Overview

Electromobility has a crucial role to play in decarbonising the planet. Transport is responsible for around 25% of the EU’s total CO2 emissions, with road transport representing the greatest share of this (72% in 2019).

The electrification of transport is playing a key role in the ongoing transformation of the mobility landscape, offering significant opportunities across the mobility ecosystem. There are also rigorous efforts underway to reduce average CO2 emissions from new vans and heavy-duty vehicles.

The ‘Space for Electromobility’ invitation to tender (ITT) offers funding for teams who would like to develop sustainable space-based services and applications that address challenges related to the electromobility ecosystem.

Scope

Countries around the world are introducing regulations and subsidies to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs). In Great Britain, the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate requires 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold tohave a  zero emission rating by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2035. In Europe, the European Green Deal is aiming to achieve a 90% reduction in transport-related greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, with a milestone of 55% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.

However, the continued acceleration of electrification is putting pressure on charging infrastructure, supply chains of critical components, and the electric grid network. The deployment, upgrade, and maintenance of key electromobility infrastructure must go hand in hand with EV adoption to ensure that there are no bottlenecks.

Topics of Relevance

Examples of services that could be relevant are outlined below. The list is not exhaustive as other services could also be evaluated if duly supported by user communities.

Expansion of charging infrastructure

This theme explores innovative applications to expand EV charging infrastructure in a variety of environments — rural areas, urban streets, along highways and in depots. The aim is to support the efficient and fair deployment of infrastructure to encourage the uptake of electric passenger cars, as well as the electrification of buses, coaches, and trucks:

• Urban Charging: There is a need for more efficient and data-driven decision making on the roll out of urban car charging infrastructure. Considering the large quantities of charging stations to be rolled out and maintained, innovative solutions are needed to identify which residential areas require on-street charging. This includes assessing factors such as residential property types, the availability of off-street parking, population density, commuting patterns, and proximity to existing charging infrastructure.

• Rural Charging: Equal access to charging stations is a critical factor in a fair and just transition to electromobility and the intention is to ensure that populations living in different environments can benefit whilst also supporting the electrification goals for heavy duty transport, where depots are often found in rural areas. There is a need to accelerate the electrification of rural bus, coach, and truck depots to enable the charging of heavy duty vehicles which are parked there for extended periods of time. Innovative solutions are needed to map depots and to quantify the efforts required to electrify them. Innovative Vehicle to Gird (V2G) solutions can also be employed to maximise the benefit of rural depot electrification. In addition, poor rural digital connectivity can impede EV users from locating and paying for EV charging. Innovative solutions to this problem would help to increase the accessibility of rural charge points.

• Grid resilience and flexibility: This topic explores innovative applications which augment electric grid resilience and flexibility to address the increased demand from EV charging.

The widescale adoption of EVs will bring a surge in electricity demand, especially during peak hours. If not managed effectively, this increased load may strain existing infrastructure, leading to potential overloads or blackouts. Improved forecasting and planning capabilities are required to adapt the electric grid for the varying charging patterns of EVs, as well as for integrating renewable energy sources.

There is a need for innovative services which employ smart grid technology to optimise energy distribution. This is possible by monitoring usage patterns, predicting demand, and dynamically adjusting energy distribution based on overall renewable energy generation. Furthermore, by integrating innovative V2G capabilities into smart grid infrastructures, grid operators can leverage the capacity of EV batteries to enhance grid flexibility.

Driving EV uptake

This theme explores innovative services for drivers and industry to encourage EV uptake, providing information on charging points or battery swapping locations, promoting optimal charging behaviour, and encouraging V2G applications.

EVs are highly regarded as a key technology for decarbonising the transport sector, yet uptake remains limited. This is because attaining EV targets relies on the willingness of consumers to embrace them and innovative services are needed to build consumer confidence and encourage the EV uptake.