Introduction
We have covered the most recent developments in Electric Vehicles technology as well as the infrastructure that will be required to enable EVs to become the norm for personal mobility in the future in this post.
Since their initial introduction, electric cars (EVs) have advanced significantly and are currently enjoying greater popularity than ever. However, some motorists are still apprehensive about giving up their conventional gas-powered internal combustion engine (ICE) cars. While there has been a noticeable performance improvement, long-distance charging capabilities remain a significant worry.
This introduction of EV technology covers the increasing need for a national charging network and the upgrades to the national electricity system required to make EV ownership feasible. Planning and collaboration from all parties, including governmental organizations, utility companies, private charging networks, and customers, will be necessary to ensure a seamless transition from the use of fossil fuels to entirely EVs.
The early days of electric vehicles
Electric cars were welcomed when they were first introduced more than 130 years ago, but their lack of speed and range remained a recurring issue. Internal combustion engines (ICEs) were a novel feature of gasoline-powered automobiles that debuted at the same time as the first EVs. The gasoline-powered cars of the 1800s showed promise because of advancements in internal combustion engine technology, but they were not without problems.
Henry Ford’s mass-produced Model T was the reason behind the decline in interest in electric vehicles. When the Model T was introduced in 1908, gasoline-powered cars were more accessible and reasonably priced. In 1912, an electric roadster sold for almost three times the price of a gasoline car, which cost only $650. By 1935, gasoline-powered automobiles had become more and more popular, and EVs had virtually vanished.
The scarcity of gas has rekindled interest in electric vehicles.
Rising oil costs and gasoline shortages in the late 1960s and early 1970s sparked a rising movement to locate domestic fuel sources and reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign oil. After taking notice, Congress authorized the Energy Department to assist research and development of electric and hybrid vehicles in 1976 by passing the Electric Vehicle Research, Development, and Demonstration Act. Many big and small automakers started looking into alternative fuel vehicle possibilities, such as electric cars, around the same time.
Concern for the environment propelled the development of electric automobiles.
Before new federal and state rules started to change things, interest in electric vehicles had been declining for two decades following the lengthy gas lines of the 1970s. The approval of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment and the 1992 Energy Policy Act, plus new transportation emissions restrictions imposed by the California Air Resources Board, helped stimulate a revived interest in electric vehicles in the United States. Manufacturers started converting several of their best-selling car types into electric cars, or EVs as they are now called.
Several people were unconcerned with fuel-efficient cars in the late 1990s due to a flourishing economy, a developing middle class, and low gas prices. The public wasn’t interested in EVs at the time, but engineers and scientists were striving to advance the technology of EVs, particularly batteries, with help from the Energy Department.
Many automakers accelerated their entry into the EV market
The Toyota Prius, which debuted in 1997 in Japan, was the first hybrid electric car ever built in large quantities worldwide. Toyota employed nickel metal hydride batteries, a technology backed by studies conducted by the US Energy Department. Furthermore, something else happened in 2006 that had a role in changing the market for electric cars. A game-changing innovation that helped redefine the EV market was the production of a luxury electric sports car with a range of more than 200 miles on a single charge by a small Silicon Valley business called Tesla Motors.
In late 2010, the Chevy Volt and the Nissan LEAF were both released in the US market. The first plug-in hybrid car to be sold commercially was the Volt, which has a gasoline engine to augment its electric drive when the battery runs out. The LEAF could only be propelled by an electric motor since it was an all-electric car. Other US automakers started producing electric cars during the following few years, but the issue of where to charge them while driving remained.
EV charging stations started to proliferate.
More than 18,000 public, business, and home chargers were installed around the nation in 2009 thanks to funding provided by the Energy Department and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, totaling more than $115 million. Today, there are more than 8,000 distinct places with more than 20,000 charging outlets for public electric vehicle chargers thanks to the installation of private companies and automakers’ chargers in strategic US locations.
Infrastructure for EV charging is required nationwide due to rising EV sales.
Given the increasing number of EVs on the road, a national network of charging stations is now essential. Everyone will need to plan and work together, including consumers, government organizations, utility companies, and private charging networks. The problem of the power grid being overloaded cannot be resolved by a varied private network of charging networks on its own. As communities start sharing energy, everyone has to be more conscious of the demand for the power system and make proactive plans.
EVSE (Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment) is the technical term for the equipment used to charge electric cars; it is often referred to as a charging station. An electric safety system for the user and the electrical infrastructure during the charging process is the main purpose of a plug-in vehicle charging station; in particular, it reduces the risk of electric shock and fire.
Networks for charging electric vehicles
A network of separate infrastructure stations that serve as access points for electric car recharging is known as an electric vehicle charging network. Currently, a large number of federal, state, and local governments, automakers, and suppliers of charging infrastructure are building these networks. State-by-state working agreements between these various institutions will be necessary to aid in the further development of a national infrastructure.
These days, several producers and providers of charging networks offer hardware-agnostic app solutions like Amp Up, EV Connect, and Green Lots, or proprietary solutions like Charge Point. While proprietary vendors prevent consumers from making changes, hardware-agnostic vendors let them swap out their existing charging stations and/or network providers.
Growth of the US electric vehicle charging infrastructure market
In 2020, the US market for electric vehicle charging infrastructure was estimated to be worth USD 2.08 billion. From 2021 to 2028, its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is predicted to be close to 39%. The market for electric car charging infrastructure is anticipated to see substantial growth over the next ten years due to the growing popularity of electric vehicles and their advantages, which include energy efficiency and cheaper fuel and maintenance costs.
In addition to the annual growth forecast, the $1.85 trillion Build Back Better Act invests $7.5 billion to create a state-wide network of plug-in EV chargers, according to the draft structure. A further $7.5 billion is allocated for buses and ferries with zero or low emissions, to provide thousands of electric school vehicles to school districts all around the nation. The proposal would allocate $65 billion to strengthen the nation’s power grid’s dependability and resilience, which is essential for the smooth transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and guard against the extensive power outages that have been more frequent in recent years.
Expanding the market reach of plug-in electric vehicles, new battery technology is being introduced with support from the Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office. The DOE’s research also helped develop the lithium-ion battery technology utilized in the Chevrolet Volt. Lately, the DOE’s research and development expenditures on batteries have contributed to a 50% reduction in the cost of electric vehicle batteries, all the while enhancing the batteries’ power, energy, and lifespan. Since the price of EVs has decreased as a result of all these advancements, people can now afford them.
EVs driving towards the future
Although it’s difficult to predict where electric cars will end up, they certainly have a great deal of potential to contribute to a more sustainable future. With the existing mix of technologies, we could replace all light-duty cars in the US with plug-in electric or hybrid vehicles, reducing carbon pollution from transportation by up to 20 percent while also reducing our reliance on foreign oil.
President Obama established the EVs Everywhere Grand Challenge in 2012, an Energy Department project that unites the nation’s top scientists, engineers, and companies to get plug-in electric vehicles down to the same price as gas-powered vehicles by 2022.
It remains to be seen what the final result will be for EVs this time around, but it seems certain that most drivers will be using EVs in the future as the infrastructure of charging stations expands and the power grid stabilizes to supply the extra electrical power required.
Components of an EV charging station
An essential component of the technology utilized to construct EV charging stations is the electrical controls used in their production. These could consist of the following:
Overload and short circuit protection is provided by miniature circuit breakers or MCBs.
Residual Current Circuit Breakers offer weather protection against extreme temperatures.
Disconnect switches are necessary when an installation must adhere to current specifications for a disconnecting procedure.
Surge protection devices shield delicate parts from overvoltages and lightning-induced surges.
Contactors, which have a 115A general-purpose current rating, are used to turn on and off the EV’s power.
Energy meters are required if the station is going to be used for commercial charging since the amount of energy used needs to be measured to determine how much consumers should be charged. For this, a digital energy meter with a maximum 80A capacity is utilized.
In charging stations, terminal blocks, wire ducts, and DIN rails would also be utilized to facilitate wiring during assembly.
To power the entire network, a networked charging station would require high-tech devices like controllers and gateways. Additionally, a DC power supply that requires a single or three-phase input voltage would be included.