The EV conference in San Diego is proving to be an exciting venue. The attendee list is growing, and features international speakers and delegates.
The question is not who will win the EV charging race. The question in my mind is more… where are all the cars that will use the charger stations? All kinds of tests are being done around the world, great anticipation and hope is being created. Will the delivery meet the promise?
A few years ago, you might be lucky to have such a conference at all, so low was the proximity of delivered promise. Yet now, with EV cars rolling out the dealership doors, we can find so many players, offering different business models.
Some offer to exchange batteries as a “refuelling model”. Even electric cars will only go so far on a “full charge”. This is a physical swap of batteries, which is cumbersome and requires an attendant. If we take a tip from the gasoline industry, “full service” gas stations are hardly the norm anymore, with people conscious of costs of labor. The other challenge to this model is that cars like the anticipated 2012 release Tesla Model S will go hundreds of kilometers or miles on a single charge. They also have quite differently configured battery banks. How do you service those cars? If they can go 400 kilometres (about 250miles) now, how can they not reach 1000 in a few years. So the sustainability of this model is the questionable part.
Some offer credit card payments for charge times. This reminds me of those ATMs which are not bank-related and charge you about $2 per transaction (what a great way to make money). They are however relegated to those places where a bank ATM is not suitable, yet that can still be a substantial amount of delivery points.
Some are thinking to link a debit card style transaction to your utility bill. I like this one personally because it uses the same bill I get each month to track my charging transactions and it works within the infrastructure of the utility company database setups. The owner of the machine charges a “roaming” fee to the utility who gets to charge you back home on your bill. Everybody gets a markup. So if you think of mobile phones, this actually mates with that model. Since the cost of electricity is far less than oil, it makes economic sense to make the switch (as car costs come down), thereby further driving adoption.
Some are giving charging away for free. This is like the bus shelter model where the advertising actually pays for the bus shelter, or the city does. A solar powered canopy charging station could do that too…by guess who 
?…where the electricity produced by the sun that is not used for charging can be sold back to the grid (at premiums in some states depending on the incentives).
Some are just developing stand-alone EV chargers for homes, business, shopping centers and stadiums. I imagine in this case there will be assigned parking spots to begin with. Malls could attract shoppers by offering free charging with a proof of purchase from the mall, etc. Stadiums could give preferential parking to “green cars”. The list goes on…
There are so many interesting angles to this new industry that one must carefully figure next steps so as to not overcommit capital to a particular model or technology, understanding that in such a fast paced and changing environment, constancy will be hard to find.
I’ll let you all know what I learn after spending a day at the conference….besides, I can’t think of a better place for a solar blog writer to visit than California…”
Sass
UPDATE: EU wants gas powered cars gone from its cities by 2050!!