Highlights

“Transport will not have a future if we do not develop alternatives to oil on time. Electrification of road transport can profoundly modify the way mobility is organised,” European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, responsible for Transport, told the audience at EURELECTRIC’s Electric Vehicle Event in Brussels on 27 October. Receiving from Padraig McManus, CEO of Irish power group ESB, a Declaration by 50 electricity companies and associations vowing to work for the standardisation of re-charging infrastructure across Europe, Mr Tajani applauded the initiative and called on all stakeholders to “join forces to establish common standards” for standardising the necessary equipment.

Mr Tajani was speaking against the backdrop of an exhibition featuring thirteen fully-electric plug-in vehicles, including cars, vans and scooters, plus two plug-in hybrid models, provided by various European electricity companies, several of them through a joint venture with a car manufacturer. He then took the time to test out the electric charging posts developed by the electricity companies, which were also on display and in operation.

In total eleven electricity companies exhibited their charging post and - in cooperation with auto manufacturers - an electric vehicle. The exhibition featured a broad range of different types of vehicles ranging from sport cars such as the Tesla provided by RWE and a full electric Lotus Elite from ESSENT/ ENEXIS to more typical family cars like a rebuilt Volkswagen Golf brake from ENEXIS, to the Fiat Fiorino from CEZ and the Peugeot people carrier showcased by ESB. In addition a typical electric city car, the Norwegian Th!nk City, was present at the event in two models, courtesy of Fortum of Sweden and of the Dutch electricity distribution company Alliander. A traditional city car, the Mini, was exhibited by E.ON. The ESB Smiths Edison Van and the Piaggio Porter brought by ENEL showed that larger vehicles can also run impressively with an electric drive train. ENEL in cooperation with Piaggio demonstrated an interesting variety in range with the Piaggio Celestino and the Piaggio MP3 scooter. The exhibition also included two plug-in hybrid models - the Toyota Prius showcased by EDF and the Volvo V70 PHEV exhibited by Vattenfall.

Welcoming over 150 delegates from electricity companies, the automotive sector and equipment manufacturers, gathered with numerous EU officials, EURELECTRIC Secretary-General Hans ten Berge underlined the importance of setting standards for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Peter Birkner, Chair of the EURELECTRIC Networks Committee - which oversees the Task Force on Electric Vehicles - set out a broader vision of electric vehicles and their interactions with electricity distribution networks, pointing to the potential of electric cars as a valuable means of storing electricity and feeding it back to the grids. In this regard, he stressed the need to develop “more intelligent” distribution grids.

Antonio Tajani underlined that “energy efficiency is an overarching objective for all sectors of the economy,” (…) “zero emissions from electric vehicles is the ultimate dream of clean transport,” and electric vehicles “could be vital to achieve the EU 2020 targets on energy efficiency, CO₂ reduction* and renewable energy.” Of various alternatives to oil, which vary in maturity and potential, electricity has the advantage that it can be “produced from any primary energy source” and with the “dense electricity grid in Europe, an important part of the infrastructure for fuelling electric vehicles is already available,” the Transport Commissioner pointed out.

What is now needed, he stressed, is an effort to ensure compatibility across Europe, so that any car will be able to plug in at any charging station – which will require “political will to strengthen support for technological development.” Mr Tajani also offered the Commission’s help to “facilitate a broader initiative to harmonise charging systems” and highlighted some relevant future initiatives by the Commission. The forthcoming White Paper on sustainable transport will “need to give high weight to the development of secure, low-CO₂ transport fuels” while the €23 million demonstration project on electric mobility to be run under the aegis of the Energy & Transport directorate will “take on board EURELECTRIC recommendations to analyse the impact on electricity network architecture,” the Commissioner revealed.

The EURELECTRIC Board of Directors decided in 2008 to set up a Task Force on Electric Vehicles under the Networks Committee, representing Europe’s Distribution System Operators, to support the development and deployment of electric vehicles. The Declaration handed to the Transport Commissioner was drawn up under the aegis of the Task Force and its Chairman Thomas Theisen of RWE, in order to obtain political support for the standardisation of electric vehicle infrastructure and so pave the way for rapid deployment and long-lasting market penetration of electric vehicles.