E-Mobility - Will we be driving electronically in the future?
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E-mobility is currently one of the major trends in the environmental sector and is an important factor in implementing a climate-friendly and sustainable transport system. But what makes the technology so important?
The energy concept of the future would be inconceivable without electromobility and electric cars. That is the view of European politics. For example, in recent years, the Federal Government has adopted many support programmes for e-mobility, primarily aimed at reducing the price difference between electric and conventional cars. The focus is also on expanding and improving the charging infrastructure. However, major progress has failed to be made so far: the market share of electric cars is still negligible. But state support can also be successful. In Norway, for example, the share of electric vehicles was already as high as 12 per cent in 2014.
What are the advantages?
A new era is supposed to begin with e-mobility. But why? What exactly are the specific advantages for you?
- Energy Efficiency: In comparison to conventional motor vehicles, e-vehicles use much less energy. In addition, the energy stored in the batteries can be returned to the electric grid if it is not used.
- CO2 Reduction: E-mobility helps to improve the climate balance, since the vehicles have much lower CO2 emissions.
- Cost Efficiency: Electric motors contain hardly any moving parts, which results in lower maintenance requirements, e.g. oil changes. The result: both running costs and maintenance costs are much lower than those of internal combustion engines.
- Reducing Dependency on Oil: More electric vehicles mean less demand for oil and thus a reduction in dependency on imports of the raw material.
- Less Noise Pollution: Electric motors run with almost no noise. This could reduce noise pollution especially in urban traffic.
- Advantages for Customers: The use of electric vehicles offers several advantages for their users. For example, tax advantages and special parking spaces.
There is Money to be Earned Here
The advantages for customers are obvious, and many new ideas for services and products are thus emerging on the market. The economic potential is enormous. Many players from outside the industry have also recognised this and now want to get in on the act. For example, the fast food chain McDonald's is making charging columns available to its customers on its car parks and the hotel chain Radisson Blu is offering guests the opportunity to charge for free. An increasing number of companies want to jump on the "electric" bandwagon and thus demonstrate their environmental awareness.
A Lot Remains to be Done
In spite of the enormous potential, there is still a lot to do. The range of electric cars is still relatively short which, in combination with the long time it takes to charge the vehicle, is anything but ideal. Moreover, the batteries are very expensive, and their service life is comparatively short. Uniform usage structures are another important factor. The magic word for market success is ease of use, or user friendliness. For example, the customer should have the opportunity to be able to charge his vehicle nationwide with a single e-charging card, instead of having to own a large number of charging cards. For this, however, different providers would have to work together and put customer convenience ahead of their own profit maximisation.
Even though the idea of a society based on electronic mobility is not fully developed, governments are placing their hopes on this trend. According to the objectives of the German Federal Government, the proportion of regenerative energies should be around 55 per cent in 2030; in addition, six million electric vehicles should be on the road.1 The next few years will show whether this plan will come to fruition
