Page 35 - European Energy Innovation - Autumn 2016 publication
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Autumn 2016 European Energy Innovation 35
E-MOBILITY
POSITIVE SPILLOVERS OF ELECTRO- The EU’s transport sector is currently ADOPTING A SYSTEMIC APPROACH
MOBILITY 94% dependent on oil , with a bill of Even though technologies to electrify
Electric transport offers numerous up to €1 billion per day on oil imports. transport are already available on
advantages. Electric vehicles (EVs) are Using electricity in transport – above the market, they are currently a
cleaner, quieter and three times more all when electricity is increasingly niche market. Projections on how
energy efficient than their conventional generated domestically e.g. via fast this niche market will grow, vary
counterparts. Using electricity in renewable energy sources in Europe – widely and largely depend on the
transport can reduce significantly would help reduce those imports and evolution of policies supporting the
local air pollution in cities, especially thereby lower the annual cost of the decarbonisation of transport.
when it comes to pollutants such as EU’s oil import bill.
particulates, NOx, SOx, VOCs and A number of initiatives like the Platform
ozone. According to the international But EVs also offer benefits to the for Electromobility (initiated by various
non-profit association Transport & power system as such: they could stakeholders including EURELECTRIC)
Environment, particulates and other support the power system in its energy and Gear 2030 (initiated by the EU
harmful substances stemming from transition by maximising the local grid Commission) currently encourage
transport exhaust gases are causing integration of variable renewables. electro-mobility, but the efforts could
half a million premature deaths a year Electric vehicles can play a dynamic be better coordinated.
in the EU¹. Thus, surface transport part in the electricity system by acting
electrification would effectively address as local storage connected to a smart
the public health crisis caused by urban home charged from customers’ own
air pollution. solar panels. This will also facilitate
the integration of prosumers in the
The electrification of light vehicles such electricity system while reducing the
as bicycles and powered two-wheelers, peak production exported to the grid
cars, vans, trucks and buses, and also and flattening the demand curve.
the further electrification of railways,
will help Member States to meet By means of smart charging, electric
greenhouse gas emission reduction vehicles can act as flexible loads
targets for 2030². A shift to electro- which again benefits the power
mobility could halve emissions in urban system as a whole by minimising
centres by 2050 and zero-emission or eventually avoiding grid
urban logistics could be attained by reinforcements. A widely electrified
2030. Furthermore, it would effectively European car fleet in combination with
cap the emissions of the sector by smart charging would offer significant
de facto bringing them under the EU capacities in terms of load shifting and
Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), also could provide ancillary services to
which again would strengthen the the electricity grid. Analysis shows that
EU ETS. In addition, electrification even if all cars on the road today were
would contribute to the achievement electric, the current electricity system
of the Transport White Paper’s could cope with the resulting increase
objective of banning combustion in electricity demand, provided that
engine cars from urban areas by the charging of those cars is carefully
2050. managed.
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