The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is speeding
up but it can only go so far without the necessary infrastructure and
technology. As thinking shifts from fossil fuels to all-electric, visions of a
brighter, more optimistic world come into view. The UK government’s pledge to
ban the sale of all new non-electric cars, including gasoline, diesel and
hybrid vehicles from 2035, highlights the drive to achieve the nation’s
contribution to Climate Change by 2050.
If the 2035 target
is to be met, they will see evolution in the transport and mobility routines
that keep their lives moving. From using ultra-fast wireless charging to
supporting the developing world by re-purposing car batteries, WMG, at the
University of Warwick, is delivering advances in electrification knowledge and
technologies which will enable the leap to an electric automotive future. So,
for the now and the near future, what do they need to consider?
Making batteries better
Demand for
electric vehicles is surging in the UK and registrations of plug-in cars
increased by more than 160,000 between 2013 and 2018. With the electrification
industry estimated to be worth over US$7.8 billion by 2025, the next decade
presents a massive opportunity.
However, electric
vehicles will remain on the outskirts of mainstream until consumers are offered
something that matches the model of usability, convenience and affordability
that conventional vehicles offer today according to Professor David Greenwood.
He is driving forward the £2 million Innovate UK-funded Multi optimal Solutions
for Energy Storage Systems (MoSESS) project in a consortium that is led by
McLaren Automotive and includes project partner A123 Systems to reduce the
size, weight and emissions of current electric vehicles.
The vision is to
improve all aspects of performance and reliability and unlock the possibility
of producing a battery solution that matches the performance of conventional
gasoline and diesel vehicles, meeting consumers’ expectations, helping drive
the uptake of electric transport and supporting the Government’s ‘Road to Zero’
strategy - aiming to make road transport emission-free by 2050. “The reason
people do not buy electric cars today is because they are too expensive, there
is widespread scepticism around the battery range and therefore pressing
questions around the regularity and reliability of charge points. The current
best-in-class technologies are able to meet the needs of a small percentage of
users and the need to plan an efficient battery charging infrastructure is
key,” explains Greenwood.
Current technology
results in large electric vehicle batteries with long charging times. Even
best-in-class energy densities mean that the battery needs to be comparatively
large to achieve the desired electric range capability. Because they are large,
they are also heavy, which means the vehicle consumes more energy in a journey.
Then, for safety reasons, currently affordable traction batteries need to have
a high level of complexity. So, all in all, you have a heavy, inefficient,
cumbersome battery.
“We aim to develop
and integrate within a vehicle, a battery system based on a mixture of highly
energy dense solid-state cells and high-power density cells,” says Greenwood.
“These new battery types are more efficient with better energy storage, a
smaller package and the ability to fast charge. We want to deliver a solution
with a simpler cooling system, a reduced dedicated crash structure for the
battery, reduced charging time for up to 500 km electric range, and a weight
saving of up to 10% compared to existing solutions.”
Although
efficiency, convenience and reassurance are vital factors for consumers, cost
also remains front of mind in the decision-making process for prospective
electric vehicle adopters. WMG’s involvement in the Nextrode project, funded by
The Faraday Institution, is tackling this. The project explores ways to make
electrodes for Li-Ion batteries. Using WMG’s state-of-the-art battery scale up
facility and the UK Battery Industralisation Centre facility, the project
allows WMG to model and optimise ways of driving down cost of manufacture for
electrodes, increasing their energy storage capacity and reducing the time it
takes to get to market.
The relationship
between the charging infrastructure and the manufacture of the batteries is
key, especially when considered in relation to consumers’ typical mobility
behaviours and patterns. 98% of journeys are less than 50 miles, so carrying
the load of a battery sized to deliver 300 miles on such short journeys
somewhat counteracts the efforts to improve efficiency and usability for
consumers. Considerations such as this show the importance of a robust battery
charging infrastructure, and highlight that the technology has to respond to
consumer lifestyles and patterns if it is to be successful on a mass scale.
Professor Greenwood added: “With a reliable, accessible and ubiquitous fast
charging network in place, passenger car batteries could shrink in size and
cost to something which would deliver around 150 miles of real world range, halving
the cost of the most expensive component in the vehicle.”
Developing a network: the right
power in the right place
Although electric
vehicles have been on the market for some time now, the mass public uptake of
the technology has not happened. Concerns about charging between journeys, as
well as range anxiety are key barriers to buying an electric vehicle. Professor
Richard McMahon from WMG explains: “Many buyers who have come early to electric
vehicles will probably be buying an electric car at the same time as having an
internal combustion engine vehicle for longer distances. However, as electric
cars become more widespread, drivers will want to travel greater distances
hence the likely need for more public charging opportunities. Charging on motorways
and along main roads is clearly an enabler of longer distance travel. The Tesla
superchargers are one example; BP and National Grid amongst others are also
looking at fast-charging centres. Solutions for on-street charging are also
being developed.”
Start-up company
char.gy has developed the technology to allow drivers to just plug their car
into a lamppost. The company created a new electric vehicle charging point
product, which can be easily installed onto existing lampposts. The
installation requires no further power supply or any ground works. WMG helped
char.gy rapidly design, build and test a prototype of the new electronics board
required for the design to meet EU standards for public charge points. The
charge points are now ready for public use in London following char.gy’s
integration within Transport for London’s Charging Infrastructure Procurement
Framework in 2018, which supports the roll-out of EVs by aiming to install over
1,000 on-street charge points.
Helping individual
vehicle owners charge their car is one thing but the pressure is really on to
come up with new solutions for the fleets of vehicles in our towns and cities
which have no time to stop. Electric taxis are creeping into circulation but
there is still an anxiety associated with charging. Are there enough charging
points for enough drivers in a given city and does the electric vehicle battery
last long enough to do enough jobs between charges? Drivers cannot afford to be
stationary for long periods of time while they charge and the public in large
cities expect there to be enough vehicles on the road to be able to hail a cab
at any time.
Similarly,
emergency vehicles are still predominantly diesel and if a fleet is electrified
it will need to guarantee an equivalent service level. It would be
inconceivable for an emergency services vehicle have to wait to charge the
battery.
This is where the wireless charging or ‘charge on the move’ idea comes in. McMahon comments: “The ‘charge on the move’ concept is really attractive in principle but there is more work to be done to ensure compatibility and to design installation procedures.” WMG and wider project partners are now working on a feasibility study to assess the potential for electric taxi wireless charging. The consortium can then apply for further Innovate UK funding for a large-scale commercial demonstrator project to test the technology and approach at locations within Nottingham and London.
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