The EV conundrum Portable power Adam Bond, chief executive officer at AFC Energy, looks at a solution to EV challenges of range, rechargeability and remote locations E lectric vehicles (EVs) were originally thought to be a means of cutting pollution for journeys within cities. As such, typical journeys were expected to be short, with recharging done at home, and petrol and diesel cars or public transport used for longer trips. The reality, though, is exponential growth and an acceptance that EVs can be used to replace petrol and diesel cars for long journeys too. This shows no signs of slowing and is now the adopted model of government for electric road transport, as well as influencing the latest car developments. The adoption rate for EVs is still comparatively low there were 195,813 EVs registered in the UK by the end of 2018. So far, EV charging has yet to put a noticeable strain on the countrys electrical infrastructure, but all that is set to change: it is estimated there will be 100 million EVs on the worlds roads by 2025. Increasing demand The mean electricity usage during a 24-hour period in a typical household is around 16kWh. A typical electric car, on the other hand, has a battery charge capacity of 30kWh. Once EVs account for a larger proportion of new car sales, the existing infrastructure will not be able to cope. The rate of adaptation in the power industry to this largescale change will present a big problem. It is already evolving at a fast rate as it transitions from coal and gas to renewables. Reinforcing the network is becoming something of a necessity. Existing supply infrastructure has been installed over many decades and it is impossible to overestimate the sheer scale, and impracticality, of upgrading the entire country in just a few years. What about places with little or no infrastructure? Are they to become no-go areas for EV drivers? Such a thought undermines the car as a freedom machine on virtually So far, EV charging has yet to put a noticeable strain on the countrys electrical infrastructure, but all that is set to change 34 britishparking.co.uk PN Dec19 pp34-35 EV Feature.indd 34 25/11/2019 13:33