HIGHLIGHTS
Electric vehicles (EV) and electric vehicle charging User Cases driven approach
Towards unlocking the full potential of EVs for European citizens and businesses
Transport accounts for 25% of EU GHG emissions[1]. As such, transitioning to cleaner and smarter mobility is a major priority in achieving the goals laid out in the European Green Deal. Rapid innovation in the electric vehicle market promises to be key in this transition. Over the last few years, the cost of ownership has declined while both viability, in relation to distance per charge, and acceptability have increased which has helped the number of EVs on the road grow. However, as the market continues to grow one particular market dynamic needs a specific focus: electric vehicle charging. By the end of 2019, there were 195,000 public EVC points across the EU or 7 EVs per charging point, however, this number will have to grow rapidly to deal with the projected 30M electric vehicles that will be on Europe’s roads by 2030[2]. Ensuring that EV drivers can easily find and use charging stations during a journey is of utmost importance. Furthermore, the required growth in EVCs has the potential to have a dual impact on the energy market. EVs could, particularly at the peak, put enormous strains on the energy network through charging requirements facilitated by EVCs. However, on the flip side developing smart charging capabilities as well as battery storage potential of these EVs means that vehicle to home (V2H) and vehicle to grid (V2G) could potentially counteract such pressure while facilitating the integration of renewable energy sources into the grid.
As such, it is imperative for policymakers to put in place a considered framework that ensures sufficient coverage of EV charge points that takes account of these other important variables. Therefore, the Commission deems it a priority to consider how access to high-quality EVC can be expanded in a way that is user-centric, interoperable and sustainable (in relation to pressures on the energy system) in order to unlock the full potential of EVs for European citizens and businesses. This is no easy task considering the wide array of actors involved (e.g. EV manufacturers, energy DSOs/grid operators, local government, etc.) and the resources required across multiple use cases. At the same time, it is evident that EV drivers will require a combination of critical services, including charging, parking, paying, etc. for which many of these services (e.g. sector convergence, wireless dynamic charging) and associated business models are yet to be fully defined or, in some cases, discovered. That said, there might also be a non-disclosed variety of techno-economic challenges that emerge as progress is made.
The aim of this paper is to define principal categories for EV charging points that are illustrated by different use cases and that hint at the major challenges. The proposed categories are below explained as a starting point:
- Grid Operators
- Business, Retail, Fleet charging
- On-the-go charging
- Charging at home, in a commune, housing companies
[1] Commission Staff Working Documents: Preparing the ground for raising long-term ambition EU Climate Action Progress Report 2019
[2] Recharge EU: how many charge points will Europe and its member states need in the 2020s
The full paper can be downloaded here. |
