Can electric vehicles meet the 2030 challenge?

Mark Venables

28th September 2021 – Can electric vehicles meet the 2030 challenge?

The UK government has placed great emphasis on the success of electric vehicles to deliver on its plan to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 onwards that forms a crucial element of its ten-point plan to support the UK’s net zero goals to 2050. Although slightly slowed by the sales slump during the COVID-19 pandemic EV sales have made great strides with BEV and PHEV sales surpassing two million vehicles for the first time in 2019. This has provided automotive manufacturers the incentive to invest heavily to deliver new electrified models, from R&D to factory redesign. But is everything on track to meet the 2030 goals? Among many other topics this talk looks at the opportunities and challenges facing the sector including financing the transition to zero carbon motoring, delivering the charging infrastructure, the battery and charging innovation behind the transformation, and the full sustainability life cycle of electric vehicles.

Speakers

David Rapson Professor of Economics and Director of the Davis Energy Economics Program (DEEP) University of California, Davis

Anila Siraj MD, Alternative Fuels Kalibrate

Agenda

Technology neutral climate policies David Rapson, Professor of Economics and Director of the Davis Energy Economics Program (DEEP), University of California, Davis If the ultimate goal is to decarbonize transportation, there are reasons to be concerned about current electric vehicle (EV) policy. Sixty percent of US and worldwide electricity is generated from fossil fuels, causing the carbon footprint of EVs to vary dramatically based on where (and when) they are adopted. Moreover, the transition to a 100% renewable electricity grid is in its early stages and remains risky and uncertain. Building on these facts, Professor Rapson questions the emerging dogma that society should push to 100% electric transportation powered by solar and wind. Instead, he advocates for pursuing “technology-neutral” climate policies built on pollution pricing, which minimizes the risks and costs of deep decarbonization by aligning private incentives with societal decarbonization goals.

Keeping up the pace of charging infrastructure Anila Siraj, MD, Alternative Fuels, Kalibrate With EV sales growing at a faster rate than traditional ICE vehicles, the roll out of the charging infrastructure to support adoption is struggling to keep pace. There is an unprecedented opportunity for businesses with the right offering to capture a significant share of EV charging market. But this can only be achieved by providing the right charging facilities, in the right places, complemented by the appropriate retail experience. Both fuel and non-fuel retailers are keen to stake their claim for the business of the EV driver, but many are yet to formulate a robust strategy. Now is the time to act. We know from analysis of the EV customer profile that their expectations are different from those of conventional ICE drivers. Understanding EV consumers, their behaviours and travel patterns, and how the profile evolves as adoption grows, is key to formulating a data driven strategy to capitalize on the opportunity.