Electric vehicles have the potential to reshape the transportation sector globally, drastically cutting carbon emissions and clearing the way for significant climate progress. Many EV owners charge their cars at home using a wall-mounted charger. This arrangement works for most people, because the average EV use is well within the range of today's electric vehicles. However, two major difficulties arise. First, for drivers who live in apartments, parking garages are rarely equipped with charging infrastructure, and installing such infrastructure may be cost prohibitive for building managers. Second, expanded charging infrastructure is needed for EVs to make long-distance trips that require multiple stops for charging. When it comes to longer trips, EV owners can experience "range anxiety," the fear that the car will run out of power before reaching a suitable (and functioning) charging station. Hence, building a robust public "fuelling" network of charging stations is the key to a successful EV market. At home - followed by the workplace - remains the most favourable location for EV charging. Which means that the market for public charging stations is in DC fast charging targeted at on-the-go, cross-country (long-range) driving, and in emergencies.

 

It's a classic chicken-versus-egg scenario. Do public charging stations help drive EV adoption, or does greater EV adoption demand a more comprehensive public charging infrastructure? In what has been equivalent to a land-grab, some charging providers are competing for space at libraries, museums, parks, retailers, municipal parking garages and anywhere else that is willing to install a station. Stakeholders need to abandon the current model of using public funds and grants to install stations. Historically, such large projects have tended to be unprofitable due to high upfront costs; electric car use will need to become more widespread before they can turn a profit. The ideal end state is a sustainable, market-driven industry. It will never reach that status unless it unlocks a real value proposition. This report provides an analysis into how electric power utilities, private charging companies, automakers, and property owners each have roles in developing the charging infrastructure network.

 

Managing the potential incremental energy demand that EV charging could put on the grid is crucial. Expert assessments vary on how much electricity demand will increase with widespread EV use. The US Department of Energy predicts a 38% increase in electricity consumption by 2050, mostly due to a high penetration of electric vehicles. Smart charging technology and off-grid charging solutions, which are covered in this report, will become more favourable where grids do not have the available excess capacity to generate increased amounts of power with existing infrastructure.

 

At IDTechEx, we believe the electric vehicle industry will not be derailed and will continue with its staggering momentum. Over the coming decade, demand for charging infrastructure will be driven by over 175 million BEV + PHEV vehicles in-use globally including passenger cars, buses, trucks, and vans. The benefits of the electric vehicle transition are at least an order of magnitude greater than charging infrastructure costs, making charging infrastructure a modest down payment to decarbonize the transport sector.

 

 

 

The report provides analysis and forecasts for charging infrastructure deployments in key regions including China, Europe (UK, Netherlands, France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Rest of Europe) and the US. The penetration rate of both private and public charging infrastructure in each region and the market share of key players is presented.

 

 

We provide a technological overview of the major charging infrastructure types including conductive charging and alternative solutions such as battery swapping and wireless charging. Emerging charging technologies are also covered such as high-power DC fast charging, robotic and autonomous charging, off-grid charging, mobile charging, and vehicle-to-home/grid (V2H/V2G).

 

 

High power charging refers to Level 3 DC fast charging at a rate of 50 kW or more. To bring charging times down to those of conventional refuelling, such technology will play a vital role. Due to high capital costs and large installation areas needed, such chargers will only be used publicly. For new EV owners, this means remarkably faster charging times, often cutting down the time needed for nearly full recharge by 30% to even 70%. With the charging power of the HPC, chargers can deliver all the power the new 800 V architecture based EVs of the market can utilize. This report covers the infrastructure for HPC installations, benchmarks commercially available chargers by power, voltage and current levels and includes details about cooling technologies and total cost of ownership for a site host.

 

 

Electric vehicle fleets such as buses and trucks require very different charging infrastructure solutions to passenger cars, from multiple mega-watt depot charging to overhead catenaries and battery swapping, covered in this report. Although electric fleet charging represents less than 10% of the total charging infrastructure in volume, it constitutes over 15% of the total market value due to the added cost associated with the high-power requirements.

 

Looking into the future, shared autonomous mobility is expected to eventually dominate the passenger-miles in the urban environment. As nobody is available to plug-in those robo-taxis to charge, mobility service companies are going to need broadly deploy automatic charging so the autonomous vehicles can extend their range without extra labour costs. This report also covers future charging trends and solutions that are being developed by various players.

 

 

 

 

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