Trial of electric cars shows they can be effective for Australia
Trial complete: electric vehicles can work in Australia The Conversation, 3 Dec 13 Australia’s first electric vehicle trial has been completed. It ran from early 2010 to the end of 2012 with 11 electric Ford Focus and 23 fast-AC charging bays (Level-2). We found few technological barriers to the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia, but government incentives for early adopters and government programs for the roll-out of fast-DC charging stations would help Australia fully embrace these cars……..
When are cars charged?
We were particularly interested in what time of day drivers charged their cars. This determines how much renewable energy can be used for charging (to make an EV really emission-free) and whether electricity utilities have to worry about an increase of peak demand in the future, when there might be millions of EVs.
The fleet EVs did most of their charging in the morning until mid-day, so most of the charging energy could be supplied by solar photovoltaics. This finding is significant, as company fleets are not only an early adopter of new car technology, but are also the largest customer segment for the new vehicles market in Australia………
Recommendations We found:
EVs can function as regular fleet pool cars for most applications.
Without a fee structure, Level-2 (7kW) charging stations (or even Level-1, 2.4kW) are difficult to use effectively with multiple customers per day.
There is a “chicken and egg” problem in introducing EVs and charging stations. Potential EV buyers expect a certain level of charging infrastructure, while potential charging network operators are reluctant to invest before a critical mass of EVs is reached. Some form of government financial incentive would help to increase the initial uptake of EVs in Australia.
The vast majority of charging events will likely occur at home or at work with only the occasional need for using a public charging station. A network of fast-DC stations can serve the same purpose as a filling station network for petrol/diesel cars.
We recommended that a network of fast-DC stations (50kW or more) following the CCS-Combo standard be installed, which may prove much more efficient and useful than lower-powered AC-charging stations (Level-2 or Level-1).
The Electric Highway proposal with fast-DC stations between Perth and Margaret River would make an excellent demonstration project. It will allow electric vehicles to break free from the city and reach a popular holiday destination as well as major regional centres.
The lack of an Australian standard for an EV charging connector is seen as a significant hurdle for EV adoption as well as for the roll-out of charging stations. Failure to prescribe a particular connector/inlet type could lead to the import of cars and charging stations which are incompatible with one another.
Additional research is required to better understand potential positive and negative implications of large numbers of EVs on the electricity network. This requires the cooperation of energy utilities, government policy makers, EV industry, and universities.
The full WA EV Trial report is available from UWA/REV. http://theconversation.com/trial-complete-electric-vehicles-can-work-in-australia-18843
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