Leaving decision making to special political and corporate interests (Americans call it capitalism) goes nowhere fast. Europe offers a more efficient alternative. https://electrek.co/2023/07/11/europe-passes-two-big-laws-to-make-ev-charging-a-whole-lot-better/ EV CHARGING EUROPE Europe passes two big laws to make EV charging a whole lot better Jameson Dow Jul 11 2023 - 2:23 pm PT The European Parliament adopted a set of rules today to improve the EV charging experience, focusing on easier payments, charging speed, and availability. In a separate move, the UK government is also currently proposing new rules for easier payments and charging station reliability. Both sets of rules stand to improve the EV charging experience for Europeans and possibly the rest of the world. Public charging has gotten a lot of attention lately as electric car sales continue to grow rapidly. Charging station operators are rushing to install chargers along major routes, trying to keep up with increasing demand from a ballooning EV fleet. This has led to some issues in various territories, with confusing payment systems, less-than-desired charger reliability, and a lack of high-speed charging along some routes. EU will mandate 400-600 kW charging every 60 km Today, the European Parliament made a big move to improve the experience by approving new rules as part of its “Fit for 55” package, intended to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. These regulations focus on expanding access to fast EV charging networks by mandating minimum speeds and distances between charging stations. The rules cover Europe’s “TEN-T core network,” the main arterial road networks that cover all of Europe, comparable to the US interstate highway system. Europe will mandate that, along these primary routes, chargers with at least 400 kW output must be placed at least every 60 km by 2026. In 2028, the minimum output will increase to 600 kW. There are additional rules for truck and bus charging, with charging points required every 120 km at an output of 1.4-2.8 MW, depending on the road. By 2027, Europe will develop a public database of these charging stations with information on availability, wait times, and pricing for different stations, regardless of network. Beyond these charge station mandates, the new rules also mandate simpler charger payments. As-is, some networks require subscriptions or app downloads. But under these rules, customers must be able to pay with cards or contactless devices, and prices must be displayed to the customer. Unrelated to EV charging, the EU also mandated cleaner maritime fuels, targeting an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas by 2050 and a requirement to use shore power while in ports. Both rules passed with massive majorities in the European Parliament. UK wants to mandate 99% charging station reliability Separately, the UK government has proposed rules focusing on charging experiences within the UK. The headline feature of these rules is a mandate for 99% charging station reliability in the UK. According to a 2017 survey, 15% of EV charging stations in the UK were out of service, decreasing to 8% in 2019. The UK wants to lower this number to 1%. Requiring 99% reliability could have benefits outside of the UK, as charging station manufacturers and station operators will have to step up their game and develop protocols for better reliability. The more territories that focus on reliability, the more likely these benefits might also bleed over to the ones that don’t. The Netherlands has led the way in this respect with a 99% reliability target of its own, and the UK government specifically pointed to the Dutch as a reason for its 99% target. This reliability focus comes with a requirement that charging station operators must provide a 24-hour helpline for when things go south. In addition to the reliability mandates, the UK rules would adopt payment and database requirements that are similar to the EU rules, mandating per-kWh pricing, price displays, contactless payments, and live data on charge point availability. However, they only apply to fast chargers of 8 kW or above – slower public AC chargers are exempt. These UK rules haven’t been officially adopted yet, but once they are, they will take one year to go into force. So the UK might get its rules before the EU if the government moves quickly enough. Electrek’s Take This is a good step forward, not just for Europeans but for electric car drivers everywhere. Big moves like this tend to spread, as can be seen with the similarities between EU and UK rules on charging and the UK’s specific callout of the Netherlands in its reliability target. So perhaps some of these requirements will percolate to other areas, and maybe we’ll get a little more charger reliability here in the US as a result.
Europe & Asia are better these large infrastructure projects than the US. There are too many local governments here especially in California that need approval to do transport projects. I think that's the reason BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is terrible.
I don't think that's correct. I think a majority of Americans believe that business competition results in the best product/service at the best price (efficiency) to benefit consumers and that government intervention is a impediment to that goal. European believe that businesses seek to maximize profits and government is key to protect consumers with their interventions. In this case, European government defines what businesses are allowed to compete over and what services they must offer. In the US, it's a free for all of good, bad and ugly often caught up in consumer lawsuits, special interest challenges and jurisdictional conflicts, all in the expectation that some day it will be the best.
What you said is true about the difference in the 2 cultures, but Transportation projects are not really done by private corporations except maybe these EV charging companies. Subways, Light Rails, etc. are almost always done by a government body (BART, AC Transit, CalTrans, etc.).
And another instance of decisive EU government rule to benefit consumers: https://www.androidauthority.com/phones-with-replaceable-batteries-2027-3345155/ It's official: Smartphones will need to have replaceable batteries by 2027 Almost every smartphone — including iPhones — will need to have a replaceable battery by 2027. By C. Scott Brown The European Council has ended its adoption procedure for rules related to phones with replaceable batteries. By 2027, all phones released in the EU must have a battery the user can easily replace with no tools or expertise. The regulation intends to introduce a circular economy for batteries. In the middle of June, we shared a news report about the future of replaceable batteries in smartphones. That report focused on the European Parliament voting to enact a law forcing manufacturers of all battery-powered devices — including smartphones — to offer easily replaceable batteries. This week, the European Council officially agreed to the new regulation. Now, the only step left is for the European Council and Parliament to sign on the dotted line. Once they do, the clock starts ticking: any manufacturer wanting to sell phones in the EU must ensure those phones have replaceable batteries by 2027. Phones with replaceable batteries: What does this law mean? The European Council only has jurisdiction over Europe, obviously. So this law will not, technically, have an effect in any other area of the world. However, that doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things. Companies like Samsung, Google, Apple, etc., don’t design devices specific to Europe. Apple, for example, is not going to create a European iPhone with a replaceable battery and one for the United States without. In other words, this law will change all iPhones. It will also change all tablets, laptops, EVs, e-bikes, and anything else with a rechargeable battery. The grace period from now until 2027 is to give OEMs enough time to redesign their products. This new law states, specifically, that users should be able to replace a battery in their phone without any special expertise or tools. Being that almost all smartphones today are designed like a “glass sandwich” that relies on extensive use of adhesives, the very fundamentals of how companies design phones will need to change. It’s too early to say yet how this law will change iPhones, Galaxy S phones, Pixels, etc. However, they will change in response to this law, which is huge news. What is the intention of this law? This law exists to force manufacturers to create a circular economy for batteries. A “circular economy” refers to a manufacturing model in which the resources put into it are recycled or reused as much as possible. In a perfect world, the resources needed to create a smartphone would be sourced 100% from older smartphones, so nothing new would ever need to be used. Obviously, the 100% figure would be practically impossible, but getting much closer to 100% is a very realistic goal. Here are some other rules this new law covers related to phones with replaceable batteries: Collection of waste: OEMs will need to collect 63% of portable batteries that would normally go to a landfill by the end of 2027. By the end of 2030, that number should be at 73%. Recovery of waste: Lithium recovery from waste batteries will need to be at 50% by 2027. By the end of 2031, it should be at 80%, meaning 80% of the lithium inside a battery can be recovered and repurposed for new batteries. Recycling minimums: Industrial, SLI, and EV batteries will need to be made up of certain percentages of recycled content. Initially, this will be 16% for cobalt, 85% for lead, 6% for lithium, and 6% for nickel. Early recycling efficiency target: Nickel-cadmium batteries should have a recycling efficiency target of 80% by the end of 2025. All other batteries should be at a 50% efficiency target by 2025. What happens now? We likely won’t see anything change this year. However, over the next few years, you’ll likely begin to see smartphones with slightly different designs as manufacturers move toward compliance with this new law. It will take years before manufacturers will have the designs, supply chains, and equipment needed to create phones with replaceable batteries at scale. Remember that consumers expect certain things from smartphones nowadays, which will mean that OEMs can’t just go back to the old way of doing things. An IP68 rating would be very difficult to obtain while still offering a premium-feeling device with an easily replaceable battery, for example. These are hurdles OEMs will need to get over to be in compliance. Regardless, things are going to be very different in just a few years!
And an example of US capitalism at its worst: Texas solar and wind are setting records, and the state’s grid can’t handle it Michelle Lewis | Jul 13 2023 - 11:52 am PT 25 Comments Texas solar and wind are going to double by 2035, but if the state’s grid isn’t upgraded, then all that power is going to go to waste, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA’s analysis released this month, A Case Study of Transmission Limits on Renewables Growth in Texas, found that if Texas doesn’t expand ERCOT’s electrical transmission network, congestion and curtailments are going to rise. (ERCOT, or the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, operates the state’s electrical grid.) The study states that the “curtailments are due to both inadequate transmission capacity and surplus generation during high availability periods of variable renewable generation.” So, the grid operators need to find a balance between electricity supply and demand to achieve reliability. In 2022, ERCOT curtailed 5% of its total available wind generation and 9% of total available utility-scale solar generation. By 2035, however, the EIA projects that wind curtailments in ERCOT could increase to 13% of total available wind generation, and solar curtailments could reach 19%. And that’s because the EIA is assuming that “no significant upgrades will be made to the ERCOT transmission grid.” That’s surprising, considering the fact that Texas consumes more energy than any other state in the US. The EIA continues: Our analysis shows that on days with more wind and solar generation and strong system electricity demand, limited transmission line capacity restricted wind and solar generation flows, and curtailments occurred. These types of curtailments account for 36% of the projected curtailments in 2035, which could be reduced by upgrading the transmission system. The EIA’s suggestion to help mitigate this problem when there’s high demand, and strong power supply from solar and wind – like now, during this extreme heat wave – is battery storage. Well, quite. The Texas grid isn’t connected to any other US grid, so it can’t shed or share load where there is a supply-demand imbalance for electricity – and that’s why it had such major problems in the Big Freeze of 2021.
%% LOL that why capital markets work so well; + US -EV sales are so lo\6% NOPE\ TX greenies goofed it up/ God bless TX , fossil fuels. Wind turbines are such bird killers
I think the U.S. should mandate standardized vehicle battery sizes and connections. Battery internal design and technology could still vary according to the company making them. We should have the option of buying a battery which we can charge or simply renting a charged battery. So when we go to a charging station we would simply swap out our rented battery in a minute or two for a charged one. We would pay for the charge plus a small rental fee. This would allow for the cost of the battery to be amortized over its lifetime, rather than having to pay for it up front and then in another 50-80K miles having to buy another battery. This would substantially lower the initial cost of electric vehicles, and completely eliminate the high up front cost of replacing a spent battery. Of course this scheme would require that the means of placing batteries into vehicles be standardized and somewhat automated. Then you could "refuel" in a matter of a few minutes. It would take way less time to swap out a battery than it does to pump 20 gallons of gasoline. Our vast network of today's filling stations would simply convert to battery swapping stations. For this to work, each battery would have to include internal electronics that would prevent the charging of a rented battery away from official swap stations.This would be a trivial matter to electronically accomplish however. (If you owned a hybrid vehicle, you'd still have to buy your battery.) Their are major advantages for the consumer of handling batteries in this way: 1) With battery size and connections standardized you are not locked into one manufacturer and one technology; 2) getting a fresh battery will be be much faster than charging; 3) you only pay for the battery in proportion to the amount you drive!!! [This is a huge advantage for the consumer!!!, and can bring the cost of electric vehicle ownership way down for those who drive very little.] Of course the only way this could work is with government standardization and mandates, which would seem impossible to achieve given our present dysfunctional Congress. Congress can't even get it together long enough to build a national high speed rail network, or create uniform gun regulation, so I doubt they could get it together long enough to standardize car batteries and installation. We will have proprietary battery chaos instead along with high consumer costs.
Two problems with that. A. You'd have to design a whole new car with a new chassis, because at it is now batteries (PLURAL, there's not just one) are integrated into the frame of the car and wired out the gazoo. B. You ever see the size of the battery for something like an electric reach truck? The thing is MASSIVE and weighs probably 800 pounds. In toto an electric car's battery pack is most likely at LEAST that much, so it's not just a few-minute swap. While you're on the subject of pipe-dreams, where the hell is the flying car? It's been 60 years since the Jetsons teased us with one, yet we are nowhere near even a working practical model.