The B2B platform for full-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles: Events News

At an evening briefing on 19 November, the investment community, OEMs, suppliers, and public authorities discussed what is needed for an early adoption of electrified vehicles and the necessary infrastructure. cars21.com, official media partner, summarises main outcomes (+ presentations attached).

The event “The electric car industry: Evaluating the investment opportunity” brought together 50 participants last Thursday to explore the need for financial investments in EVs and the related infrastructure from an industry, technology, and policy perspective. The briefing, hosted by the Zero Emissions Vehicle Foundation (ZEVF) at the IBM London Office, brought lively discussions and though-provoking impulses as regards the financial support for projects and developments over the coming years.

Presentations

IBM: Tim John Blair started off by introducing IBM’s programme “Smarter Planet”. The project focuses on 21 of the most critical issues and most promising opportunities facing the planet - among them energy, traffic, IT, finance, oil, and cities – to implement smarter systems and processes interconnecting people and sparking innovation for more sustainability. IBM is now looking at electric vehicles from different angles, with an emphasis on smart grids and the challenges connected with around 25 million EVs plugging into the grid by 2050. A cooperation with Energy Technologies Institute for the full scale infrastructure, and DONG Energy in Denmark for harnessing the potential of wind power has started, as well as the “Battery 500” project to explore the use of lithium-air batteries in IBM’s research laboratory in California. In the two years before commercialisation IBM wants to finalise work on the performance envelope and solve the issue of wet air affecting the design of cells.

Strategy Analytics: Ian Riches stressed that cost pressures for EVs would be continuously going down, whereas costs for ICE models would rise due to legislation and taxation set to further increase in the future. The major issue would hence not be if but when these two cost curves would finally cross to make EVs more cost-competitive than internal combustion engines models. At present, over 140 product developments for EVs/PHEVs are ongoing around the world, while more than 300 pieces of legislation are being drafted. Riches especially highlighted the need for a timely commercialisation of batteries and electrified vehicles, and emphasised the need for new business models not compatible with current OEM & Dealer models. (more details: presentation attached)

Transport for London: Mark Evers updated participants about the London Major’s ambition to turn London into the EV capital of Europe, where the 100,000 EVs on the road before 2020 would be exempted from congestion charges. The planned 25,000 charging points by 2015 would including a majority in public workplaces, but also 2,500 in publicly accessible car parks and on-street. Evers outlined which consumer segments would most likely be early adopters and where the penetration of EVs would be highest within a short timeframe. He confirmed that London would install fast charging stations around the ring of London, similar to the concept used in Tokyo. Mid-December, London will publish its draft infrastructure plan. For more details, see the attached presentation.

ZEVF: Barry Shrier, ZEVF Chairman and CEO of Liberty Electric Cars, started with the somewhat philosophical question of why the automobile has remained nearly unchanged since its invention while technologies are by definition temporary. The three major drivers for electric mobility would hence be

• society’s need: for a more sustainable use of available resources and political security, for energy independence, and health

• technological advances: including the development of high-power, high cycle life li-ion batteris, LiFePO, nanopowders, advanced separators, permanent magent and hybrid motors, transistors, low electric losses, and high-strength low-weight car bodies

Investment opportunities would arise for power storage units, electric motors, electronic components, rare earth and other related metals, the charging infrastructure, smart grids, EV integrators, drive-train component developers, and for sources of renewable power.