Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Charging In 2021

The demand for Electric Vehicle (EV) charging is growing with the demand for EV's. The future is still very much electric. Here’s an update on what’s been happening in the green motoring sector for 2021.

How many EV's are out on the roads?

According to Global EV Outlook 2020, 2.1 million electric cars were purchased worldwide in 2019, boosting the overall figure of EVs on the road to 7.2 million. Although research has shown that recent sales in China and the US are leveling off slightly, there’s been more consistent growth in the purchase of electric vehicles in Europe, where figures were up 44% on 2018. Driven by EU emission targets, European governments have committed to further research and development in battery production. According to Virta, which provides EV charging and energy management services across the EU, in 2019 £60 billion of investments were secured Europe-wide for the production of EVs and batteries.

How many electric vehicle charge points are there?

At the end of 2019, there were around 7.3 million chargers worldwide, 2.1 million more than in 2018. Most charging points are private, light-duty vehicle slow chargers, serving people’s homes and workplaces. The UK is amongst the top four countries with the highest concentration of charging points – along with the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Ultra-Fast charging future

One of the main drawbacks has been the amount of time it takes to re-charge batteries, which can limit the range of travel. There’s growing interest in Ultra-Fast charging points which enable drivers to charge their vehicles in less than 20 minutes, depending on the vehicle’s charging capacity. The charging provider, IONITY, is expanding its network of Ultra-Fast charging points across the UK, by installing six 350kW charges at a number of motorway service stations. The first being Leeds, with others planned for Cobham, Cambridge, Beaconsfield, Cullompton, Blackburn, Baldock and Peterborough.

What is smart charging?

With technological advances in battery chemistry, energy density and size, the EV market can only benefit with substantial cost reduction in EV parts and increased efficiency in the future. Smart charging is particularly exciting. It’s where an electric vehicle, a charging device and a charging operator share a real-time data connection so that energy consumption can be optimised. Peaks in energy demand can be levelled out and drivers can choose when they charge their vehicle based on pricing – choosing to select off-peak charging periods where the cost will be lower.

What is vehicle to grid charging?

This is even better! In vehicle to grid charging (V2G) excess electricity from car batteries can be returned to the grid. Participating customers are able save or even earn money by allowing their EV batteries to store energy and discharge it back to the national grid, or their own buildings, when it's most needed - at peak demand during the day. This is when usage and costs across the UK are at their highest. Enabling EVs to store and discharge electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, with output that fluctuates depending on weather and time of day, we’re looking at a fully integrated green energy system fit for the Twenty First Century.

What’s the future of electric vehicles for business and public transport?

Although it’s currently centered on private cars, there have been developments in the EV sector for larger scale and commercial vehicles as well as public transport across the globe. LSEVs – low speed electric vehicles - are becoming more common. Shared electric scooters, or e-scooters are now available in more than 600 cities across more than fifty countries and electric versions of mobility vehicles are becoming increasingly popular. EVs are also more widely used in freight transportation these days, with 380, 000 light commercial electric vehicles on the roads in 2019. China and Chile lead the way in electric buses with a global stock of 460,000. Chile is impressive, in its aim to electrify all its public transport by 2040 and in Europe, a Clean Vehicles Directive is putting the procurement of electric buses on the agenda. All this is encouraging news. Whatever way you look at it, it appears the future for electric vehicles is looking very positive and greener transport is already playing a significant part in the UK’s commitment to cutting emissions in the very near future. Learn more about Logic4training's Electrical Vehicle Charging Point Installation course.