COVER FEATURE ELECTRIC VEHICLES
managed to burn through $20 billion
and has yet to make a pro t.
“The move to electric-powered
vehicles is a paradigm shift, as we’re
not just talking about changing the
vehicle, but the entire infrastructure
around how we drive and support it,”
explains Power.
As a result, he believes that there
are lots of business opportunities
around EVs for SMEs which go
far beyond the development
and manufacture of the vehicles
themselves, whether that’s developing
chargers and the grid infrastructure.
“Take petrol stations. They will
become EV charging stations which
will need entertainment provision for
EV drivers waiting for their cars to
charge. As for the infrastructure, EVs
are a load on the grid but they can
also add back to it via Vehicle-to-Grid
(V2G), and also Vehicle-to-Building
(V2B) technology. If you’re able to
combine smart chargers with V2G
technology, the energy stored in
electric vehicles can be redistributed
to the grid during peak hours, easing
some of the burden to the grid and
potentially earning the vehicle’s owner
money when their car is idle,” explains
Power.
EV innovation
SMEs tend to be able to drive
innovation more than large companies.
“While vehicle innovation is very
costly, from our experience as a
design consultancy, SMEs are driving
innovation in EV infrastructure,” says
Power. “Grid connection development
is mostly down to SMEs, as they excel
in technology related to energy storage
and recycling. Developments in V2G,
for instance, are driven by SMEs rather
than the automotive rms and bigger
companies.”
While SMEs are certainly more
innovative and agile than the
traditional automotive rms, there
are innovative car giants, says Power.
“They will have very long, expensive
design cycles, however, when
compared to SMEs.”
Power suggests that while
automotive rms are producing safety
critical products and are focused on
reliability, SMEs are in a much better
position when it comes to creating
the cool, new products that will drive
changes, and which the Tier 1s will
acquire and implement.
“Volkswagen, for example,
launched charging business Elli to
offer intelligent electricity tariffs,
Wallboxes, charging points and an ITbased
energy management system;
these were probably designed in
conjunction with or by SMEs,” he
suggests.
So if smaller businesses are
innovating more around the EV space
than their larger counterparts, what
are the opportunities and how should
they engage with established players?
According to Moran Price, cofounder
and CEO of e-mobility start-up
IRP Systems, start-ups and OEMs/
Tier 1s should look to complement
one another. While start-ups have the
agility and latitude to innovate in a way
that larger organisations don’t, they
need to work with OEMs who have the
size and power to bring innovations to
market.
“Both need to leverage their
respective strengths when it comes to
EV development,” says Price.
“The shift to electri cation has
enabled so many changes to be
made to the platform, the value
chain and the usage model – that it
has disrupted everything and, as a
result, has accelerated the adoption
of new technologies and stimulated
innovation.
“EVs are not just about replacing
the power train, because when
we electrify a vehicle there’s a
requirement for many new components
that were not there before,” she
explains.
“The electri cation of the platform
has enabled the introduction of new
mobility technologies and of innovative
services, seen the development
of cyber-security and the advent of
autonomous driving. Electri cation
makes it much easier to integrate new
technologies and change the concepts
and ideas around vehicles; but also
to broaden the range of mobility
solutions.”
Price makes the point that in
Europe, in particular, regulations have
played a critical role in driving the EV
market.
“For once, regulators have been
ahead of the industry with regulations
and legislation relating to sustainability
and the protection of the environment
forcing the automotive industry to
bring EVs to market quicker.”
This provides a great opportunity
for SMEs and start-ups, according to
Price.
“Innovation at speed is the ‘bread
and butter’ of an SME. Many large
companies are turning to them to
shorten time-to-market, because they
want to avoid penalties and the loss
of market share. They want to keep a
competitive position, so most are now
collaborating and working with startups.”
“New markets are ideal spaces
for SMEs as they are agile, take risks
and can fail quickly,” agrees Power.
“The automotive industry is changing
and heralding a new world view of
greener and cleaner. There are lots of
business opportunities for SMEs to
develop innovative ideas.”
Power makes the point that
as a paradigm shift the move to
electri cation is affecting the whole EV
infrastructure, including smart cities,
so opportunities are not just tied to
“The move to
electric-powered
vehicles is a
paradigm shift,
as we’re not
just talking
about changing
the vehicle,
but the entire
infrastructure
around how
we drive and
support it.”
Dunstan Power
Below: The
Volkswagen ID Pro
Charger wallbox
www.newelectronics.co.uk 22 September 2020 13
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