electric cars

Innovation race in electric mobility: solar cars, electric planes, vehicle-to-grid projects

November 13, 2018 by Karel Beckman

ENERGY WATCH #3 - November 13, 2018

Innovation race in electric mobility: solar cars, electric planes, vehicle-to-grid projects

by Karel Beckman

While nuclear power is struggling, developments – and innovations – in electric mobility keep on racing ahead, as we note in almost every issue of Energy Post Weekly.

Steve Hanley reports on CleanTechnica that Danish bicycle maker Biomega has just introduced the SIN 4-passenger electric car in Singapore.

The SIN “is intended strictly for the congestion that is commonplace in Singapore and other large world cities. The company plans to bring it to market no later than 2023.”

The SIN is constructed of what the company calls “modular carbon fiber” developed with partners in Germany and the UK. It weighs 950 kilograms including the batteries, seats four people, has four wheel steering, and four electric motors with a total of 80 horsepower, according to DesignBoom. Its range is said to be 160 kilometers from two batteries — a 14 kWh fixed battery and a 6 kWh battery that can be removed for easy charging.

“Biomega adheres to the less-is-more approach of Scandinavian design standards. Through the resulting uncluttered interior, the car rejects superfluous styling in favor of low cost, comfort and sustainability,” the company says. It sees the SIN as being ideal for ride-sharing and ride-hailing services in crowded urban areas.

Biomega says the SIN will sell for around $23,000. Hanley notes that this “is exactly the price Volkswagen says its entry level electric car based on its new MEB chassis will cost. Presumably, Volkswagen expects that car to come with such amenities as doors, windshield wipers, cup holders, and the other accoutrements real car buyers are accustomed to having in their cars.” In other words, the SIN will probably need to be significantly cheaper if it is to become a success, Hanley suggests.

And there is more innovation going on in the electric mobility space.

The website The Driven reports that Hyundai and Kia cars may be powered by solar roof tech by 2019.

“South Korean carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are going one better than creating an EV charging network powered by solar energy – they want their cars to capture their own energy, via solar roof technology – and as soon as next year”, writes The Driven.

There will be three types of solar cells applied to the cars. The first could recharge a car’s battery by up to 30 to 60 per cent each day, potentially adding range without a stop at a charging station.

A second-gen semi-transparent system is also being launched, that would act as a “sun roof” – in more ways than one – and also a third-gen version that can be applied to the car bodies.

The solar panels would be compatible with not only hybrid and electric vehicles but also pure internal combustion cars, Hyundai stated in a press release.

Jeong-Gil Park, executive vice president of engineering design at Hyundai says the technology will elevate the role of the EV driver from just another consumer of centrally generated power.

“This will enable them to develop from a passive device that consumes energy to a solution that actively generates energy. The paradigm of the vehicle owner will shift from that of a consumer to an energy prosumer,” Park said in a statement.

Progress also continues to be made in electric planes.

Israeli-based electric aircraft maker Eviation is building the first of its all-electric passenger aircraft, called Alice, in France, The Driven reports.

The all-electric aircraft will carry up to 9 passengers, have a range of up to 1,000kms, and allow air travel providers to offer flights between regional centres, rather than through a central, city hub.

APAC business development lead Ron Hoffman gave a briefing about the proposal on Friday at the Australian Electric Vehicle Association conference in Brisbane. He says the maintenance and power costs of Alice’s emissions-free engine (presuming it’s charged with renewables) are around 30 per cent of conventional aircraft, which can cost $300 per flight hour for aviation fuel and $200 per flight hour for maintenance.

“The price will be comparable to a train and faster than driving [for] hours in a car,” Hoffman tells The Driven. “The interesting prospect is that there is a whole, new bigger network that was never dreamt before as commercially viable.”

Carrying a 900kWh li-ion energy pack, Alice will be able to travel much further than other electric aircraft being developed, such as air taxis like Kitty Hawk’s Cora, which is being tested in New Zealand and can fly up to 100km per flight, notes The Driven.

With Alice’s 1000km range, “new connections and new networks … suddenly make sense,” says Hoffman.

Eviation’s all-electric Alice airplane

Additionally, because Alice has no engine noise, there is the possibility of being able to open up discount flight options in the curfew hours between 11pm and 5am.

With the first batch of aircraft already under production in France, Eviation plan to introduce Alice at the Paris Air Show next year, writes The Driven. After the air show, Eviation will take Alice to the US, where it will go through an FAA certification process to fly in US airspace.

In the U.S. work is continuing on the development of a “powerful new battery that could give us electric planes that don’t pollute”, reports James Temple on MIT Technology Review.

Materials science professor Yet-Ming Chiang (MIT) and mechanical engineering professor Venkat Viswanathan (Carnegie Mellon) are trying to develop a battery that will enable electric planes to get off the ground. They are “taking a different approach … altering not the composition of the batteries but the alignment of the compounds within them. By applying magnetic forces to straighten the tortuous path that lithium ions navigate through the electrodes, the scientists believe, they could significantly boost the rate at which the device discharges electricity.”

That shot of power could open up a use that has long eluded batteries: meeting the huge demands of a passenger aircraft at liftoff, writes Temple. If it works as hoped, it would enable regional commuter flights that don’t burn fuel or produce direct climate emissions.

Viswanathan and Chiang are collaborating with 24M, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer Chiang cofounded in 2010, and Zunum Aero, an aircraft startup based in Bothell, Washington, to develop and test prototype batteries specifically designed for the needs of an advanced hybrid plane.

The article explains the research project in some details, but ends on some cautious remarks. It quotes

Richard Anderson, an aerospace engineer and director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Eagle Flight Research Center, who points out that “batteries are at least 20 times heavier than fuel for a given amount of energy output. He is skeptical that companies pursuing hybrid commuter flights, like Zunum, can find enough ways to offset that added weight in the next few years. He also thinks the field is overestimating how quickly hybrid planes will be able to reach longer distances—while underestimating the regulatory challenges they’ll face.”

Indeed, the MIT and Carnegie researchers themselves “are quick to say that other big battery improvements will still be required to extend the range of electric planes, which may necessitate a shift to entirely different chemistries. On top of that, planes will probably need to be fundamentally redesigned to reduce energy demands, potentially by redistributing motors or changing the shape of the body to reduce drag, Viswanathan says.”

But he and Chiang are working to develop a technical capability that would be required regardless of any other advances, he says. “Even if other battery engineers find ways to make electric planes to fly a thousand miles, they’ll still need enough power to get off the ground.”

Another important type of innovation is to be found in vehicle-to-grid technology (V2G), which promises to turn EV drivers into power generators and to integrate EVs into the electricity system.

How far has this technology advanced by now? UK consultancy Everoze recently produced an overview of 50 V2G projects going on in the world. The report, commissioned by UK Power Networks and Innovate UK, draws the following “lessons learned” from what it calls its V2G Global Roadtrip:

Vehicle-to-Grid is commercially viable: the Parker Project in Denmark has for the last two years been providing a commercial ‘frequency response’ service to the Danish equivalent of National Grid. This service requires the ability to respond to a grid signal within 2 seconds and is on call 24/7. In the US and UK market, businesses will soon have access to commercial offers that use V2G to reduce the costs of EV ownership.
Vehicle-to-Grid can offer unique value over and above smart charging: V2G is particularly useful when i) combined with excess solar capacity, allowing households and businesses to increase their own self-consumption of on-site renewables, ii) where there are high peak prices or time of use charges iii) where longer duration services are required.
Industry needs to reduce the cost and expand the range of the hardware (chargers and vehicles) while refining the offer to customers, in order to unlock mainstream potential. In parallel network operators need to simplify grid connection standards and design service specifications with V2G in mind.

Although much of the EV revolution is yet to happen, sales of EVs in Europe are continuing to rise. According to new data from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, released on 8 November, in the third quarter of 2018 “demand for alternatively-powered cars in the European Union continued to post strong growth (+29.7%), mostly driven by the strong performance of battery (+37.4%), hybrid (+37.1%) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (+24.5%). Demand for LPG and NGV vehicles also increased – up 11.8% in the third quarter of the year – supported by growth of both natural gas and propane-fuelled cars.”

Demand for alternatively-powered vehicles significantly increased in all the major EU markets, notes the EAMA. APV registrations saw the highest percentage gains in Spain (+62.5%) – thanks to a notable uplift in the LPG and NGV segments – and Germany (+51.4%).

Sales of petrol cars also rose – by 15% – notes the EAMA. Demand for diesel cars on the other hand went down by 18%.

For an overview of European EV markets and polices, see this recent article on Automotive News Europe.

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EDF pitches to become leading e-mobility provider in Europe, Renault builds storage plant from EV batteries

October 16, 2018 by Karel Beckman

ENERGY WATCH #3 - October 16, 2018

EDF pitches to become leading e-mobility provider in Europe, Renault builds storage plant from EV batteries

by Karel Beckman

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EDF subsidiary Sodetrel supplies EV charging

In the electricity sector, the energy transition comes in the form of renewable energy. In the transport sector, a similar transition is taking place, in the form of electric cars.

It is still a slow, almost stealthy transition, which has no impact yet on oil demand, but it has all the signs of a gathering storm. We have been following developments in the EV market closely on Energy Post Weekly, and almost every week has brought major news from major companies (such as here, here, and here – and you can go through our archives for more.)

This week is no exception. On 10 October, French state-owned EDF – the largest utility company in Europe – has announced it “intends to become Europe’s leading e-mobility energy company by 2022”.

EDF launched what it calls its Plan Mobilité Electrique (Electric Mobility Plan) in order to become the sector’s leading energy company on its four biggest European markets: France, UK, Italy and Belgium.

This comes after launching the Plan Solaire (Solar Plan) in December 2017 and the Plan Stockage Electrique (Electricity Storage Plan) in March 2018.

In France, “EDF is already a standard-bearer in the electric mobility sector”, notes the company – which has a great advantage in that its own electricity generation is 87% CO2-free thanks to its nuclear power stations. “The Group has put together dedicated offerings that include the supply of low-carbon electricity and charging solutions. It is also one of the biggest charging network operators thanks to its subsidiary Sodetrel, which operates 5 000 charging points in France and provides access to 60 000 charging points in Europe for customers with a Sodetrel Pass.”

With the Electric Mobility Plan, EDF is “stepping up the pace” by setting three concrete targets on its four main European markets:

Becoming the leading power supplier for electric vehicles by 2022

EDF is aiming to supplying power for 600 000 electric vehicles, equating to 30% of market share in France, the UK, Italy and Belgium. Starting in 2019, the Group will present each of these markets with a fully integrated range of offerings including low carbon electricity, a charging solution for all its customers with access to a parking space, and services geared towards optimised charging and use of the vehicle’s battery.

Becoming the biggest charging network operator

EDF will become the leading public and private charging network operator in the four core European countries. Through its subsidiary Sodetrel, the Group is aiming to deploy 75,000 charging points and provide its customers in Europe with access to 250,000 interoperable terminals by 2022. EDF will also be developing novel charging solutions for all customers without access to a parking space, in particular through collaborative innovation initiated by EDF New Business and EDF R&D.

Becoming Europe’s “smart charging” leader

Electric mobility will transform power systems as the electric vehicle is also a battery that can be used for the grids to balance load during periods of high demand. With its Electric Mobility Plan, the Group will become Europe’s smart charging leader, aiming to operate 4 000 smart charging points by 2020.

EDF notes that “the Plan Mobilité Electrique relies on new partnerships with innovative players who are leaders in their respective markets.”

The first series of partnerships has been formed between:

EDF and NUVVE: EDF Renewables North America holds a minority interest in NUVVE, a Californian start-up based in San Diego specialising in the aggregation and harnessing of flexible solutions for energy markets, associated with the charging of electric vehicles. EDF and NUVVE have signed a strategic partnership agreement with a view to forming a joint venture to develop these solutions in Europe.

EDF and Ubitricity: EDF and German-based start-up Ubitricity have been commercial and technological partners since 2014. Ubitricity has developed an innovative solution to convert existing streetlights into charging points and delivered several projects in Europe and across the world. Citelum (100% affiliate of

EDF Group) and Ubitricity are partnering to integrate this innovative solution to Citelum’s “smart city” range of product.

EDF and Renault have formed a partnership to develop shared offerings and to experiment electric mobility solutions in isolated regions and big cities.

EDF and Toyota have been electric mobility partners with a focus on R&D since 2007 and have extended this partnership to low-carbon industrial performance on the Onnaing site in Valenciennes since 2017. The expertise of both EDF and Toyota is now opening the way to new cooperative endeavours in the areas of smart charging and hydrogen charging station specifications.

EDF and Valeo: EDF, the low carbon energies champion and Valeo, the leader in high and medium voltage electrification, have formed a partnership to monitor the development of future battery technologies and charging solutions, as well as the development of mobility services. This partnership will be supported by the installation of shared demonstrators.

EDF Energy (100% subsidiary of the EDF Group) and Nissan International have formed a UK-based partnership for the development of shared offerings in the areas of electric mobility, smart charging, second-life battery use, energy storage and renewable energy sources. The two partners will be pooling their international experience and know-how in these areas, thereby helping to develop low-carbon, innovative and responsible transportation systems.

***

What is particularly noteworthy about EDF’s announcement is that it comes from a major incumbent company. In this respect there is an important difference between the EV revolution and the renewables revolution. In the latter case, incumbent utility companies initially resisted the transition. In the case of EVs, they have an interest in advancing it.

For incumbent European car companies the story is different of course. They have needed competition from Tesla to be shaken out of their lethargy.

Arguably with one exception: French-Japanese car maker Renault-Nissan has long been in the forefront of the EV revolution. As far back as 2008, Renault and Nissan formed a joint venture with Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi, based on an inventive battery swap scheme. The company, Better Place, went bankrupt in 2013.

But Renault-Nissan-Mitsbushi, as the company is now called (it is said to be the biggest car manufacturer in the world) has not given up on its EV ambitions. The Nissan Leaf, for example, has been Europe’s bestselling car in the lower price segment.

Recently, at the end of September, the Renault Group launched Advanced Battery Storage, “a stationary storage system for energy developed exclusively from EV batteries.”

The new battery system, with a storage capacity of at least 60 MWh, making it the biggest system of its kind ever built in Europe, will solve two problems at one stroke: it will help integrate intermittent power generation from renewables – and it will be built with used EV batteries.

The first facilities will be developed in early 2019 on three sites in France and Germany: at the Renault plants in Douai and Cléon and at a former coal-fired plant in North Rhine-Westphalia. The storage capacity will then be gradually expanded over time to contain the energy of 2,000 EV batteries. At this phase, the system will have reached – or more likely, exceed – the 60 MWh, equivalent to the daily consumption of a city of 5,000 households, notes Renault.

The system will use both second-life batteries, as well as new batteries stored for future use in standard replacement during after-sales operations.

What is important about this move is that it will extend Renault’s role as a vehicle manufacturer “to become a player in the smart electric and energy ecosystems”, as the company notes, “with the help of its partners. As part of the “Advanced Battery Storage” program, Groupe Renault has joined up with several players including La Banque des Territoires, the Mitsui Group, Demeter (via le Fonds de Modernisation Ecologique des Transports), andThe Mobility House.”

***

How fast the EV revolution could happen, if the right incentives are put in place, is demonstrated by Norway, global leader in EV sales.

The latest data show that this oil and gas exporter achieved record EV sales in September. As the website The Driven reports, “Of 10,620 new passenger vehicles registered in Norway, nearly half were electric, according to the Norwegian Road Traffic Advisory Council (OFV).”

“The car market in September was particularly special, new Norway records and a new world record were introduced for the sale of electric cars,” said Øyvind Solberg Thorsen, director of the OFV.

For the first time in modern history, electric cars stood for almost half of passenger car sales for a month, notes The Driven. “New electric cars had a market share of 45.3 per cent, and including imports of almost new electric cars, the proportion was 47.7 per cent.”

“Such an increase in electric car sales caused a record low CO2 emissions of 55 g/km. Although we in Norway are accustomed to average CO2 emissions falling from month to month, this is the lowest level we have ever measured,” said Solberg Thorsen.

One of the reasons behind the record-breaking month is the introduction of stricter methods of measuring fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, notes The Driven. “The new measurement method means higher consumption and CO2 emissions and therefore entails that taxes increase on most passenger cars with internal combustion engines, including rechargeable hybrids.”

Comparing CO2 emissions levels from the previous year, average emissions for all first-time registered new passenger cars in September 2018 came in at 55g/km, a full 16g/km lower than September 2017.

Of the 10,620 passenger cars sold, 4810 new passenger cars were registered with zero emissions, 954 more than 12 months previous when the market share was 28.6 per cent. Only eight of the new registered passenger cars in September were hydrogen cars, the rest were battery electric cars.

While all-electric and hydrogen vehicles registrations increased, hybrids dropped, notes The Driven.

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Once more, renewable energy investment is … down

October 16, 2018 by Express Editor

EXPRESS #1 - October 16, 2018

Once more, renewable energy investment is … down

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Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors carried out successful financing round

In spite of all the progress made by renewable energy and EVs, global investment trends are not all that reassuring for the energy transition.

We have already reported on this twice before on Energy Post Weekly, in August and May. On 9 October, Bloomberg New Energy Finance came out with third-quarter investment figures which again showed a decline in renewable energy investment.

According to BNEF, global clean energy investment was $67.8 billion in the third quarter of 2018, down 6% from the same period last year.

“The slip in the July-September quarter leaves investment for the year so far running a modest 2% below that in the first nine months of 2017”, BNEF notes, adding hopefully that this is “leaving open the possibility that 2018 as a whole will end up matching last year’s total, particularly if a few more multibillion-dollar offshore wind deals are concluded before Christmas.”

BNEF includes equity raising by specialist electric vehicle companies in its clean energy investment totals, and this element was a conspicuous bright spot in the latest quarter. “There was a $1 billion initial public offering by NIO, a $585 million Series C venture capital round by Guangzhou Xiaopeng Motors and a $294 million pre-IPO round by Zhejiang Dianka Automobile.”

Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport analysis at BNEF, said that there is a growing amount of money chasing China’s electric vehicle boom. “We’re seeing more companies raising funds as they look to make the jump from concept cars to high-volume manufacturing. But the market looks increasingly crowded and consolidation is likely”.

Looking at the third-quarter global investment figures by type, asset finance of utility-scale renewable energy projects came to $49.3 billion, down 15% on 3Q 2017, while the purchase of small-scale solar systems of less than 1MW totaled $13.5 billion, up 9% on a year earlier.

Here some other highlights from the third-quarter report:

Public markets investment in clean energy jumped 120% to $3.1 billion, helped by the NIO flotation mentioned above but also by a $1.3 billion convertible issue from waste-to-energy specialist China Everbright International and a $311 million IPO by U.S. fuel cell developer Bloom Energy.
Venture capital and private equity investment increased even more sharply, by 378% to $2.4 billion. VC/PE fundings of specialist clean energy companies have reached $7.5 billion in the first nine months of 2018, making this year certain to be the strongest since at least 2011. The largest six VC/PE new equity deals of 2018 so far have all involved Chinese electric vehicle firms, including the two mentioned above during 3Q.
The three biggest renewable energy asset financings in the quarter were the 860MW Triton Knoll project in U.K. waters at an investment cost of $2.6 billion, the Enel Green Power South Africa portfolio, at $1.4 billion for 706MW, and the Guohua Dongtai offshore wind farm phase four in Chinese waters, at an estimated $1.2 billion for 300MW.
A country split of the overall numbers shows China as yet again the largest investor in clean energy in 3Q at $26.7 billion, marginally above the numbers for the same period of 2017. However, there were further signs of one important, expected change: a cooling-off in the country’s solar installation surge, in the face of deliberate action by policy-makers. In 3Q, Chinese solar investment was $14.2 billion, down 23% on a year earlier.

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Denmark: no more fossil fuel cars by 2030, no more fossil fuel heating by 2050

October 16, 2018 by Express Editor

EXPRESS #2 - October 18, 2018

Denmark: no more fossil fuel cars by 2030, no more fossil fuel heating by 2050

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All taxis in Copenhagen will have to become electric

The Danish government on 9 October published its new climate plan – Together for a greener future.

Key initiatives in the new “climate and air proposal” include:

Phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in 2030.
Zero carbon emissions and zero air pollution from busses in Denmark’s cities by 2030.
A climate- and environmentally-efficient agricultural sector, with a strong focus on research.
Clean air in big cities through stricter environmental zones.
Lower emissions from industry and housing.
Behavioural campaign with climate labelling.
Research efforts to develop carbon capture and storage technologies for use in Denmark’s fields and forests.

If you think that, apart from the first measure, concretes are lacking, you are right. As Jesper Berggreen writes on Cleantechnica, this plan is the second of two parts. The first part was the “Energy — for a green Denmark” which was boosted considerably in the rare consensus by all parties in parliament in July where for instance the plans for adding 8 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power was tripled to 24 GW.”

Berggreen discusses some of the initiatives in somewhat more detail.

With regard to clean transport, “in the year 2030, the last diesel and gasoline powered car will have been sold, and in 2035 the last plug-in hybrid will have had its time in the spotlight. All cars sold beyond that will be zero-emission cars, and in their base form that means electric, no matter the origin of the electricity, as long as no carbon is added to the atmosphere in the process.”

“To kick-start the process, it is decided that in 2019 and 2020 there will be no tax on electric vehicles up to DKK 400,000 ($62,000 — though when you account for import tariffs and VAT it reflects a US base price of $40,000).”

“The target is 1 million electric vehicles (including plug-in hybrids) on the Danish roads by 2030. This is less radical than some other countries, but it’s just another government underlining the obvious: The internal combustion engine is dying, fast.”

“Taxis have to be zero-emission from 2030 onward, and to accelerate this, any taxi license based on a zero-emission vehicle will be guaranteed, starting in 2019.”

“New buses has to be carbon neutral (biofuel) starting in 2020. New buses must be zero-emission in cities starting in 2025. And eventually all new buses has to be zero-emission starting in 2030.”

“On all state roads in the country (3,800 km, 2360 miles) a new low-resistance (and low-noise) asphalt will be used for road repair and new segments.”

The Danish government will install a commission to study how the lost tax revenue from the car sector can be made up, notes Berggreen.

With regard to heating, “the work in reducing the use of oil and natural gas for heating is linked to the overall plan to reach a fully renewable energy system by 2050. No more fossil fuels means just that: No more fossil fuels. The government thinks Denmark has the technology to show for it.”

Quote from the plan: Many Danish companies are among the world’s leading when it comes to developing, delivering, and applying solutions to reduce air pollution. In 2016, Danish companies exported DKK 7.3 billion ($1.1 billion) worth of clean air solutions to the global markets. But we can do even better. The government therefore has launched the Clean Air vision in cooperation with the industry. The goal is clear: to double exports of clean air technologies by 2030 and make Denmark a global showcase for clean air solutions.

The Danish government is also looking at carbon capture initiatives, notes Berggreen. Quote from the plan: “The government will host a conference on CO2 uptake and CO2 storage in November 2018. Here, experts and decision makers will be brought together to explore further action in this area. The conference will affect both the technological and the biological methods available for uptake and storing of CO2.”

The Danish government has joined the global Carbon Neutrality Coalition with the goal of reaching global carbon emission neutrality no later than 2050.

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Swiss nuclear phaseout “challenges energy security” of Switzerland … and Europe

October 16, 2018 by Express Editor

EXPRESS #3 - October 16, 2018

Swiss nuclear phaseout “challenges energy security” of Switzerland … and Europe

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Switzerland is not Belgium of course. But could the Swiss decision to phase out its nuclear power stations result in power shortages, as Belgium is currently fearing?

Well, perhaps not quite. Still, according to a review of Switzerland’s energy policies by the International Energy Agency (IEA), published on 8 October, the country’s nuclear exit “presents challenges for maintaining electricity security”.

“With the country’s 2017 decision to gradually phase-out nuclear power, Switzerland faces a considerable energy-sector transition in coming decades”, notes the IEA.

Nuclear power has been – and still is – a pillar of Switzerland’s energy system. According to the review, “nuclear power has provided a high and stable share of Switzerland’s energy supply since the 1980s, accounting for 22% of the total primary energy supply in 2017. Nuclear accounted for 16% of the installed capacity in 2016 and generated 34% of total electricity in 2017, which was the sixth highest among International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries (see Figure 6.1).”

However, “the Energy Strategy 2050 (ES 2050), which came into force on 1 January 2018, prohibits the construction of new nuclear power plants (NPPs). Existing NPPs are allowed to continue operation until their technical lifetime comes to an end, and are subject to regular safety reviews. Therefore, the nuclear fleet will be closed down eventually, and will not be replaced by new reactors as previously intended. The first reactor closure is planned for 2019 due to commercial reasons.”

“The ES 2050 envisions replacement of existing nuclear capacity by renewable sources of energy. The Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) has evaluated scenarios for how this can be achieved. However, such replacement capacity may not be in place in time for the nuclear phase-out, under current conditions and policy instruments”, notes the IEA.

What should be worrying for Europe is that, according to the IEA, “Switzerland will be increasingly relying on imports from its European neighbours to meet electricity demand, especially during the winter months when low water levels impact production from hydro plants.”

Wasn’t Belgium also hoping to import more electricity? Isn’t Germany considering closing its coal power stations after also phasing out its nuclear power? Hasn’t the Netherlands announced the closing of all its coal power stations?

And Switzerland is already a net importer of electricity. The IEA reports that Switzerland imported 36.4 TWh and exported 30.9 TWh of electricity in 2017. This resulted in 5.5 TWh net imports, which provided 8% of the total electricity supply (net imports plus domestic generation) in the country.

Germany is the main exporter to Switzerland. In 2016, Germany provided 51% of Switzerland’s electricity imports, followed by France (25%), Austria (20%) and Italy (4%).

For exports, 70% was delivered to Italy and the rest to France (18%), Germany (10%) and Austria (1%).

Over the past two decades, Switzerland has gone from being a net exporter of up to around 10 TWh to having net imports in some years.

On a positive note, the IEA states that “Switzerland’s CO₂ levy on fossil fuels and its automatic upward adjustment in case intermediate emission targets are not met, has proven highly effective in shifting energy demand from oil towards gas and renewables, and supporting investments in energy efficiency.

“The CO2 levy represents a best policy practice example to inspire other countries”, said Paul Simons, IEA Deputy Executive Director “but transport fuels are exempt from the CO₂ levy and emissions in that sector are actually growing”.

The IEA encourages the Swiss government to more proactively develop a strategy for electric mobility to limit emissions from the transport sector.

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Denmark, Netherlands move on EVs, Germany on batteries and charging

October 9, 2018 by Express Editor

EXPRESS #1 - October 9, 2018

Denmark, Netherlands move on EVs, Germany on batteries and charging

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Both the Dutch and Danish governments have announced ambitious EV plans.

The Dutch government wants to compel lease companies to convert their fleets to 100% electric cars. It also intends to increase taxes on fossil cars and is considering a subsidy on the purchase of second-hand EVs. (Link in Dutch.) It will also see to it that energy companies and municipalities create a country-wide network of fast-charging stations. The government has reiterated that it wants all new cars to be emission free by 2030.

Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen said on 2 October that Denmark will end sales of new diesel and gasoline cars in 2030. He wants every new car in Denmark to be electric or zero-emission by 2035. “This means that by 2030 there will be more than 1 million hybrid, electric or equivalent green cars in Denmark”, Rasmussen said.

Jesper Berggreen of Cleantechnica.com writes that the announcement by Rasmussen “was something of a surprise”. Berggreen notes that in particular the number 1 million was a surprise “because only a few days earlier the Danish Council on Climate Change released a report recommending a total of 500,000 electric cars by 2030 to pave the way to the end goal of a fossil fuel free nation by 2050.”

The report itself “includes comprehensive information and predictions on the development of electric vehicle sales in the country”, notes Berggreen. It also contains calculations showing that EVs have only half the emissions of fossil fuel cars: