Emissions generated by transport in Europe are still increasing, while electric mobility is struggling to take off. The main obstacles to the diffusion of e-mobility are the limited number of batteries on the market and the underdevelopment of infrastructure.
The EU’s transition to a low-carbon society
Greenhouse gases fell by 23% between 1990 and 2016, says the third report on the state of the Energy Union, which tracks the EU’s transition to a low-emission society. carbon. However, we must not let our guard down, because emissions from the transport sector continue to grow while electric vehicles still represent a niche market.
Promoting the electrification of public transport presents certain challenges: greater range means heavier batteries, which reduce the carrying capacity of vehicles and can damage road surfaces. Additionally, on a longer time scale, the recharge frame tends to narrow.
European mobility plans
One of Europe’s most advanced electric mobility plans is underway in Nottingham, UK, supported by the European REMOURBAN project. Among the initiatives, the city has established a fleet of 58 fully electric buses. Most of them are 9.2 meters long and can accommodate 43 people.
The last 13 vehicles purchased are larger – 12 meters long – have greater autonomy and can travel for up to 18 consecutive hours. Steve Cornes, senior public transport project manager at Nottingham City Council, said: “Our buses typically run between 5am and 8.30pm. Charging takes place over a five hour period at night, using local fares. “cheap electricity.”
More autonomy means heavier batteries. However, Richard Wellings, senior manager for public transport at Nottingham City Council, explains: “The heaviest buses in our fleet are equivalent in weight to the traditional double-decker buses which also operate in the city.
So they cause no more damage to our road surfaces or local streets than these vehicles.” Since 2012, Nottingham City Council’s electric vehicles have saved £300,000 (over €331,000) in fuel and to reduce carbon emissions by at least 1,050 tonnes.
The Remourban project in Spain
The Spanish city of Valladolid, which is also collaborating on the REMOURBAN project, has a small fleet of five 12-meter hybrid buses (diesel and electric) which operate on the 12 km long electric line. Six more new hybrid vehicles will be delivered at the end of this year and will cover another route. The buses are recharged quickly during the service at two points, at the start and end of the route,” explains José Barriga, general manager of Vectia Mobility, the company that manufactured the vehicles. “The buses charge at 150 kW in 4 minutes.”
Of course, these are not zero-emission vehicles, but “this concept helps to reduce the size of the battery and minimizes the cost and charge of the vehicles, while ensuring maximum capacity of transportation of passengers. The battery weight of our buses is around 400kg, which is significantly less than the 3-4 tonnes needed for those with overnight charging solutions.”
The electrification of private transport
Successful electrification of private transportation is even more difficult. First of all because of the high price of electric cars. In fact, the number of e-drivers is increasing in countries whose governments have supported them with generous incentives and tax breaks.
Electric mobility in Norway
The best example is Norway where, in 2017, zero-emission cars accounted for more than 50% of new car sales, a world record. Another important problem is the low coverage of charging infrastructure.
“The current situation shows very different levels of development for electric mobility, more advanced in the Baltic countries, more acceptable in Central Europe, definitely insufficient in the Southern States,” explains Fabio Capocaccia, president of the Istituto Internazionale delle Comunicazioni (IIC), Genoa, Italy.