EU to become free of petrol-fuelled cars by 2050

From Deutsche Welle: Europe's cities could be free of petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars by 2050, under "very radical, very ambitious" targets set out by the European Commission.

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Google Maps lists EV charging stations

From ÜberGizmo: Electric cars and similar types of vehicles look set to populate our roads more and more in the future, and that potential explosion can be unleashed when there are also enough places to charge up said modes of transportation.

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Range Anxiety: Fact or Fiction?

From National Geographic: One spring day in 2009, software engineer Bill Arnett slid behind the wheel of his new electric Tesla Roadster and set off toward Yosemite National Park, a journey of about 200 miles from his home in Redwood City, California.

Far from urban centers and up through the Sierra Nevada foothills, this is the sort of road trip that's supposed to strike fear in the heart of an electric car driver. "Range anxiety" is the name for angst over being stranded with a dead battery, miles from a plug.

Yet Arnett made the Yosemite trip without fear. He was driving his "Signature One Hundred" series Roadster —a high-end sports car said to travel up to 244 miles on a full charge. A year later, he did it again in a convoy with four other Tesla owners, stopping to top off at an RV resort about 35 miles outside of Yosemite. "Range anxiety," Arnett said in an email, "doesn't exist for me."

But range anxiety does exist, at some level, among the general public. A survey conducted last year by the Consumer Electronics Association found 71 percent of respondents feared running out of charge on the road—placing range anxiety among the most common perceived disadvantages of electric vehicles, according to the study.

A number of strategies for putting range anxiety to rest have emerged in recent years, and the pace is poised to pick up as more electric cars roll out. Governments from the United States to China to Ireland are investing millions of dollars to install charging infrastructure so drivers needn't stray too far from a plug. Software developers are building applications for smartphones and in-car telematics systems that make it easy to find charge points on a map.

The startup Better Place, based in Palo Alto, California, aims to set up large networks of charge points and stations where batteries can be swapped out in five minutes or less—theoretically affording the convenience and ubiquity of gas stations. The company has just opened its first European location where consumers can sign up for Better Place service plans and order a Renault Fluence Z.E. vehicle, designed to be compatible with Better Place's automated battery-swap system. General Motors, meanwhile, has opted to equip its plug-in hybrid Chevy Volt with a small gas engine to power the car for about 250 miles beyond the battery pack's estimated 25-50-mile range.

"It's a logical notion that a car with less range creates anxiety," said Marc Geller, a longtime electric vehicle advocate and co-founder of Plug In America. "Automakers and critics have long suggested that it was a critical flaw," he said. As a hurdle for electric vehicle adoption, however, Geller believes the issue has been overblown. Whether you are driving a Hummer or a Prius or a Leaf, he reasoned, "When you're nearing empty, there's anxiety." So the important question, he said, is not whether this anxiety exists, but whether it increases or decreases when people drive an electric vehicle.

The Realities for Electric Vehicle Owners

People who are new to electric cars generally come to the experience with some level of apprehension about range, said Geller, "If only because they've been told to." But for most people, it drops off over time. "The number of people who actually run out of juice," he said, "is very small."

"On a normal day," said Geller, who owns a RAV4 EV and a Nissan Leaf, "there's absolutely no concern about range." On a day when he expects to drive about 100 miles (the distance Nissan says some drivers can drive on a full charge, although the EPA pegs the Leaf's range at 70 miles), nipping range anxiety in the bud requires a simple strategy: "I plan." That can mean building in time for charging along the way or at his destination, he said. If he's going to travel from San Francisco to Sacramento, for example, Geller looks up charge points the day before, checking locations and ascertaining whether any stations are broken or unavailable.

Infrastructure for higher voltage "fast charging" will be a "welcome addition to the toolset," especially for intercity travel, said Geller. These "level 3" charging stations can deliver an 80 percent charge in about 30 minutes at 440V, compared to several hours for a full charge with a standard 240V ("level 2") charger. "If someone has to go 60 miles, and there's a fast charger on that corridor," they would be more likely to leave a gas car at home, he said.

For Arnett, the software engineer who has put his Roadster to the test with road trips to Yosemite, it's rare for the charge level to drop below even 50 percent. But he has experienced the EV equivalent of running on fumes, reaching home with only a few miles of range left. "That was because I made too many wrong turns coming home from a trip to Napa," he explained. Plus, he had been in a hurry to get home so he didn't wait for a 100 percent charge before leaving Napa. "I charged just enough to get home with a little extra margin," he said. "I used all the margin."

Other factors outside of a driver's control can accelerate depletion of the battery charge and potentially set the stage for range anxiety. In winter conditions, the Chevy Volt (which runs its heater on electricity) delivered only 23 to 28 miles of range on electric power in initial assessments published by Consumer Reports last week. The Nissan Leaf has averaged about 65 miles of range in the magazine's preliminary tests, and its mileage gauge has proven unreliable. In at least one instance with the heater on, the gauge dropped unexpectedly to 19 miles from 36 miles, according to Consumer Reports. For someone 25 miles from an outlet, anxiety would be a reasonable response.

Hans Tobeason, a TV writer and producer living in Los Angeles who drove an EV1 during the 1990s and now owns a Nissan Leaf, has also peered into the abyss of a dwindling battery charge. With the EV1, Tobeason said, he ran out of juice about once a year. Upon realizing that he "wasn't going to make it," he would pull up to a friend's house nearby and plug in for a couple hours using an emergency charger.

With the Leaf, said Tobeason, "I wouldn't be surprised if I goof up once a year," and need to make an unplanned stop for charging. As more charging stations are installed and opened to the public, however, it may not be necessary to prevail upon friends for an outlet.

Read more at NG...

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Aposta eléctrica destaca Almada na Europa

Almada é uma das três cidades finalistas do prémio que anualmente distingue a participação "mais efectiva e inovadora" na Semana Europeia da Mobilidade. Riga, na Letónia, e Múrcia, em Espanha, são as outras candidatas ao título, que vai ser entregue a 14 de Março.

De acordo com o jornal PÚBLICO, citado pelo portal Mobi.e, "o júri que avaliou as candidaturas ao prémio destacou em relação a Almada o esforço na promoção de alternativas sustentáveis de mobilidade junto de diferentes públicos-alvo, bem como a impressionante variedade das medidas concretizadas a título definitivo".

Entre elas esteve o "lançamento do Flexibus (um serviço de transporte público em miniautocarros eléctricos), a instalação de pontos de carregamento de veículos eléctricos e a criação de uma passagem aérea ciclável e pedonal para ligar o campus universitário da Caparica ao pólo empresarial Madan Park", avança o jornal.


De Múrcia o júri destacou uma "mistura criativa de actividades para promover hábitos de transporte saudáveis e sustentáveis" e de Riga o "ambicioso programa de iniciativas". Gävle (Suécia), Budapeste (Hungria), Koprivnica (Croácia), Leão (Espanha), Copenhaga (Dinamarca), Nantes (França) e Ljubljana (Eslovénia) ganharam o prémio em anos anteriores.

Na nona edição da Semana Europeia da Mobilidade - que decorreu entre 16 a 22 de Setembro de 2010 - participaram 2221 vilas e cidades da Europa, do Brasil, Canadá, Equador, Argentina e Japão. Durante uma semana, promoveram actividades sob o tema Travel Smarter, Living Better, que em Portugal foi traduzido para ‘Viaje bem, viva melhor'.

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Japan vending machines to charge electric cars

From the AFP: Ten Japanese companies said Monday they plan to install electric vehicle chargers at the sites of beverage vending machines across Japan in a cost-cutting tie-up.

The consortium includes Forking Co., a major vending machine operator, and Panasonic Electric Works which will develop and produce electric vehicle chargers with rivals.

Forking has business ties with companies which own a combined 1.2 million vending machines across Japan, or about a half of the national total, company official Reiko Kobayashi said.

The firms plan to install some 10,000 electric vehicle chargers at the sites of the vending machines in the first year of the project, which is due to start at the end of March, she added.

Charging machines "will be installed where beverage vending machines already exist or together with new ones. There are various options," she said.

SoftBank Telecom and SoftBank Mobile are due to provide telecom services to connect the charging systems, the group said in a press release.

Automakers such as Nissan, which launched its all-electric Leaf last year, are gambling that electric cars with zero tailpipe emissions will catch on and, some time in the future, start to drive traditional gas-guzzlers off the road.

But many consider the lack of a charging network as the key obstacle to the proliferation of electric vehicles, prompting consumer concerns such as "range-anxiety", or the fear that their cars will run out of juice between charging points.

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iPhone app connects EV owners with plugs

From the LA Times: Electrical outlets are everywhere. Finding and accessing them to recharge electric vehicles, however, is another issue.

While the U.S. government has invested $115 million to build 15,000 public chargers across the country, they are only starting to be installed. Even then, there could be a shortage of available public plugs for EV drivers, the ranks of whom are expected to swell to 1 million by 2015.

Stepping in with a solution is a new free iPhone app, PlugShare. Available for download starting today, the app is designed to connect EV owners with available plugs, both public and private.

Individuals who have 110- and 220-volt chargers and are willing to offer them to EV drivers in need of a charge can sign up to add their address to the network. EV owners can then contact the owner of the outlet to power up.

The app uses three different icons, which show whether an outlet is 110-volt, 220-volt with a J1772 plug or a J1772 public charging station. Unlike apps developed by makers of individual EV chargers -- such as ChargePoint America, which shows only Coulomb chargers -- PlugShare shows all public chargers from all manufacturers, as well as those offered by individuals.

"A lot of the early adopters we talked to said the government infrastructure for charging EVs isn't there yet, but a lot of people are getting charging docks installed at their houses and asking, 'Why shouldn't I be able to share my charger?'" said Armen Petrosian, co-developer of the app with Forrest North.

PlugShare is the first iPhone app from their Palo Alto-based EV software firm, Xatori.

"Our goal is to create products that lead to democratization of the grid," North said. He said his company's future apps may incorporate strategies for carbon offsets and lowering pollution.

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Bulgaria rolls out electric vehicle plan

From UPI: Transportation costs for commuters in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, will be cheaper as vehicles transition to alternative fuel sources, a company announced.

Bulgaria's REnergY announced during a two-day conference on electric vehicles that it planned to soon start construction on at least 15 charging stations in the country, the Sofia News Agency reports.

The company said it was working on prototype models, adding drivers of "traditional" vehicles will be at an economic disadvantage once electrical vehicles become a reality in Sofia.

The company said the first few charging stations would be free for the first year to promote the use of electric vehicles. German engineering company Siemens, a partner in the project, won financing for EV stations through a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The aim of the pilot project is to examine the best ways to develop a functional network of EV charging stations across the country.

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One-fifth of drivers likely to consider buying an electric vehicle

IBM's Institute for Business Value research on electric cars and a recent study of auto industry executives suggest eager drivers: Many automobile industry executives believe that sales of traditional vehicles will peak before 2020 and are looking to electric-only vehicles (EVs) as one of the next hot products, but they will first have to address stringent consumer requirements about EV performance, recharging, and convenience.

Taken together, the two studies uncover significant differences between the automobile industry executives IBM spoke to and consumers on the factors motivating consumers to purchase electric vehicles, with auto execs placing greater emphasis than consumers on government incentives and oil prices. The executives were also skeptical of consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for green vehicles.


Why Buy an Electric Vehicle

The insights, from IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBV), are derived from a new survey of 1,716 U.S. drivers (1) and interviews with 123 auto industry executives (2). The study indicates that, even in these early days, there is a potentially large market for EVs. Nineteen percent of drivers surveyed said that they were either “very likely” or “likely” to consider purchasing an electric-only vehicle when shopping for a new car. This is notable, given that 42 percent of drivers know only “a little” about EVs or have “only heard of them,” suggesting that automakers could increase the pool of potential buyers with sustained educational campaigns.

Thirty percent of drivers surveyed said that they would consider switching to an EV that got 100 miles or less per charge. Current EVs get about 50 to 100 miles per charge.

And 40 percent of drivers said they would pay up to 20 percent more for an electric-only vehicle compared with a similarly-featured gas-, diesel, or hybrid-powered vehicle, with 27 percent saying they would pay 10 percent more and 13 percent saying they would pay 20 percent more.

To drive the price of electric vehicles into this more affordable zone, the IBV research indicates that automakers should initially focus on sales to both consumers and commercial fleets, building scale and creating economic efficiencies in production. Automakers may also need to develop new business models for electric vehicles to overcome the higher initial price.


Home charging: a sticking point

Nevertheless, price of the home charging installation often required to support an EV could pose an obstacle to EV adoption. Only 13 percent of drivers said they would consider spending more than $1,000 to retrofit their residence to support recharging of an electric vehicle. According to industry estimates, retrofitting to a 240 volt outlet accessible to vehicles averages between $1,000 and $2,000.

In addition, two-thirds of consumers expect a price discount on their electricity for charging at home overnight. This expectation could place increasing focus on utilities for time-based pricing to encourage home charging, or more public charging will be required if an electricity discount is not available.

Home charging is considered important to the success of EVs. Of the drivers surveyed, 83 percent said they park their primary vehicle in the driveway or garage of their private residence, as opposed to in a parking lot, on the street, in a shared garage or some other location.

“Even under optimal circumstances, fully recharging an electric-only vehicle takes hours,” said Kal Gyimesi, IBV automotive lead and co-author of the IBV study. “So, it is crucially important that we build an infrastructure that can charge vehicles where their owners park them for extended periods of time – whether that is at home or at work, school, or the store.”


Where to put those charging stations?

Perhaps a reflection of America’s consumer culture, 62 percent of drivers surveyed said they most often parked in a mall or store parking lot when not at home or work. That’s substantially higher than any other location – “on the street” was number two at 17 percent.

“When deciding where to put charging stations, retail hubs like malls and shopping centers are good locations,” Gyimesi said. “It’s easy to envision charging stations in these commercial locations coupled with an advertising and promotion-based business model for local stores – which will help make the economics more feasible.”

Partnering with large employers in target regions to create charging infrastructure in the workplace also makes sense, Gyimesi added.

Consumers were asked what would motivate them to switch from using a vehicle that currently runs on gasoline, diesel or hybrid to an electric-only vehicle. The same question was posed to automobile industry executives, who were asked to rate the importance consumers place on each choice.

Both consumers (71%) and auto execs (81%) rank 'innovative pricing models or lower price overall' first. Auto execs (73%) quote 'significantly higher oil prices' as a major reason behind considering electric cars. Only 51% of consumers quoted the same reason. 'Green image or sustainability concerns' are important for only 48% of consumers and 33% of auto execs. Availability of charging infrastructure is crucial for 62% of consumers and 65% of execs.

The answers illustrate that the automobile industry executives IBM interviewed for this study place far greater weight than consumers on government incentives/regulations (73 percent to 41 percent).

According to the IBV study, when asked executives how automakers could develop mobility solutions, 83 percent said that the best direction would be to shift their product portfolio from conventional vehicles to electrified vehicles (EVs). About half said they expect the annual sales of conventional vehicles to have begun to decline by 2020.


Urban/Suburban/Rural Divide?

Responses for the driver survey were similar across urban, suburban and rural areas -- with some notable exceptions. For example, rural respondents were the most likely (59 percent) to say they would pay nothing more for an electric-only vehicle compared with a similarly-featured gas-, diesel, or hybrid-powered vehicle.

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A remarkable year for electric vehicles in 2011

From John Gartner, on Huffington Post: The first Chevrolet Volts, Nissan Leafs, and Smart EDs were delivered in December, but in the annals of history, 2011 will be remembered as the year that electric vehicles (EVs) arrived. EVs for sale to consumers will dominate the headlines throughout the year as average Americans begin to recognize EVs as they roll down the road.

Because of the stalled start in the 1990s, when consumers were tempted by and then denied access to GM's EV1 and other EVs, every milestone during the year will be magnified in the media. By year's end nearly new 50,000 EVs will be plugging in at garages and lots across America. The arrival of new models from automakers Think, Coda, Mitsubishi, Mini, Toyota, and Chevrolet (a few of which were delayed from 2010) will give consumers more options.

Any missteps -- and there will be some -- will be cause célèbre for the EV doubters who don't believe in or desire a move away fossil fuels. Humans have always been fallible in designing and operating vehicles, and replacing liquid fuel with electrons won't change that. While considerable safeguards have been put in place to prevent accidents when charging a vehicle, somewhere someone will find a creative way for failure, and we can expect considerable fanfare by the naysayers when this inevitably occurs.

One of the important trends of 2011 we've identified at Pike Research will be the slow subsiding of the catch phrase "range anxiety." Range anxiety is the supposed fear that both prevents consumers from wanting to buy an EV with a 80-100 mile driving range or from driving said car very far for fear that the batteries will run out, leaving the driver stranded. Range anxiety has been overblown, underestimating drivers' ability to monitor their battery charge level through the various dashboard displays and auditory prompts.

Like the arrival of EVs, the rollout of charging infrastructure has been slower than expected off the line. However, installations of public charging infrastructure such as the government-subsidized EV Project and Charge Point America will see hundreds of charging stations installed across many of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. The availability of public charging equipment will actually outpace the need for vehicles to plug-in, which will result in many charge spots idled for most of the day, or even days at a time. While this will be the subject of derision as a waste of taxpayer money, if EVs instead outpaced charging infrastructure, it could result in a serious setback as the minority of drivers who plan to regularly charge their vehicles away from home might otherwise wait to make a purchase.

The electric vehicles' second act will be a top media story throughout the year, even at the box office with the mid-year release of Revenge of the Electric Car (watch the trailer). Many consumers will get their first direct exposure to EVs by renting a car from one of the many rental agencies that will make emissions-free driving a premium service. Fleets including delivery vehicles and taxis will be critical for collecting data about EV performance and to build confidence that this time around, EVs are here to stay.

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Electric vehicle charging station market in the US to exceed $4B by 2016

Some interesting numbers in this study: Zpryme predicts the number of EV/PHEVs sold in 2016 will reach 203,200, and that the charging infrastructure and charging services market is will grow from $776.8 million in 2011 to $4.45 billion in 2016 (CAGR of 41.6%).

The projections in the electric vehicle study by Zpryme's EV Insights Practice and sponsored by Airbiquity (download ‘The Electric Vehicle Study’ for free www.zpryme.com) show that the charging service market value is expected to grow at faster rate than the charging station market value, but the charging station market is expected to be almost eight times larger than the service industry by 2016.

With such high anticipation for the growing U.S. EV market, developing and deploying charging stations has quickly become an extremely competitive race. Both large companies and start-ups are vying for market share, including Coulomb Technologies, ClipperCreek, ECOtality, ABB, GE, Siemens, Leviton, AeroVironment and Pep Stations.


Some key market value projections (2011 - 2016):


Electric vehicle sales:

Annual EV/PHEV unit sales are projected grow by 36.2% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 43,400 to 203,200.

The total EV/PHEV stock are projected to grow from 104,200 in 2011 to 730,700 in 2016.

Charging Stations:

Home (level II) charging station unit sales are projected to grow by 37.7% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 25,400 to 125,900.

Home (level II) charging station sales will grow from $239.6 million to $1.07 billion during this time period. Home charging stations are projected to account for 32.1% of the market value in 2011 and 27.0% in 2016.

Public (level II) charging station unit sales are projected to grow by 43.1% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 13,600 to 81,300.

Public (level II) charging station sales will grow from $282.0 million to $1.60 billion during this time period. Level II charging stations are projected to account for 37.8% of the market value in 2011 and 40.7% in 2016.

Fast (level III) charging station sales will grow from $193.4 million to $1.15 billion during this time period. Level III charging stations are projected to account for 25.9% of the market in 2011 and 29.1% 2016. (see table 1 above)

Fast (level III) charging station unit sales are projected to grow by 44.2% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 2,200 to 13,500.

EV Charging Service Users:

Annual new charging service users are projected to grow by 40.4% annually from 2011 to 2016, from 27,600 to 150,400.

The cumulative total number of charging service users is projected to grow from 39,800 in 2011 to 574,900 million in 2016.

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Electric vehicles are here, charging stations are not

From the New York Times: The Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf were delivered to their first customers last week, and a small fleet of Think City electric vehicles were handed over to the State of Indiana for use in state parks. The plug-in E.V. has arrived, and it begs the question: will a public charging network be available to support the cars?

Led by Coulomb Technologies and Ecotality, the first home chargers are being installed. A robust and targeted public network is coming, but it is still very much a work in progress.

Read more at NYT...

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Better Place's answer to range anxiety? 60 seconds battery swaps

It's the biggest fear for any EV driver. Where and when are you going to find a plug-in charging station? Whereas in countries like Portugal mobility networks are moving fast towards ubiquity with projects like Mobi.e, most nations are still far from it, with just a handful of charging stations in a few cities, with the most unusual service schedules (take San Francisco, for instance).

More than an electric vehicle's relatively high price, it's the lack of a comprehensive charging infrastructure, especially when gas stations are everywhere, that keeps many consumers from buying a Nissan Leaf or a Chevrolet Volt right now. It shouldn't be a problem if you have your own charging device at home. But it is. Today's electric vehicles get between 30 to 150 kms with a full battery. When it runs out, it can take up to four hours to fully recharge it. That means that going away for the weekend with your EV is still out of question, unless you don't mind stopping every other town for several hours.

This is why Better Place presents quite an interesting solution. Instead of plug-in stations, the California based company offers a network of battery switch stations that use a robotic system to switch depleted batteries for fully-charged ones, and charge the depleted batteries in inventory, so that there's a fully-charged battery ready to be installed, in a matter of seconds (60 second switches have been accomplished in tests) each time the vehicle arrives at a station. Kinda like changing your son's toy's AA battery, instead of recharging it every time it runs out.

The concept is already in practice in Israel, Denmark and Australia, though on a limited test basis. The US, Japan and China are the next targets for Better Place's internationalization strategy.

Sure, there are doubts about the practicability of this idea in the long run. Will everyone abdicate of being the owner of their own car's battery? What are the legal implications of that when, say, someone crashes their car and loses a battery? Will Better Place's closed model of business keep companies from developing better batteries with longer lives? And if and when they do develop them, what's the point of such a battery swap system? The German reflection group on mobility has said no to battery swaps, just as Volkswagen did. What does that mean for Better Place? Anyway, it is a brilliant idea, at least on paper, and it could well be a practical solution in these first years of the EV revolution.

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US still lack charging infrastructures

From NPR: The electric car is no longer just a project for smarty-pants MIT students. Here in the U.S., plug-in electric cars are now in showrooms and on the highways. What's missing, though, is a convenient way to refuel those cars with electricity.

That's what Russell Rankin has discovered. Rankin is an enthusiastic entrepreneur who has 13 electric vehicles charging up at the back of the Loews Hotel in Annapolis, Md. They're not quite cars, but they're more than golf carts — three rows of two seats, open on the sides, about 12 feet long. "Everybody kind of calls it a golf cart on steroids," says Rankin. "Or maybe something you'd see at Disney or something like that. It has a big bubble roof on it — it's very futuristic looking."

The vehicles are made by Global Electric Motorcars, owned by Chrysler. Rankin's company, eCruisers, uses them to squire people around the city for free. Advertising on the cars pays the freight.

After about 30 miles, the cars come back to recharge. "Our vehicles just run off a regular household outlet," Rankin says. "We have a regular three-pronged plug that you'd have on any household appliance." So that part is easy. The hard part is keeping cars charged when they're needed.

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Cars21: Germany's electricity grid ready for millions of EVs

From Cars21: An interim report of the National Electromobility Platform concludes that Germany’s grid is ready for electric vehicles. Only upgrades in some regions are needed to handle far more than the 1 million EVs on the street forecasted for 2020.

As part of the National Electromobility Platform (NEP), the working group "Charging Infrastructure and Network Integration" is chaired by experts from energy service provider E.ON AG and Siemens and submitted their key findings to the German federal government recently. The report points out that the German government’s smart grid plans, including the integration of up to 1 million electric cars by 2020, will generally not pose a problem for the power grid. Only in cases of a locally high density of electric cars could isolated segments of the grid be overloaded and require upgrading.

Read more (includes download links for the reports in German)...

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