advanced search

Evolution

Jul 1, 2010 12:00 PM, By Michael Eby, Editor-in-Chief

The future of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and charging stations

The market for electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), as well as the electrical infrastructure required to support them, is on the verge of a major explosion of activity. The federal government is pumping tons of cash into this market. Car manufacturers are racing to bring their new models to consumers ahead of their competition. And electrical manufacturers are feverishly working on new designs for charging station, smart meter, and real-time communication equipment. In other words, it finally looks like the true start of a modern-day EV revolution — or what I like to call an Evolution. Tracking the news in this segment over the last six to nine months has been quite exciting. Here's a recap of a few of the most recent announcements coming out of the EV world.

• A new market study from Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based ABI Research, “Plug-in Vehicle Infrastructures,” projects a fast-growing market for charging station infrastructure, with worldwide revenues reaching $11.75 billion for the installation of 3 million charging stations by 2015, up from approximately 20,000 stations installed in 2010.

• The Rocky Mountain Institute, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to drive the efficient use of energy resources, recently launched Project Get Ready to help cities prepare for the introduction of EVs.

• Supported by a couple of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grants totaling nearly $115 million, ECOtality North America will serve as the project manager for The EV Project and, with the assistance of more than 40 partners, deploy nearly 15,000 residential and commercial charging stations in 16 cities located in six states (Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, Tennessee, and Texas) and the District of Columbia. The EV Project will collect and analyze data to characterize vehicle use in diverse topographic and climatic conditions, evaluate the effectiveness of charge infrastructure, and conduct trials of various revenue systems for commercial and public charge infrastructure.

• ChargePoint America is a program sponsored by Coulomb Technologies and made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Transportation Electrification Initiative administered by the DOE. The program will provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure to nine U.S. regions and help foster the adoption of EVs. Coulomb is partnering with Ford, Chevrolet, and smart USA on this project.

Both of the aforementioned programs will offer a large number of the new EV car owners free home charging stations and installation. Not to be outdone, KB Home, one of America's largest home builders, is now offering an option to pre-wire its new Built to Order homes to accommodate charging stations for the homeowner's EVs.

In more recent announcements, a few heavyweights in the manufacturing and engineering arena have begun to flex their muscles in the EV arena. GE and Nissan have teamed up on the smart charging front, signing a 3-yr Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore new technology developments and potential areas of collaboration. Siemens Energy and Coulomb Technologies announced a joint marketing agreement for an integrated EV product offering, allowing Siemens to offer companies — including utilities, electric retailers, municipalities, and EV suppliers — the ability to monitor, bill, and clear financial transactions for EV infrastructure market participants.

So, as we quickly move closer to the launch dates of the new model EVs and PHEVs, the tension starts to build. Have we reached the tipping point for widespread adoption of EVs? Will free home charging stations and hefty cash rebates be enough to jump-start car sales? And more importantly, have advancements in technology resulted in a reliable vehicle? The answers to these questions and more are debated in this month's cover story, “Charging Ahead,” starting on page 22. Only time will tell us if U.S. car owners are finally ready to make the transition to a cleaner form of daily transportation.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!

© 2012 Penton Business Media, Inc.

---

Acceptable Use Policy blog comments powered by Disqus

Browse Back Issues Select an Issue EC&M Magazine | April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 1, 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 1, 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 1, 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 1, 2006 May 1, 2006 April 2006 March 1, 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 1, 2004 January 1, 2004 December 1, 2003 November 1, 2003 October 1, 2003 September 1, 2003 August 1, 2003 July 1, 2003 June 1, 2003 May 1, 2003 April 1, 2003 March 1, 2003 February 1, 2003 January 1, 2003 December 1, 2002 November 1, 2002 October 1, 2002 September 1, 2002 August 1, 2002 July 1, 2002 June 1, 2002 May 1, 2002 April 1, 2002 March 1, 2002 February 1, 2002 January 1, 2002 December 1, 2001 November 1, 2001 October 1, 2001 September 1, 2001 August 1, 2001 July 1, 2001 June 1, 2001 May 1, 2001 April 1, 2001 March 1, 2001 February 1, 2001 February 1, 1995 January 1, 2001 December 1, 2000 November 1, 2000 October 1, 2000 September 1, 2000 August 1, 2000 July 1, 2000 June 1, 2000 May 1, 2000 April 1, 2000 March 1, 2000 February 1, 2000 January 1, 2000 December 1, 1999 November 1, 1999 October 1, 1999 September 1, 1999 August 1, 1999 July 1, 1999 June 1, 1999 May 1, 1999 April 1, 1999 March 1, 1999 February 1, 1999 January 1, 1999 December 1, 1998 November 1, 1998 October 1, 1998 September 1, 1998 August 1, 1998 July 1, 1998 June 1, 1998 May 1, 1998 April 1, 1998 March 1, 1998 February 1, 1998 January 1, 1998 December 1, 1997 November 1, 1997 December 1, 1996 November 1, 1996 October 1, 1996 September 1, 1996 August 1, 1996 July 1, 1996 June 1, 1996 May 1, 1996 April 1, 1996 March 1, 1996 February 1, 1996 January 1, 1996 December 1, 1995 November 30, 1995 November 1, 1995 October 1, 1995 September 1, 1995 August 1, 1995 July 1, 1995 June 1, 1995 May 1, 1995 April 1, 1995 March 1, 1995

browse e-newsletters