The National Grid has pitched a network of 50 electric vehicle charging stations with a capacity of up to 350kW across England and Wales, along with a similar network in Scotland.
The Financial Times reports that the company, which runs the UK’s electric grid, has looked into the possibility and has found that strategic placement of the chargers on UK motorways would put 90% of drivers within 50 miles of a charger.
"We want to show that infrastructure needn’t be a barrier. This is not about National Grid charging vehicles, but National Grid enabling the charging to happen. Range anxiety is consistently given as a major reason as to what deters consumers from buying EVs and we have a solution that addresses this," said a National Grid spokesman.
The 350kW chargers could result in EVs being charged in as little as five minutes, depending on battery size. They could also match the demands of hungrier EVs that are on their way shortly; these can only achieve their headline-grabbing recharging times with higher-capacity chargers than those currently installed in the UK. 50 individual chargers are planned for each charging station, meaning 100 chargers when considering both directions of travel.
The chargers would be wired directly into the high-voltage electricity transmission network itself, rather than local grids, dispelling concerns of higher-capacity EV chargers leading to power shortages in more under-strain areas. There are no plans for the National Grid to run the chargers, so the price to charge at one of the points will be decided by the eventual owners of each station. It'll cost between £500 million-£1 billion to install the network at current prices, however this is likely to come down as technology advances, said the Grid spokesman.
"If you overlay the motorway network over the transmission network, there is a synergy. The electricity transmission network runs close to motorway network and likely to be most efficient connection at many sites. In terms of how you space rapid chargers; 50 miles was used in the autonomous vehicles bill. When we mapped England and Wales with the grid, 90% of people using network would be within 50 miles of a rapid charger," said the spokesman. "We think the rollout of the charging points should be structured and co-ordinated. Rather than connecting one customer at a time and having a piecemeal approach, provide the infrastructure in a co-ordinated way. Our solution is about future proofing; not just for cars but for light goods vehicles and trucks in the future."
The Jaguar I-Pace, due in production form at the Geneva motor show next month, is claimed to reach 80% of its 310-mile capacity within 45 minutes, although no infrastructure capable of charging that quickly yet exists in the UK.
Chargemaster is currently working on the implementation of 150kW chargers for the UK, although these aren’t due until next year. As the Government ramps up plans to make EVs the go-to choice amid air quality and European Union CO2 targets, EV charge points will soon become mandatory at all large petrol stations and motorway services.
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Fram an avid EV'er...
What this does mean, though, is that if HMG is serious about us all taking up EVs (and they certainly appear to be so given how much public money is being spent) having *one* rapid charging point in all 'large' (what does that mean?) petrol stations simply won't be enough. It wouldn't be enough even now. There is no reason why *all* petrol stations on main roads, say, couldn't have at least one, albeit the smaller forecourts might only manage a 22kW (16A 3 phase) one. But even 5 to 10 minutes on one of those will usually be enough to get you home or to a more powerful charging point if you get caught short.
Quite why we are all so obsessed with having to be able to do 300-400 miles without stopping is a complete mystery. 250 is ample (ie 200 miles or 3 hours with a decent reserve) and would then only need less than an hour to charge on a much cheaper ~100kW rapid charger. Not forgetting that the daily average mileage for a car in the UK is barely 20 miles - owners of large-batteried EVs will be carting around a hugely over-sized (and unnecessarily very expensive) battery for 100% of their driving.
EV Noise: It is quite true that EVs make just as much noise as equivalent ICEVs... at anything more than 20 mph or so, just standing beside any busy high street for 5 minutes and watching the approching traffic will confirm this. Wind and tyre noise is exactly the same. However, it is the slow manoeuvring speeds where they can be almost totally silent and it is, of course, during these periods that one is most likely to come into potential conflict with pedestrians.
I hate the idea of all EVs having to make a noise (why not bicycles, Lexus' and Rolls Royces, too?!) but I would 100% support the idea of having an extra horn that you could use to alert pedestrians (and sheep, rabbits, horse-riders etc) to your presence without scarring the b'Jesus out of them by using the standard horn. Speaking of horses, I always thought a 'clip-clop' noisemaker would be ideal for this situation...
Martin Winlow
EVBitz.uk
Range anxiety is entirely
Range anxiety is entirely psychological - I ve lost count of the number electric cars I ve driven and I ve never had range anxiety once. Similarly the whole "electric cars are too quiet they need warnings so people can hear them coming" is also nonsense - theyre quiet but you can still hear them coming without the need for silly noises.
typos1 wrote:
Surely its entirely dependant on circumstance. I drive around 120 miles every day (around the absolute max range of the current Leaf), sometimes more, generally short journeys of <20miles between clients with stops of <20mins, random routes and currently very very few charging points in the area. All in generally rural countryside. Whilst I would dearly love to be driving an EV, the range anxiety everyday would be very real and stressful. A REx i3 would be ideal but beyond my means currently.
EVs aren't that quiet
Quite right. When an EV goes past you still hear the same amount of tyre noise, and that is the predominant noise that any car makes these days. Only during low speed manoevering are EVs really silent.
Price per KWh
To keep costs and time at a roadside charger to a minium after a 150 mile drive you'd only ever top-up enough to get home, so'd you'd be talking < 5 mins if the above charge time is to be belived.