Thursday, January 6, 2011

Transport: the future is electric

http://www.arup.com/Homepage_ElectricTransport.aspx

Transport: the future is electric

Investment in electric vehicles is experiencing a boom, as governments across the world look to an electric future to tackle the issues of carbon reduction, oil depletion and urban mobility in increasingly congested cities.

Public interest focuses on the electric vehicles themselves, yet behind the scenes urban planners, energy and infrastructure specialists are tackling the challenges of how to adapt cities to suit electric vehicles.

Induction charging: cutting out the cable

Electric vehicle technology is still emerging. One of the major challenges is in providing an easy to use charging method – and Arup, as one of the founders of HaloIPT, is shaping the future.
HaloIPT has pioneered a wireless charging technology to give drivers the simplicity of automatic wire-free charging. Working in partnership with the Electric Car Corporation, the first car to be powered with HaloIPT technology is currently being demonstrated in London. UK newspaper The Guardian discusses the benefits.

Analysing driver behaviour

Arup, as part of the CABLED Consortium (Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators) is responsible for the UK’s largest trial of electric vehicles, tackling questions such as what impact the vehicles have on driving habits and behaviours, and what is the optimum placing of charging points to suit the average urban journey.
With the first vehicles now six months into a year-long trial, CABLED has released data that reveal drivers are travelling more miles, more frequently and are making longer journeys – indicating increased confidence and notably reduced range anxiety.

No comments: