The Transport Paradigm

Regulations and Legislation

The key basic element to make electrical driving possible, the provision of electrical current, is strictly regulated. The specific elements that will be responsible for catapulting green mobility tot the forefront, are not yet regulated that strictly. For that reason, eNovates actively participates in various consulting and interest organisations aimed at enhancing the necessary standards and norms.

Politics

The 'green mobility' sector is nowadays heavily subsidised in most Western countries. It is obvious that many involved authorities are spearheading the greening of our society.

Economical Situation

The market life cycle for electrical driving is, as with all markets and products, limited in time. This time duration is, in case of vehicles and in comparison with the classic car with combustion engine, very large and therefore a negligible risk factor. Also the core products themselves, such as the electrical cars and the charging infrastructure, have a very long life cycle. Knowing we are at the moment only in the beginning of the 'early adopters' stage, our product faces a beautiful future! If we take a somewhat broader look at our market, because eNovates stands for 'Ecological Innovation', we observe it is generally expected that the umbrella organisation or industry - the green one - will develop into the third biggest industry by 2020.

The Market

In recent times, the market for electrical driving is climbing steeply. Car manufacturers from all over the world introduce new models, partially or completely electrically fuelled, in series, from 2011 onward. Authorities, small and large, come together to discuss the approach towards introducing electrical cars. Electrically fuelled cars are regarded as an important part of the solution in climate issues. The electrical car is prominently visible in popular media...

The main bottlenecks which are still obstructing a total breakthrough of the electrical car with the general population are battery technology and the availability of an easily accessible charging infrastructure. Both private parties and authorities are actively working on both elements, batteries and charge points.

It is essential that not only the purely electrical car depends on the charging solutions that eNovates offers. The need for a charging infrastructure is also very important for hybrid cars, which will occupy a significant market segment in the next 10 years.

There is a clear consensus: the critical mass needed to make the big breakthrough of electrical driving possible has been reached these days.

The Future

2010 - 2012 : EXPERIMENTING STAGE

Authorities on all levels and owners of car fleets make experimental acquisitions in limited amounts, and install charge points in strategic places. Monitoring this will provide information for the expansion for both authorities and other major decision makers.

The combustion engine will remain omnipresent and the necessary traditional infrastructure (gasoline stations) will therefore remain in place.

2010: authorities everywhere in the world take the initiative in stimulating electrical driving in the widest sense of the word. Grants and beneficial tax measures for electric driving on the one hand and planning infrastructure on the other hand are the most striking activities in that area. The first charge points appear on the streets. In Belgium, the Flemish authorities experiment in a project which thoroughly researches linkage with smart grids.

2011-2012: the first solid projects for charging infrastructure on a larger scale are realised. Authorities aim towards an agreement over standards regarding electrical driving. During this stage, demand for advice about implementation paths will be high.

2012-2015 : BREAKTHROUGH OF THE ELECTRICAL DRIVING CONCEPT

With the demand for electrical driving continually rising it remains necessary to expand the overall charging infrastructure as well. By 2015, many local authorities will manage a well-expanded network of charge points. The corporate world is a bit slower in the uptake, but major players, such as commercial parking operators and shopping malls, will significantly invest during this period. Apart from the need for technical advice, there will also be demand for project management and for support towards large implementation projects.

2015-2020 : GROWTH MARKET for the infrastructure providing services for the fully electrical car

Battery capacities continually increase, enabling electrical cars over 800 kilometers autonomy with one full charging cycle.

Redox-based batteries flood the market. This creates room for a new, efficient charging application: recharging batteries. This method can be applied with parties such as gasoline stations. The principles and 'recharging times' are very similar to refueling traditional combustible fuel. The charging infrastructure for charging poles remains of interest in places where vehicles are parked for longer periods.