What is electromobility (e-mobility)?
Electromobility in the modern sense is more than the traditional discipline focusing on the development and use of electric vehicles. Electromobility is a complex solution for utilising electrical energy as the most suitable energy source in contemporary Western civilization, combined with a new and revolutionary concept for resolving the issues surrounding the stability of energy and distribution networks by transforming them into smart grids.
The combination of electromobility and smart grids creates a new, dynamic, high-tech field that eliminates two key threats to the future development of Western civilization: the instability of energy grids and the unreliability of distribution and transport networks (strategic dependence on oil and gas, unpredictable price fluctuations, depletion of natural resources).
Moreover, electromobility also has the automatic effect of dramatically increasing the efficiency of all integrated cooperating systems while also producing unexpectedly significant gains for manufacturers, distributors and consumers.
The connection of electric vehicles to smart grids will naturally also significantly reduce costs and accelerate the mass adoption of electric vehicles, resulting in a dramatic increase in the stability of grids and the utilisation of all currently known production capacities, which will no longer be limited by the capacity of today’s distribution networks.
Electric vehicles
Even though it seems hard to believe, the first electrically powered vehicle was developed 180 years ago. Today, electric vehicles are not a pipe dream but a reality. Climate change, constantly rising fuel prices, mobility requirements and new technologies in the development of engines and batteries are all factors that make electric vehicles more accessible to everyone. We are no longer in the early stages of electric vehicles. The number of electric vehicles in the world is expected to increase to 14 million by 2020, which is a number representing tremendous potential.
A simple comparison shows that an electric vehicle is much more economical than a car running on fossil fuels. Most cars require about 5 litres of fuel to drive 100 kilometres, which costs roughly €7.5. With electric vehicles, however, average consumption is between €2-3 per 100 kilometres. The only thing that discourages people from purchasing an electric vehicle is the cost, but even that may not be a limiting factor in the near future. Electric vehicles now often cost about the same as cars with conventional diesel or petrol engines. Did you know that whenever you stop at a crossroads or at traffic lights, electric vehicles have zero consumption? The same also applies when you’re driving downhill, regardless of the currently selected gear.
Cars become mobile energy storage devices that can supply electricity back to smart grids. That is why electric vehicles are more than just a means of transport that is friendly to the environment. They are an important part of smart energy infrastructure and help the network compensate for the fluctuating supply of energy from renewable sources and advanced production units. The perfect model requires electric vehicles to be connected to the network very often (meaning not only in the garage during charging, but also, for example, in a garage at work, at a shopping centre car park or a Park and Ride facility). This makes it possible to not only charge the batteries of electric vehicles (i.e. purchase energy), but also to utilise the energy from the batteries to compensate for local consumption peaks (i.e. sell energy). This would of course require the consent of the owner of the electric vehicle, who will decide on the amount of their battery capacity that is made available to the administrator of the distribution network.
Demand for electric vehicles has remained constant in recent years and virtually all major car manufacturers are trying to get on board. For example, when Japan was hit several years ago by a massive earthquake and a subsequent tsunami, some clever electric vehicle owners were able to use them as a backup power source for their households. An electric vehicle can work as a domestic power plant.
Transforming society, however, will take a longer time. The oil business will disintegrate and the world will need only a fraction of current petroleum production for things such as plastics and drugs. The financing of vehicle purchases will be different because car repairs will be much less profitable; electric vehicles are composed of a far smaller number of parts, which should last for the entire lifetime of the vehicle.
Their battery has almost 100% efficiency and can last for thousands of kilometres, even though charging takes only minutes. Electric vehicles can travel up to 280 km on a single charge. Let’s end our dependence on anyone who can simply shut off the gas valve or decide that they no longer like our energy production. The development of this phenomenon is now a reality, and we will soon see for ourselves that the expectations are not exaggerated.
What is electromobility?
The dynamic and often turbulent development of civilization in the early 21st century offers great opportunities, but also brings unprecedented threats. Taking advantage of the opportunities and eliminating the threats on this strongly interconnected planet on which human society plays an increasingly important role requires understanding complex relationships of cause and effect and a detailed balancing of consumption and resources. For this reason, there are no simple solutions.
One of the attempts at a comprehensive systematic solution is electromobility, the global objective of which is to provide widely accessible mobility (transportation) on the level of regions, countries and even globally in order to gradually reduce the impact on the environment, energy dependence of individual territories and the consumption of non-renewable resources. In this concept, electromobility is an alliance of several complex systems:
- electric or hybrid vehicles;
- smart transport infrastructure;
- smart energy grids, including energy storage;
- networks of charging stations.