The Committee on climate change has said that 60% of new cars and vans must be electric by 2030 to meet carbon targets cost-effectively.  A fascinating and optimistic talk by Chris Chandler gave us insights into progress towards this goal. 

 

One of the biggest drivers for electric vehicles is the environmental cost of current fossil fuel energy. We need to be producing energy from wind, solar hydro and geothermal sources. The efficiencies of petrol and diesel engines are only 35% to 40% compared to electric engines and serious issues over air quality are a major health concern – in 2017 one street in London reached its annual pollution limit in just one month.

 

In the UK several cities (including Southampton) have clean air plans, whereby drivers whose vehicles don’t have clean emissions can be charged. Chris was proud to be able to say that 45% of BAE Systems’ vehicles, one of Lex Autolease’s major clients, are zero emission.

 

The Independent reported on a recent survey which found that London is the region where 56% of people are most likely to be happy to buy an electric car, compared with drivers in Scotland and the East Midlands, where the people are most reluctant to do so (just 28% were in favour).

 

A survey commissioned by the Institute of the Motor Industry found that nearly one third of those asked said they would never consider buying an electric vehicle. Clearly there is a great deal of public mistrust and confusion which people like Chris are helping to dispel by demonstrating the facts about EV’s.

 

Last year just half of one percent of car purchases was an EV, and it seems that greater incentives are needed to persuade people to change to vehicles with lower carbon emissions, although the government has committed to keeping vehicle tax lower for ultra-low emission vehicles. It has also said that all vehicles must be electric or hybrid by 2040, rather later than some other administrations around the world.

 

Until the roll-out of fast charging points throughout the country is achieved, hybrid vehicles which significantly extend the range of EV’s are more popular. However, charging technology is progressing fast, and there are now methods of different rates of charge, which may answer the issue of the amount of plug-in time needed.

 

Availability of secure charging points is another concern, especially for those without private off-street parking. One idea is to have street lamps with charge points, which would avoid taking cables across pavements. Clever technology would mean that the charge point would communicate with the vehicle, ensuring secure operation and payment. In future you will be able to recharge some cars in 5-10 minutes.

 

The size, efficiency and lifespan of EV batteries was another critical issue. Batteries charged by ice can extend driving range and have other significant environmental benefits (during off-peak low-energy cost periods, ice battery storage systems use copper coils filled with refrigerant to create ice). Vehicle batteries would last around 12 years and could then be recycled into battery packs.

 

Together with the future introduction of the smart grid, utility providers would benefit from reduced peak load demand, thus avoiding the cost of buying peak wholesale power or (eventually) having to build new power stations.

 

Chris touched briefly on the development of autonomous driving, with vehicles having five different levels of driver-assist, although as yet no completely autonomous vehicle has been produced.

 

There have been serious incidents during trials on public roads; the first pedestrian fatality involving autonomous driving occurred recently in the US, when a woman was wheeling her bike across a road in the dark and the car did not recognise it as a hazard.

 

Functions may include remote parking with no driver inside, assisted driving (when you are drifting off it wakes you up!), partial automation such as lane-assist, fully automated driving, which only works on motorways, right up to driver supervision, the most contentious and intractable issue of all.