Charging points hold the key to solving range anxiety.
A problem presents itself for many potential electric vehicle (EV) customers: charging. 64% of drivers are worried about a lack of charging stations, and it is contributing to the range anxiety problem. Simply, there are currently not enough charging points for the predicted EV uptake.
A new survey from Deloitte suggests that a total of 28,000 public charging points will be needed in the UK by 2030. The 13,500 currently available are just half of the necessary points required to charge the predicted 7 million EVs in circulation in 2030. This infrastructure has an estimated cost of £1.6 billion in the next 10 years.
A lack of charging points could be detrimental to the EV industry.
The ambitious targets set by the UK government require this investment. EVs have been set to make up 60% of all new car sales by 2030. That could equate to as many as 11.5 million EVs in circulation. Yet the shortage of charging points could impact this predicted EV uptake.
The majority of charging points are currently private: in homes and work places. Yet, Deloitte says the investment needs to focus on public charging over private, to mirror the current internal combustion engine fuelling systems.
A switch from AC to DC charging may be paramount. Whilst AC charging currently holds the lead in UK, with 83% of charging in the UK being AC charging, DC charging is much faster. The cost is initially higher for DC installation, yet the faster charging at public points may be the answer, in order to overcome range anxiety.
New technologies could provide some relief for the charging challenge. Immersion cooling can decrease charging times and subsequently may help relieve the associated charging issues.
Source: Gareth Roberts, Fleet News – Deloitte: 28,000 new charge points needed in next 10 years