It seems like we’re up for another fascinating year!

If we look at the car manufacturers, we can see that there is hardly anyone left that hasn’t yet announced its debut with the first pure BEV. The sheer number of new model announcements for 2020 is thrilling.

The Electric Avenue Podcast  invited us to participate in yet another podcast episode, this time focused on the most prominent e-mobility trends of 2020. The Greenway Infrastructure team behind the project gathered a number of experts to weigh in on the topic to deliver an engaging episode on the major shifts in the industry.

A breath of fresh air the traditionally closed industry

On the one hand, we have an intriguing number of new start-ups entering the traditional car manufacturing industry. This is an excellent display of how powerfully electric mobility could affect the once rigid market, seemingly lowering the barriers for newcomers while at the same time investments backing this endeavours confirm the quest for much-needed change.

On the other hand, we still have some traditional manufacturers prolonging the rollout of new models. A real reason behind that is a matter of speculation, but we can dare to say that by extending the switch they are capitalising on their past investments.

Battery technology keeps improving

We also see the battery technology development galloping at a tremendous pace. Price per kWh of battery capacity has reduced dramatically from 2010. Main growth driver lies in battery electric vehicle sales, the introduction of new pack designs and falling manufacturing costs as a result of new technology and economies of scale, which can be easily seen in one of the best-selling BEV that received a battery capacity increase of 35% in just a couple of years. Battery technology will remain in focus in the coming years, and I believe that quick movers in this field will drive the market for the new decade.

EV charging focus shift in mature markets

In the field of EV charging, we can see a sharp shift in focus from public charging to business and private sites. This is due to adequate coverage of public charge sites in developed markets coupled with cuts in government support for such installations. The growth trend for fast and ultra-fast DC charges will continue, which is excellent for a longer distance EV travel. In my opinion, they accelerate the BEV adoption, as people are trying to parallel charging with fuelling up their ICE cars; thus, the fast chargers reduce the anxiety.

Sure, we need them a couple of times a year, but the focus should be on providing sustainable every day charging at work, home and wherever we park our car for a few hours.  We see in the case of Norway that by switching regulations to be more BEV friendly, you can provide a hassle-free charging for nearly everyone. We will see the expansion of such sites in combination with renewable energy production and battery storage systems.

New business models accelerating growth

With the right approach, electric vehicles can accelerate renewables in our energy mix as they represent a flexible load. We will see more and more companies that will utilise this concept as aggregators on the market. I am expecting some new developments on plug&charge standard, which will totally disrupt current public charging experience.

We can also expect the expansion of charging station infrastructure by companies pursuing the diversification of their business either by organically growing charging networks or by acquisitions of the existing ones.

Listen to the episodes below.

Episode 1



Episode 2