Electric Vehicles

The government may not fancy solar much, but that won’t stop the sector bouncing back big-time … albeit in two years’ time. Maybe London’s Underground network can help kick-start a desperately needed solar renaissance.

For renewables to claim a more sizable share of the global energy mix, the adoption of energy storage would need to pick up pace and the rapidly increasing size of the EV fleet will offer a scalable way to ramp up such access, says Fitch Solutions.

There are a number of reasons to be bullish on electric vehicles. Government support is growing, battery prices are falling, and the technology is constantly developing. But, for the prospect of owning an electric car to become even more attractive, existing EV charging infrastructure needs to be enhanced. This is where blockchain comes in.

Chinese EV maker BYD passes the 600-sales mark in Europe with a deal – announced at the International Motor Show – which also takes it past 100 sales in Scandinavia, and more than 35,000 worldwide.

The market for EVs is experiencing robust uptake worldwide with companies, governments and municipalities implementing policies to drive development. EVN and EVBox announced plans for expansion this week, and the UK government is also pouring investment subsidies into the electric vehicle market.

The lithium producer is banking on both its substantial history and new developments in the rapidly growing the electric vehicle market.

The market experienced strong growth in nearly all states. Scandinavian countries lead the charge, but Germany showed strong growth in the first half of 2018, analysts report. An uptake in EV sales might result in profound effects on their use as flexible storage units, recent reports and interviews suggest.

With PIF having distanced themselves from rumors they will help Elon Musk take Tesla back into private ownership – although that claim is disputed – the Saudi wealth fund may be about to write a big cheque to California-based Lucid Motors.

Oil and gas company Total has announced it will work alongside Shanghai-based NIO – the world’s inaugural Formula E champion – to develop products for a potentially huge electric vehicle marketplace in the populous Asian nation.

Dr Rashi Gupta, Director at Vision Mechatronics discusses the EV landscape in India, particularly focusing on the potential for battery manufacturing. While there are currently many challenges, like a lack of raw materials and infrastructure, the opportunities are immense.