The number of Electric Vehicles (EVs) is set to grow to 130 million in China, Europe and the US by 2030, a trend that is being accelerated by the plummeting cost of battery storage - from $1,000 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 to $200 by 2020 according to a 2019 report by the World Economic Forum. Governments, notably Norway, France, the UK and China, are actively regulating in favour of EVs, while global automakers are planning to spend $300 billion on electric vehicle technology in the next five to 10 years, with nearly half of that spending in China, Reuters reports.
According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, there are now five million EVs on the world's roads, serviced by 6,32,000 public charging outlets. Under a scenario where EVs hit 30 percent market share by 2030, the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects a need for somewhere between 14 million and 30 million public chargers to be deployed globally.
Lack of reliable public charging is one of the top reasons for consumers not buying electric vehicles, while major mobility stakeholders, particularly fleet operators and auto manufacturers need access to a secure and reliable EV charging infrastructure that will reduce costs and accelerate time to market if they are to invest in EVs.
"We believe the future of energy is decentralized, decarbonised and digitized, and electro-mobility is essential for the world to reduce carbon emissions," said Christel Galbrun-Noel, President, Schneider Electric Automotive and Mobility Segment.
"We see that electro-mobility is key to achieving this future, but adoption is slower than needed. Additional regulations, efficient infrastructure, and reduced costs to drive consumer demand are essential if we are to reach the tipping point," he added.
EcoStruxure for e-mobility is a complete End-to-end EV charging infrastructure
To accelerate the worldwide adoption of EVs as a sustainable mobility form, Schneider Electric has launched EcoStruxure for eMobility, the world's only end-to-end EV charging infrastructure. EcoStruxure for eMobility is aimed, among others, at fleet operators who need reliable and cost-effective charging solutions, auto manufacturers who want to foster EV adoption by giving their customers reliable access to charging facilities and utilities and charging point operators who also need to develop new business models that can accommodate EV growth.
EcoStruxure for eMobility stands out in that it covers the entire EV charging value chain, from audit and consulting, to grid and microgrid management, and smart charging stations. It offers giving operators increased sustainability through minimized emissions and reduced energy consumption, while lowering CapEx and OpEx by more than 30 per cent. The solution, under the umbrella of EcoStruxure IIoT platform and architecture, improves visibility, cost control, efficiency and resilience, while reducing energy consumption.
EcoStruxure for eMobility includes:
* Consulting services to help customers strategize, plan, design, install and maintain smart EV charging systems that are safe, reliable and efficient
* Energy and Microgrid Management to optimize the energy consumption of EV charging units thanks to software that increases the efficiency of usage and cost by forecasting the optimum time to consume, produce, store or sell energy
* Built-in Battery Storage that optimizes grid use and allows for better management of renewable energy
* IIoT Predictive Maintenance and Operations Management, combined with data analytics, that minimize OpEx and help eliminate downtime
* EVlink Charging Stations offer an easy user experience and can be deployed at scale
Partnerships to promote EV adoption
Schneider Electric is a leading player in the IEA's EV30@30 campaign, part of the Electric Vehicles Initiative launched in 2017 under the Clean Energy Ministerial, a high-level dialogue among the world's Energy Ministers. EV30@30, which includes environmental associations, utilities and industry leaders like Schneider Electric, has the collective goal to reach 30 per cent EVs by 2030. Schneider Electric has also adopted the EV30@30 campaign goals and is committed to achieving at least 30 per cent electrification of its vehicle fleet by 2030.
Schneider Electric is already working with several global leading automakers, to enable and increase EV adoption, through planning the installation of charging stations in US and Europe for a major EVs automaker, and additionally contributing to the installation of charging stations with a capacity of up to 350 kWh for a consortium of key automotive leaders across Europe by the end of 2020. This latest rollout will allow these automakers to give their customers reliable charging solutions cost-effectively while giving motorists the charging options needed to convince them to invest in EVs.
Currently on the project, Schneider Electric is contributing with 162 substations for grid connection, substations including medium voltage switchgear, low voltage distribution boards, and metering equipment.
The customized solution includes connected energy management between charging stations and real-time data to optimize energy use, reducing installation costs, and proving scalability with fast deployment.
