Unreliable and fossil fuel-intense electrical grids
BOSTON, May 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrification of
cars, buses, and trucks drastically reduces CO2
emissions at the point of use compared to a diesel or petrol
alternative. The adoption of EVs across all sectors, with IDTechEx
predicting over 180 million electric vehicles to be sold annually
by 2044. This will contribute to a drastic reduction in tailpipe
emissions. However, the overall emissions are usually highly
dependent on the energy mix that goes into grid electricity
production. In many economies, this contains significant amounts of
fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. Beyond CO2
emissions, some grids are already at capacity, and the increased
load of an electric transport sector risks blackouts and power
supply issues. South Africa is an
EV market with both of these issues, and several innovations have
been made using distributed power generation to tackle these
challenges. IDTechEx's research report, "Off-Grid Charging For
Electric Vehicles 2024-2034: Technologies, Benchmarking, Players
and Forecasts", explores the challenges and solutions associated
with charging EVs in the context of constrained electricity
grids.
The South African utility grid is subject to frequent
load-shedding, periods when demand exceeds supply, and utility
operators are forced to impose rolling black or brownouts of up to
50% capacity. This is a problem for all forms of domestic and
industrial electrical use but becomes an especially pronounced
problem for commercial EV operators. Fleet operators often must
charge at predesignated times to maximize uptime and complete all
planned routes. If the grid fails during a charging spot, the
entire schedule may be adversely affected by factors beyond an
operator's control. This is an unusual grid situation; however, it
presents a possible worst-case scenario for grid-congested and
EV-saturated regions. In 2022, a heatwave in California prompted the state government to
ask EV owners not to charge to conserve energy. The growth in
electric vehicle sales will only make such problems more
widespread.
South Africa also has a very
carbon-intensive energy mix, with approximately 70% of power
generation being from coal. This directly translates into higher
lifecycle CO2 emissions from EVs powered by the
electrical grid. Whilst South
Africa has a particularly fossil fuel energy mix, the source
of electricity plays a critical role in the lifecycle emissions of
an electric vehicle.
Disturbed generation gives renewable and grid-independent
electricity
One possible solution being trialed in South Africa, amongst other places, is
harnessing distributed renewable microgrids to form the backbone of
charging networks. By integrating a solar farm, large-scale energy
storage (ES), and high-powered charging outlets, Vrendal-based Zero
Carbon Charge plans to build an etruck charging network. Not only
does this decouple charging from an unreliable grid, it also avoids
placing excess electrical demand on utilities, avoids the need for
costly grid expansions, and provides free and 100% renewable energy
for the trucks to operate on. This is not limited to South Africa; the USA, in particular, has also seen a boom in
companies offering grid-free solar-powered charging. In the US,
many of the products are smaller scale and transportable, allowing
easy setup for EV users who want quick access to EV charging.
Easy setup, no grid connection, but slow charging
rates
The main challenge with distributed solar generation for EV
charging is the low power output of photovoltaic panels. Most
produce around 250 Watts per square meter, which is relatively low.
In fact, to charge at 22kW (generally considered Level 2 fast
charging), a solar canopy would need to be at least 10 x 10 meters,
a considerable footprint, especially in an urban environment. The
other challenge is storing energy, as charging will not always be
required constantly, so an on-site battery is required to store the
generated electricity. Without an integrated on-site battery,
charging is impossible when there is no sunlight, such as inclement
weather or overnight. On-site battery storage can combat this
intermittency.
Larger solar farms with integrated energy storage can become
islanded microgrids, and with enough on-site storage and
photovoltaic production, potential grid-independent fast charging
is possible. This is the approach proposed for the South African
etruck charging network. It is important to note that purely solar
solutions are likely to be geographically restricted to areas with
high photovoltaic potential. Thus, it is no surprise that the
leading regions are Western regions of the US and places like
South Africa. Beam Global, a
supplier of EV canopy chargers, recently announced its first sales
in the European market to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense.
However, the chargers will not be deployed in the mainland of the
UK; they will be deployed on a military base in Cyprus, one of the sunniest regions on the
continent.
Despite technical challenges, the aging and fossil fuel-heavy
nature of grids combined with high EV uptake call for new charging
solutions, and IDTechEx predicts that solar charging systems will
make up a sizeable portion of the overall US$16 billion off-grid charging infrastructure
hardware market by 2034. IDTechEx research also indicates several
other technologies likely to be adopted for off-grid EV charging.
Hydrogen fuel cell charging is likely to emerge as a key solution
for use cases requiring much greater power per area, with a
particular expected focus on electrified construction sites. More
niche technologies include AWE (airborne wind energy), which
harnesses high altitude winds for distributed power generation. For
an in-depth look at solar EV charging, as well as alternative
technology options such as AWE and hydrogen see IDTechEx's latest
research on the topic, "Off-Grid Charging For Electric Vehicles
2024-2034: Technologies, Benchmarking, Players and Forecasts".
To find out more about this IDTechEx report, including
downloadable sample pages, please visit
www.IDTechEx.com/OffGridEV.
For the full portfolio of electric vehicle market research from
IDTechEx, please see www.IDTechEx.com/Research/EV.
About IDTechEx:
IDTechEx provides trusted independent research on emerging
technologies and their markets. Since 1999, we have been
helping our clients to understand new technologies, their supply
chains, market requirements, opportunities and forecasts. For more
information, contact research@IDTechEx.com or
visit www.IDTechEx.com.
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Media Contact:
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