solution, but it doesn’t come without consequences - the impact upon the existing, ageing electricity network being the most obvious.
Currently, there are just over 1 million EV’s in the UK that account for 15.4% of fuel types (source: SMMT, April 2023). The prediction is that between 20 and 37 million battery electric vehicles (BEV’s) will be traveling on UK roads by 2050 (source: National Grid, 2023), when they’ll account for 100% of fuel types sold.
The existing grid is built to receive energy from a small number of large generators. The reality is that many thousands of smaller electricity-generating sites will be needed to create a Net Zero future. In an ideal world the national infrastructure would be rebuilt, but the cost would be astronomical – and wholly unacceptable to most taxpayers. Key stakeholders including the Government, Ofgem, and the National Grid continue to explore the potential solutions that include the use of AI-powered forecasting tools. Meanwhile, network operators will invest £22.5 billion over the next 5 years to improve grid infrastructure and increase capacity (source: ENA).
Need for EV charging points
Aside from the obvious barrier of the increased cost to buy or lease EV’s, access to charging points is one of the major concerns with drivers making the transition from diesel and petrol-powered vehicles to electric alternatives.
Once the switch has been made the majority of EV users who can charge at home do so. That said, the biggest challenge to them is in finding readily available charging points to top up at when they’re on journeys. To keep pace with the exponential growth of EV sales, the Department for Transport has set a target for 300,000 charge points to be publicly available by 2035. At present there are around 48,000, so we’re only 16% of the way there.
Future-thinking on EV charging
With more EV’s coming into use, operators are having to understand energy usage better than ever before in order to deliver optimised voltages. They need to be able to balance loads from more intermittent power sources such as solar and wind, enabling networks and customer appliances to perform more efficiently, and free up extra capacity to support the growing numbers of EV’s that need to be charged.
Utilising EV’s themselves, a concept known as ‘Vehicle-to-Grid’ or V2G (sometimes called Vehicle-to-Home or V2H) is currently being developed to harness surplus electricity. With increased numbers of EV’s on UK roads, they have the potential to perform as batteries to store surplus electricity. This could then be distributed into homes or back to the grid to support peak time demand to provide a more balanced service, reducing peak demand by as much as 60% by 2050 (source: ESO). Given that the V2G system makes EV vehicles useful even when they’re not being driven by bolstering the grid from cheap energy sources, it’s no surprise that it’s being championed – not least because of the reduced environmental impact.
So where next?
If we’re all to make the leap of faith to sustainable transportation, the first consideration in making the transition from fossil-fuelled to electric vehicle alternatives will of course be the purchase, hire or lease price. That said, the second hurdle is overcoming charging anxiety. From the availability of charging points to smart charging tariffs, consumer engagement is pivotal to the future success of EV uptake. Engaging the entirety of the UK’s driving population to change their preferences and behaviour will very much depend on the deployment of major technology and incentives that inject confidence into the buyer’s decision to ‘go electric’.
To realise EV ambitions, we need to focus delivery across a number of fronts. First, there are 300,000 EV charging points to put into place by 2035. Alongside that we need to fast-track several key initiatives to ensure that we have balanced loads from intermittent power sources. We must remove the barriers that stand in the way of connecting renewable energy to the grid. We also need to provide rewards and incentives to those who invest in renewable generation. There should also be a drive to get consumers onto smart tariffs. Finally, network providers must be empowered to do more with their infrastructure, focusing on energy storage for example.
Fuelled by environmental concerns, legislation, and financial incentives, the transition to EV’s is well underway in the UK, and indeed globally. The challenges are considerable, but it’s no longer a case of ‘if’, but ‘when’ the masses make the switch.
The road to a more sustainable transport future is in our trust.
Need technical help & advice to choose the right EV charging cable option for your project? Talk to the Webro Sales Team for expert advice on 0115 9724483 or sales@webro.com
