OP-ED

MAKING EV INFRASTRUCTURE SUSTAINABLE

ASHRAF YEHIA, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EATON MIDDLE EAST, TELLS US HOW THE DEMAND FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE IS GROWING AND HOW IT CAN BE COST EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE FOR PROPERTY OWNERS AND LEASEHOLDERS

Automobiles have come a long way from the hand crank engines of the early 20th century. These days you can remote start an engine or schedule an autonomous start and stop, open car doors, and maintain internal temperatures using a mobile application.

More drivers are choosing to use electric vehicles across the UAE and in the Middle East. The rise in popularity can be attributed to the dropping cost of EVs in the past five years.

Other reasons include the rockstar status of Elon Musk, who is considered as the poster boy of EV, and the support of various regional incentives such as free charging, free parking, reduced electric vehicle registration fees, and exemption from Salik tag fee.

Keeping up with the trend, all major automobile manufacturers have plans for EV or plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) across configurations such as sedan, SUV, and crossovers. Soon, customers would be spoilt for choice for electric or hybrid cars.

These initiatives stem from the emirate’s efforts to provide innovative and sustainable transport solutions as part of the Dubai Green Mobility Strategy 2030, thus contributing towards carbon emission reduction in the transportation sector.

These, coupled with a stronger desire among users to use a vehicle with a far less damaging impact on the environment, have led to increased electric cars in the region.

Whatever the reason, the demand for EV charging facilities is rising fast, putting pressure on commercial buildings to provide EV charging infrastructure (EVCI). Public and private sector investment in EVCI is needed, which could be challenging in the post-Covid world.

Still, the good news for property owners and leaseholders is that EVCI can be provided sustainably and cost-effectively. At the same time, this rise in demand will also put existing electrical infrastructure and the grid under pressure, with intermittent loading without viable control processes.

Why commercial buildings? Traditional vehicle owners have access to petrol stations to fuel their vehicles and do so within minutes. For EV owners, their car needs to be plugged in for several minutes up to six to eight hours depending

on the charger, for a full charge. Therefore, commercial buildings have a unique opportunity to provide EV charging where the vehicles are parked for a reasonable amount of time.

Obvious sites for EVCI include petrol stations and service stations that offer cafés, shops, and restaurants. Charging infrastructure can also be installed at car parks serving commercial buildings such as malls, supermarkets, airports, stadiums, universities, offices, and hotels. Depending on the time they plan to spend at these locations, EV owners can choose between faster DC chargers, or AC chargers that take longer, if they are spending hours in the office or at home.

Opportunities for commercial buildings EV owners will consider the availability and ease of charging their cars when choosing outlets to visit. Especially now when there are only a few options to choose between. Apart from driving loyalty, these outlets will be associated with those taking steps to tackle climate change, especially depending on the source of the EVCI.

Choosing to self-generate renewable power and consume it on-site for EVCI is likely to prove a marketing advantage, as well as being intrinsically beneficial.

Installing a renewable energy generating system, such as one based on solar PV panels, enables commercial buildings to dramatically reduce the costs of powering EVCI as well as the load on the grid.

Connecting the PV cells to behind-themetre battery storage can be consumed immediately or stored for use later. This would be highly beneficial in the future when utility companies implement costreflective tariffs, and the stored energy can be used to charge EV’s when the grid is at its most expensive.

The wider sustainability benefit of this is that it enables what is known as ‘peak shaving’ - reducing the load on the grid to prevent the grid from being switched to carbon-intensive, fossil-fuelled power. Choosing an EVCI based on self-generated renewable energy and battery storage also reduces capital expenditure.

There are various ways that commercial buildings can create revenue streams from EVCI. The most obvious involves setting a fee for the service provided. Other WHATEVER THE REASON, THE DEMAND FOR EV CHARGING FACILITIES IS RISING FAST, PUTTING PRESSURE ON COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS TO PROVIDE EV CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE (EVCI). PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT IN EVCI IS NEEDED, WHICH COULD BE CHALLENGING IN THE POST-COVID WORLD.

income may come from offering services to the grid: bi-directional energy flows may enable renewable energy generators to sell their surplus to the grid if they do not use it, and they may be incentivised by peak-shaving (easing pressure on the grid at peak demand).

As EV usage increases, an EVCI based on a renewable system and battery storage is scalable simply by adding generating capacity (more PV panels, for example) and adding battery packs to increase storage capacity.

Managing EVCI As more consumers choose to drive EVs in the coming years, a big challenge will be facilitating this transition without causing energy prices to increase or de-stabalising the grid. Technologies such as smart charging, Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G), and DC microgrid will help overcome this challenge.

‘Smart charging’ shifts the EV load between the renewable source and the grid depending on the availability of the renewable source. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) will take smart charging to the next level by allowing the battery in a parked EV to inject electricity into the grid, opening more value streams by supporting grid balancing.

A DC microgrid system enables prioritisation of power flows to minimise peak demand and provides a more straightforward way to update existing local infrastructure to enable cost-effective EV charging.

Commercial buildings considering hosting EVCI need to think about both the challenges and opportunities and then plan accordingly. Undertaking an initiative to install EV charging means thinking about transforming either existing or new car parking space into a sustainable charging hub.

Should it prove necessary to expand the grid connection and upgrade power distribution equipment, the upfront costs of installing EVCI can be high. However, this can be mitigated in the long term by installing renewable power generation integrated with an energy storage system.