Researchers tackle the biggest problems facing electric vehicles
Kelvin Ross
Posted on: 8 June 2022
Off-grid, renewable energy-powered charging stations for EVs are being explored in an £8m project.
Off-grid, renewable energy-powered charging stations for EVs are being explored in an £8m project
A coalition of researchers from the UK universities of Surrey, Southampton and Sheffield are working to develop and demonstrate solutions that will help sustain the future use of EVs and maintain their popularity and sustainability.
The researchers have three key focus areas: how to achieve significant growth in the electric vehicle charging infrastructure to meet the growing demand; facilitate the continued development of onshore renewable generation for use in EV charging stations; and ensure charging infrastructure isn't constrained by the National Grid.
The five-year project, called the Future Electric Vehicle Energy Networks supporting Renewables (FEVER), starts work in September.
Electric vehicle revolution
Dr Mona Chitnis, co-investigator and Senior Lecturer in Energy Economics at Surrey University, said: "The good news is that the electric vehicle revolution is a significant opportunity for us all to drastically reduce CO2 emissions and start to address the harm we are doing to our planet.
"However, to reap all the benefits presented by EVs, we need to make sure that the energy that powers them is coming from low-carbon or entirely renewable sources.
"This is the grand aspiration of this project, and indeed the University of Surrey, and I look forward to working with colleagues from academia and industry throughout the duration of this project."
The FEVER team will look to design and develop an EV charging solution that can fully deliver grid-independence.
To do this, the team will use renewable generation within an innovative off-vehicle energy storage system to offer secure, year-round, grid-independent charging.
Moving beyond the state-of-the-art technologies, a cost-effective and socially acceptable 'hybrid' off-vehicle energy storage system will also be developed, that is suitable for both urban and rural deployment and use.
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