The momentum of electric vehicles appears to be reaching close to a critical mass, but a major study suggests it will take the work of trained electricians building charging stations at an unprecedented rate for EVs to reach a critical mass.
It is a vital part, alongside higher capacity batteries which will enable a longer range, of eliminating range anxiety.
The UK Government had pledged previously to increase the public charging network to 300,000 charging stations by 2030. However, would this be enough to convince people that range anxiety is no longer a factor?
One major study by The AA suggests it is close, but not quite close enough.
More Capacity, More EVs
The study of over 8,000 prospective EV drivers focused on a range of different measures that could be taken to convince them to take the final step and finally switch from a petrol or diesel car.
One question that was asked was how many charge points would be required to make them feel confident that they could always find a place to charge their vehicle and avoid the possibility (one that the AA claims is unlikely) of running out of charge.
The average figure suggested was 380,000, which is remarkably close to the government target, but the extra capacity would be significant to get people to change, as long as said chargers were installed in the right places.
As well as this, these new chargers would need to address the matter of speed. There is theoretically a charging point in every home but charging a car using a mains supply and a conversion cable is both slow and unsafe.
A Visible Charging Network
Whilst boosting the infrastructure is essential, raising greater awareness of it was also a major part of the survey responses.
There was a concern that many charging stations were “hiding in plain sight” and there was a wide range of suggestions to help with this.
One of the simplest, and one that would be reported on the most, was changing the colour of the charging point road signs from blue to green, to make them stand out more and make it clear compared to the more general blue parking sign.
A clear universal sign was also suggested, similar to those used for advertising petrol stations, as well as the same kinds of digital pricing boards used on the forecourt to advertise the cost of electricity and make it clear the level of savings EV drivers are getting.
Finally, some suggested that charge points should be included on petrol and diesel car satellite navigation systems in the same way they have been for EVs since the launch of the Nissan Leaf.
A highly visible, expansive and enhanced charging network will have the greatest effect in convincing people to switch to electric cars, and this requires the work of skilled electricians who have been trained to work safely to construct high-speed charging stations.
As the network has increased in size and improved in quality, EV sales have increased exponentially, to the point that it has reached a critical mass.