Electric cars, 65 million charging points needed in Europe by 2035
Electric cars
The timely implementation of the charging infrastructure, accompanied by coordination between public authorities, electricity services, network operators and charging points will be fundamental for the success of the electric vehicle market in the coming years.In order for the existing electricity grid to be able to accommodate the transition to electric vehicles without major problems, adequate planning is essential to ensure that it can cope with future peaks in energy demand and the consequent increase in loads. This is confirmed by a recent study carried out by EY and Eurelectric which focuses on the situation we will be able to experience in 2035, the year in which it is estimated that electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in the Old Continent will be 130 million.
Electrification is now an irreversible megatrend in road transport. The challenge that awaits us is to accelerate the implementation of the infrastructure in a well-coordinated way to meet the growing charging needs while ensuring optimal use of the electricity grid, said Jean-Bernard Lévy, President of Eurelectric.
On the estimates for 2035, and therefore in order to support the growth of sustainable mobility, many more recharging points will inevitably be needed. There is talk of about 65 million, of which 9 million are public and 56 million residential, compared to the 374,000 columns currently active in the Netherlands, Germany, France, United Kingdom and Italy.
To accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, we need to make electric mobility work for the customer. This means offering a seamless experience with a solid charging infrastructure that allows everyone to recharge quickly and reliably. With significant investments needed in networking and supporting critical digital solutions, utilities are key to winning the hearts and minds of customers, commented Serge Colle, EY's Global Energy & Resources Market Leader.
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of energy storage solutions into the charging infrastructure for the times when the demand for fast and high-power charging is highest could only favor the needs of the users.
Electric Vehicles And The Rapid Advancement Of Urban Air Mobility
Co-founder and CEO of SkyOp.com.
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The growth of replacing gas motors with electric-powered vehicles is upending the traditional automotive manufacturers who are all trying to out-compete Tesla. Most automotive manufacturers have aggressive plans for their EV offerings. Also, we see the addition of new manufacturers such as Rivian, Lucid and Fisker as well as Chinese companies NIO and Xpeng. Upending Tesla may be a difficult goal for any single one to accomplish.
However, lurking in the background and hardly being noticed is the next phase of the EV revolution, and that's urban air mobility (UAM) and flying EVs replacing ground-based vehicles. Most people are unaware of how quickly it's all happening, but it's just around the corner. Drones are getting larger and rapidly becoming the electronic flying vehicle of the future. If you're old enough to remember the TV program The Jetsons, it will quickly provide a snapshot and perspective of what I believe is about to happen.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has published a 49-page overview to share its vision of UAM. That document states: 'While the concept of urban-centered air transportation has existed for decades in limited availability in the form of conventional helicopter transportation, this has not been widely accessible due to high operational expense, service cost for the customer, and negative public response to noise and pollution. Recent technological advances have allowed the concept to evolve. Significant improvements in electrical energy storage and capacity will enable electrically powered aircraft that will reduce costs, reduce noise and provide greater safety.' This clearly indicates the FAA has legitimized UAM and is creating plans for its future.
Companies are beginning to take steps in this direction. In July 2021, Joby completed a test flight of more than 150 miles with its electric air taxi, which lasted more than an hour. Currently, the company is leasing rooftops where its flying cars intend to land as early as 2024. Others such as Archer Aviation and Lilium Air Mobility are also preparing for this next phase.
Another innovator is Skyports, a U.K.-based owner and operator of vertiport infrastructure. It's developing and operating landing infrastructure for the electric air taxi revolution as well as operating cargo and is partnering 'with landlords, local governments and large property owners to locate and acquire suitable sites for vertiports.'
Within the construct of UAM, we are seeing a large ecosystem evolving, providing opportunities for innovative companies to find unique niches as the industry emerges. The industry will need technologies, capabilities and services that will fall outside of the type of certification process for the platform itself. ResilienX, for example, is developing in-time system-wide safety assurance (ISSA) capabilities to monitor, assess and mitigate adverse conditions occurring in the airspace environment.
Meanwhile, NASA has its own vision for advanced air mobility (AAM), which is 'to help emerging aviation markets to safely develop an air transportation system that moves people and cargo between places previously not served or underserved by aviation — local, regional, intraregional, urban — using revolutionary new aircraft that are only just now becoming possible. AAM includes NASA's work on Urban Air Mobility and will provide substantial benefit to U.S. industry and the public.'
By creating these new environments and support systems, the potential of UAM seems limitless. However, the proper tools and management systems are required to ensure everything works safely together.
One of the key UAM management systems required is unmanned traffic management (UTM), which is currently in its fifth and final year of overall design being developed by NASA. NASA and the FAA are working with other federal partners in the UAS industry, including the designated seven UAS test sites across the U.S. The implementation of this phase is going to include flights beyond visual line of sight. UTM is meant to become a system that is complementary to but separate from the FAA's air traffic management system for manned aviation. However, the UTM system will not use voice communication like what is currently used between air traffic controllers and pilots today. Ultimately, UTM will work through a network of highly automated systems.
Once the NASA design is completed, this system still needs to be built, and that's hopefully just around the corner. Implementing this combined technology stands to be a major objective for — yet a hurdle to — fully operational UTM.
The idea of UAM is converging with FAA support, NASA developments, corporate planning, public companies developing new flight systems and software companies providing traffic management systems.
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