Monday, May 18, 2009
A CHANGE of mindset is needed if Ireland is to reach its target of having electric vehicles make up 10% of the car market by 2020.
The Government aims to have 250,000 vehicles running on electricity by that time but, according to a leading academic, one of the biggest challenges for Ireland as it tries to make the transition from fossil fuel to long-distance electric cars is acceptance of them as a mode of transport.
Like many other things that are new, it will take some getting used to, and time will have to pass before such cars come to be regarded just like petrol and diesel-powered cars.
Acceptance was the exact word used by the president of the worldwide Electrochemical Society, Professor Noel Buckley, when he said all studies show that people are very supportive of clean energy, but when it comes to them going out and buying an electric car they are not quite as supportive.
"Cost is also an issue, but as soon as demand goes up cost will come down," he pointed out.
"The first thing you have to do is make sure it does not cost any more and, essentially, Government is going to have to introduce incentives, through taxation or otherwise, to make sure that this is not a cost-prohibitive move."
Something else that will make electric vehicles (EVs) more attractive is a proposal to have public battery charging points, to be provided by the ESB, in most major towns and cities. Drivers will be able to plug in and recharge car batteries, using a smartcard payment system.
A Californian company has developed technology which switches a depleted electric battery faster than the time it takes to fill a tank with petrol – and the driver doesn’t have to get out of the car.
Prof Buckley, meanwhile, believes Ireland has an opportunity to take a world lead in long-range electric vehicles and create thousands of jobs in the process.
He told the Energy to Drive the Irish Economy conference ’09, at the University of Limerick, a very significant opportunity arises for Ireland to take an international lead and attract large manufacturers of electric vehicles to set up operations here.
"Most of the electric car or battery manufacturing companies have an interest in the type of technology we are advancing here in Ireland at the moment and if we really embrace this as a potential growth area, it is reasonable to expect that some of these companies could establish bases here to take advantage of the expertise, the professor went on.
"No nation has taken a clear lead in this sector. We are in a really good position to take that lead thanks to the cohort of graduates and post-graduates with the expertise we are supplying, as well as the research into related technologies we are advancing."
Also, as we do not have a native manufacturer now, there would be no threat to existing jobs, Mr Buckley remarked.
"A lot of countries have an interest in this sector at present, but none is at an advanced stage of developing it, and we should as an absolute priority and necessity try and seize this opportunity."
Professor Buckley was one of several energy experts to highlight opportunities the energy crisis was opening up for Ireland, with ‘green’ being seen as one of the few likely growth areas in the economic downturn.
In response to the energy crisis and the potential job prospects in the renewable energy area, the University of Limerick has rolled out a new undergraduate programme, the BSc in energy, which will welcome its first students in September.
Meanwhile, Better Place, the California-based electric vehicle services provider, claims to have reached a milestone in accelerating the mass-market adoption of electric vehicles by demonstrating the latest in battery-switch technology. Launched in Yokohama, Japan, a country often at the forefront of motor engineering for years, the technology should lead to further acceptance of EVs.
Shai Agassi, founder and chief executive of Better Place, was obviously upbeat at the unveiling of the first battery switch platform. "Today, we’re demonstrating a new path forward where the future of transportation and energy is driven by our desire for a clean planet and a robust economic recovery fuelled by investments in clean technology." In short, the technology offers drivers several ways to recharge their electric cars, including networks of charge spots and battery-switch stations powered by renewable energy.
The automated process, which takes about a minute, is faster than filling a tank with petrol. It removes a depleted battery and transfers a fully-charged battery into the vehicle, with the driver remaining in the vehicle.
The system works with two robotic battery shuttles on an automated track system. One battery shuttle holds the fully-charged battery, which is inserted into the vehicle, while the other shuttle simply removes the depleted battery.
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