E-mobility and charging infrastructure – a chicken or egg dilemma

When it comes to increasing EV adoption, the market is faced with a chicken or egg dilemma, a dilemma that is causing much debate around how to effectively plan for our e-mobility future.

Picture it like this. If the chicken was the electric vehicle and the egg was the grid infrastructure, the question would be, which do we develop first?

This question was a core theme of this year’s Eurelectric’s EVision online conference, which delved into the challenges and opportunities for utilities around EV adoption.

Policy – the driving force behind green driving

Kristian Ruby, Secretary General of Eurelectric spoke to Adina Vălean, EU Commissioner for Transport, about the importance of policy as a driving force for transport electrification and infrastructure development.

Said Vălean: “The politicians are driving this forward with policies like the EU Green Deal… Policies are giving the signal to the market, producers and customers that this change is happening, the future is the electric vehicle.”

Vălean explained that even though policy is a driving force and EV numbers are growing quickly, the evolution is still in its early stages, with several countries in Europe facing cultural and historical barriers, as well as public scepticism.

“For those who are more advanced, it’s not because of policy, it is a natural development. The market and the public embraced this new technology,” explained Vălean.

Even if technology is embraced, Vălean stressed the importance of addressing the chicken or egg dilemma. “We must aim to create infrastructure points and fast charging facilities, leveraging available finance mechanisms to achieve this.”

Once member states develop charging infrastructure, explained Vălean, then the scale will grow and prices will decrease.

Mitigating the chicken or egg dilamma with proper planning

Jean-Bernard Lévy, Eurelectric President – President & CEO, EDF, said: “Effective planning will determine success. At Eurelectic, there is a general feeling that we are on the verge of huge electricity growth and huge infrastructure development – even if this is not always well understood by politicians.”

Lévy spoke to the importance of managing the chicken and egg situation by leveraging available technology and government funding to avoid the congestion caused when EVs charge simultaneously.

Managed charging, time of use tariffs and peak shaving will help mitigate this risk. However, Lévy suggests big investment in grids will be needed to ensure EVs are used effectively as storage systems.

Lévy pointed out that creating new generation capacity and transmission lines takes a long time. Environmental permitting slows the industry and must be addressed to speed up low carbon mobility.

Investment needed for EV trucks

Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck Holding AG, further emphasised the availability of infrastructure as one of the most important factors driving e-mobility.

According to Daum, EV truck sales are still low and infrastructure is lagging which is a problem. “An enormous investment is necessary from the electricity provider to ensure truckers can charge their trucks at various points, whether at depots or on the road.”

Daum noted that currently, there is a lot of insecurity regarding charging, with truckers asking if sufficient megawatts are available to charge their fleets.

However, once the industry achieves a Total Cost of Ownership advantage, Daum believes uptake will increase dramatically and the need to have established infrastructure will become evident. “It won’t be gradual. In trucking, it will be a steep curve. In my opinion, the time to act is now, we have five years from now.”

How utilities can accelerate the e-mobility transition

Serge Colle, Global Energy & Resources Industry Market Leader at EY, elaborated on the key findings in the latest report launched by Eurelectric and EY, Power sector accelerating e-mobility: Can utilities turn EVs into a grid asset?

Colle said: “To accelerate EV uptake, we need to make e-mobility work for the customer. This means delivering a seamless experience with a robust charging infrastructure that allows everyone to charge quickly and reliably. With significant investment needed in the grid and on supporting critical digital solutions, utilities are key to winning customers’ hearts and minds.”

According to Colle, the good news is that more automakers are making significant commitments to e-mobility, adopting a bullish stance to exploiting the opportunities presented by the electrification of transport.

However, despite the good news and success, we need to do more, stressed Colle. Utilities must address the key concerns customers have, which include the high upfront costs, range anxiety, lack of charging at home, and reliability of charge points.

The report identified three main barriers to infrastructure roll-out, namely;

• Permitting delays and limited access to real estate,
• Delays in grid connections and a lack of visibility on the network, and
• Diversity and process complexity creating investment uncertainty.

“Having e-mobility as a flexibility option will be the next holy grail,” said Colle.

In order to maximise these flexibility opportunities, Colle suggested that utilities invest proactively, ensure transparency of grid data and streamline connection. He also emphasised the importance of modelling and reducing peak loads through a digital-first, customer-centric approach.

Visit the EVision platform for more insights into the electrification of transport.