Charging ahead: How electric cars will change in the coming years

Right now, it’s all about charging. Even with a decade’s investment in, and expansion of, the national electric car charging network, the lack of truly widespread charging options is still holding people back from buying electric cars. While the roll-out of chargers has certainly been, in some areas, impressive it has equally certainly been lacking in others, and that is going to have to change pretty soon.

It’s a fact acknowledged by Chris Collins, country president for Schneider Electric Ireland, which provides charging infrastructure and solutions. “Our existing infrastructure was never envisioned for today’s EV demands. Much of what we have was built decades ago and was wired up without the modern, big-battery electric cars in mind,” says Collins. “To make charging more accessible it’s clear we need a large-scale rollout of EV chargers, not just in homes but in public hubs —motorways, offices, hotels, and more. Our focus should be on renewable-powered, scalable infrastructure. Clean energy is pivotal because an EV’s environmental footprint is only as clean as its energy source. In future, we can expect homeowners to be able to power their EVs effectively for free using solar panels on their roofs — and be able to decide when to consume, store, or even sell energy back to the grid to power buildings. Longer term, investments in microgrids will work to relieve pressure on the national grid and produce localised energy supplies from renewable sources, further paving the way for a more sustainable e-mobility future.”

“The solutions to range anxiety exist already for a large cohort of our customers. There is a common misconception that BEVs [battery electric vehicles] do not offer a solution for non-urban customers however the stats prove otherwise. In 2019, the average distance travelled daily in Dublin was 9.5km and outside Dublin was 15.3km,” said Ciaran Cusack, marketing manager for Gowan Auto. Over time, Cusack reckons that drivers will become more comfortable with what an electric car can actually do. “Customers will also need to consider the total cost of ownership over a three- to five-year period when purchasing electric vehicles,” said Cusack. “Our new 400km batteries can be charged at current night rates for approximately €12.50. Electric vehicles have been designed to be charged at home and at night-time to avail of the best rates. I am Dublin-based and have been living with an EV for the past 2½ years. My average weekly commute is from my home in Dublin city centre to our offices in City West. Naturally, I use the car in the evenings and occasionally at weekends too. This requires me to charge my car approximately once a week which gives you an idea of how low the running costs can be.”

As the charging network improves, then we might see a shift towards cars with smaller batteries and less range, but with owners who now feel confident that they’ll find a charge when they need it and won’t be left waiting for a charger or sitting at a broken one. That would mean lighter, more efficient cars, which then don’t need charging as often as they don’t put as much strain on their batteries and suddenly the cycle has become a virtual one.

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Of course, the batteries themselves are going to change out of all recognition in the coming years. The batteries we use in electric cars are lithium-ion cells, similar in their basic chemistry to what you’d find in a laptop or a mobile phone. These use a liquid electrolyte — the electrically conductive material that fills the interior structure of the battery — which is sensitive to temperature changes and fluctuations of charging current. It’s why batteries take so long to charge — you have to mind the electrolyte.

New batteries — so-called solid-state batteries — do away with the liquid electrolyte and replace it with something like a ceramic structure. This makes for batteries that are more robust, faster to charge, and which can hold more energy. Stellantis Group — which includes the likes of Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, Fiat, and Jeep, has invested in battery-maker Factorial Energy, which is working on solid-state battery tech.

Stellantis has also started work on new lithium-sulphur batteries, which don’t use rare-Earth metals such as cobalt, nickel, or manganese. Not only do these metals trigger serious concerns about mining operations, in both an environmental and a human rights sense, but getting rid of them reduces the battery’s initial carbon impact by as much as 60 per cent.

In fact, next year Peugeot will be the first of the Stellantis brands to introduce the company’s new STLA electric car platform. “The STLA platform is capable of producing EVs with ranges from 500km to 800km” said Cusack. “Our first vehicle to move to this platform will be the eagerly awaited new e-3008 which will receive its international press release imminently. This vehicle will be launched in Ireland early next year. This vehicle will first come to the market with a 500km+ range giving our customers the benefit of new ranges and technologies, and it will be available with an optional extended range of 700km from 2025.” Ranges like that represent a significant game-change, as it removes so much of the worry of finding a charger when on a longer journey.

Cars will evolve inside too. While fully autonomous motoring may yet prove to be a chimera too far (there are about as many experts who say that self-driving cars are just around the corner as there are who say that they’re still decades away at best) the way we use and interact with our cars is already changing. Right now, you can connect your car to both the internet and your mobile phone and unlock the doors from half a world away, if you feel the need. Your phone — or even your smartwatch — can also act as your key, letting you in and starting the engine or electric motor, while the next step in that plan is to use a facial recognition camera that spots you walking up to the car and unlocks the doors. No more having to leave your car keys in your shoes when you’re having a quick swim.

Electric cars have, so far, been pretty fragile when it comes to second-hand values, as private used buyers seem to be more wary, and worried about laying down money on a car with a duff battery. While that will change as electric cars take over the market, in the meantime, a private lease, or a subscription service, might also help to insulate EV buyers from any fluctuations in second-hand values.

Critical to shoring up EV values will be further expanding their appeal to business users. “The highlight of the car market this year continues to be the performance of electric cars, with sales in July of 4,161 — a record monthly total for EVs,” said Brian Cooke, secretary general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. “So far this year 18,458 battery electric cars have been registered, an increase of nearly two-thirds on 2022. Taking a closer look at the EV registration numbers, the main driver of growth is from consumers, who do qualify for the grant, and account for over 76 per cent of EV sales. However, there also needs to be a focus on the business market, which without grant support really needs to see the extension of the BIK [benefit in kind] reliefs in Budget 2024, while investment in the public charging infrastructure is also crucial at this stage.”