Report identifies electric vehicle challenges

In Electric Vehicles: charged with potential, The Royal Academy of Engineering identifies the challenge of ensuring that the electricity supply system can cope with charging tens of millions of vehicles while still reducing carbon emissions from power generation.

In preparing its report, the Academy has identified four major technical issues. They include the availability of high-energy density batteries at a price and with a long enough cycle life for electric vehicles to be economically viable; and the practicalities of charging vehicles, particularly for users without off-street parking.

Similarly, the Academy highlights the requirement for electrical distribution infrastructure to provide power to millions of charging points and the need for a national energy system and ’smart grid’ that can recharge millions of electric vehicles using low-carbon electricity without overwhelming local distribution circuits.

’Swapping gas guzzlers for electric vehicles will not solve our carbon emissions problem on its own,’ said Prof Roger Kemp of Lancaster University, chair of the Academy’s Electric Vehicles working group. ’When most electricity in Britain is still generated by burning gas and coal, the difference between an electric car and a small, low-emission petrol or diesel car is negligible.