What Lies Ahead for EVs?
By now, most of us know that electric vehicles are the future, but what is the future of EVs?
In this installment of the Bonnet blog, we’re going to go all meta on you and ask you to consider what the future of the future is going to look like. And the good news is, there’s no Mark Zuckerberg in sight.
The growth of electric vehicles sales in the next few years is expected to be nothing short of meteoric. After a stuttering start, EV sales are now booming as affordable home chargers and growing public charging infrastructure are making ‘range anxiety’ and ‘charging anxiety’ a thing of the past.
Sales of new electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for a third of all new car registrations in March. And that’s a sign of things to come. By 2025, it’s forecast that 20% of all new cars sold around the world will be electric, with that rising to 40% in 2030. In the UK, that figure should be significantly higher, and let’s be honest, it needs to be given the impending climate catastrophe.
Every year, the number of vehicle manufacturers joining the all-electric party is on the up. Alfa Romeo is set to launch its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) this year, with the all-new Tonale combining understated style and good looks with reduced emissions.
One new arrival that should shake the electric vehicle market is the Dacia Spring, which is already on sale in Europe and is touted as being the continent’s most affordable EV. Priced from just over €12,000 in France, equivalent to around £10,500, the Spring could hit our showrooms before the end of the year. With room for four people, a 140-mile range and a boot that’ll swallow a week’s worth of luggage, it’s sure to be a hit.
And for those with slightly deeper pockets, how about an all-electric Maserati? The 100% electric Maserati Trofeo, which will be Maserati’s first electric model, is to be released in 2023. The only trouble is that it’s dreadfully slow, pedestrian even, doing 0-62mph in a laborious 3.8 seconds. That’s not too shabby for an SUV.
Fans of VW campers will also be buzzing to hear that Volkswagen’s first all-electric campervan, the VW ID.Buzz, has been unveiled. It will have an 82kWh battery and offer an expected 250 miles of range, although you will have to buy the obligatory surfboard separately.
Batteries in electric vehicles and even mobile phones could have double the lifespan thanks to the work of boffins at the University of Queensland. They have developed lithium-ion battery nanotechnology that doubles the lifespan of the Li-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, mobile phones, medical equipment, power tools and plenty of other things besides.
Lab coats and protective goggles on please. According to the lead professor Lianzhou Wang, the Australian-based team has “designed a uniquely-grown atomic-thin functional layer on the surface of a high voltage cathode, which is the source of lithium ions and a critical part that limits the cycle life in a battery.”
In plainer English, the new approach applies a protective coating to the battery to protect it against corrosion, which is the reason why batteries degrade over time. It’s hoped this new technology will help to produce the next generation of EV batteries, which will have a lower cost, higher energy density and longer life cycle.
With manufacturers under pressure to find ways to ramp up battery production to keep up with the increasing demand for EVs, this new technology could be a game-changer and pave the way for superior EV performance and affordability.
While sky-rocketing sales, better batteries and interesting new EV models are all relative certainties in the near future, there are also a few other EV innovations that could transform electric transport in the years to come.
Rather than having to charge your electric vehicle overnight or en route at a public charge point, imagine a world where your EV is continuously charged by a special technology lying under the surface of the road. So-called smart surfaces are still a long way off and may never come to fruition, but it’s one idea that has been proposed to help make the global transition to EVs.
We’ve already discussed how improvements in battery technology will help to improve EV battery performance and affordability. But the creation and mass adoption of solid-state batteries could go several steps further.
Solid-state batteries have no fluid or moving parts inside the pack, which makes them far more efficient and long-lasting. Eventually, that could lead to electric vehicles traveling 900+ miles on a single charge, although don’t get too excited just yet. Solid-state battery technology is still in its infancy and according to BMW, it won’t be viable until at least 2027.
Two-way charging, also known as bidirectional charging, lets energy flow both ways, from the grid to your EV and from your EV back to the grid or your home. At the moment, traditional one-way chargers can only power your car, but bidirectional charging effectively turns EV batteries into energy storage points. They can then be used to capture and store renewable energy when it’s generated to support the grid. That could allow electric vehicles to do so much more, including:
Storing excess energy and even selling it back to the grid
Creating an emergency energy supply during power outages
Connecting with renewable energy power sources such as home solar panels to make electric vehicles energy self-sufficient
Bidirectional chargers are becoming smaller, more affordable and more efficient all the time, with the first bidirectional home EV chargers introduced earlier this year.
The other more comical side of the electric revolution is the idea that at some point in the not too distant future, electric vehicles will soon be the dominant sight on the roads. That means today’s petrol and diesel vehicles could become the classic cars of the future.
20 years from now, you could be leaning out of your EV’s window exclaiming: “Corr blimey, that’s one of those beautiful old Vauxhall Corsas from the early 2000s. And in green. What a beauty”. Well, maybe.
At Bonnet, we’re improving the future of electric vehicles right now. We bring together all of the leading charging networks in the UK and across Europe on a single app so you can enjoy easy flat-rate charging on the most popular public and destination chargers.
Download the Bonnet app to enjoy the future of EV charging today.
What Lies Ahead for EVs?
By now, most of us know that electric vehicles are the future, but what is the future of EVs?
In this installment of the Bonnet blog, we’re going to go all meta on you and ask you to consider what the future of the future is going to look like. And the good news is, there’s no Mark Zuckerberg in sight.
The growth of electric vehicles sales in the next few years is expected to be nothing short of meteoric. After a stuttering start, EV sales are now booming as affordable home chargers and growing public charging infrastructure are making ‘range anxiety’ and ‘charging anxiety’ a thing of the past.
Sales of new electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for a third of all new car registrations in March. And that’s a sign of things to come. By 2025, it’s forecast that 20% of all new cars sold around the world will be electric, with that rising to 40% in 2030. In the UK, that figure should be significantly higher, and let’s be honest, it needs to be given the impending climate catastrophe.
Every year, the number of vehicle manufacturers joining the all-electric party is on the up. Alfa Romeo is set to launch its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) this year, with the all-new Tonale combining understated style and good looks with reduced emissions.
One new arrival that should shake the electric vehicle market is the Dacia Spring, which is already on sale in Europe and is touted as being the continent’s most affordable EV. Priced from just over €12,000 in France, equivalent to around £10,500, the Spring could hit our showrooms before the end of the year. With room for four people, a 140-mile range and a boot that’ll swallow a week’s worth of luggage, it’s sure to be a hit.
And for those with slightly deeper pockets, how about an all-electric Maserati? The 100% electric Maserati Trofeo, which will be Maserati’s first electric model, is to be released in 2023. The only trouble is that it’s dreadfully slow, pedestrian even, doing 0-62mph in a laborious 3.8 seconds. That’s not too shabby for an SUV.
Fans of VW campers will also be buzzing to hear that Volkswagen’s first all-electric campervan, the VW ID.Buzz, has been unveiled. It will have an 82kWh battery and offer an expected 250 miles of range, although you will have to buy the obligatory surfboard separately.
Batteries in electric vehicles and even mobile phones could have double the lifespan thanks to the work of boffins at the University of Queensland. They have developed lithium-ion battery nanotechnology that doubles the lifespan of the Li-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, mobile phones, medical equipment, power tools and plenty of other things besides.
Lab coats and protective goggles on please. According to the lead professor Lianzhou Wang, the Australian-based team has “designed a uniquely-grown atomic-thin functional layer on the surface of a high voltage cathode, which is the source of lithium ions and a critical part that limits the cycle life in a battery.”
In plainer English, the new approach applies a protective coating to the battery to protect it against corrosion, which is the reason why batteries degrade over time. It’s hoped this new technology will help to produce the next generation of EV batteries, which will have a lower cost, higher energy density and longer life cycle.
With manufacturers under pressure to find ways to ramp up battery production to keep up with the increasing demand for EVs, this new technology could be a game-changer and pave the way for superior EV performance and affordability.
While sky-rocketing sales, better batteries and interesting new EV models are all relative certainties in the near future, there are also a few other EV innovations that could transform electric transport in the years to come.
Rather than having to charge your electric vehicle overnight or en route at a public charge point, imagine a world where your EV is continuously charged by a special technology lying under the surface of the road. So-called smart surfaces are still a long way off and may never come to fruition, but it’s one idea that has been proposed to help make the global transition to EVs.
We’ve already discussed how improvements in battery technology will help to improve EV battery performance and affordability. But the creation and mass adoption of solid-state batteries could go several steps further.
Solid-state batteries have no fluid or moving parts inside the pack, which makes them far more efficient and long-lasting. Eventually, that could lead to electric vehicles traveling 900+ miles on a single charge, although don’t get too excited just yet. Solid-state battery technology is still in its infancy and according to BMW, it won’t be viable until at least 2027.
Two-way charging, also known as bidirectional charging, lets energy flow both ways, from the grid to your EV and from your EV back to the grid or your home. At the moment, traditional one-way chargers can only power your car, but bidirectional charging effectively turns EV batteries into energy storage points. They can then be used to capture and store renewable energy when it’s generated to support the grid. That could allow electric vehicles to do so much more, including:
Storing excess energy and even selling it back to the grid
Creating an emergency energy supply during power outages
Connecting with renewable energy power sources such as home solar panels to make electric vehicles energy self-sufficient
Bidirectional chargers are becoming smaller, more affordable and more efficient all the time, with the first bidirectional home EV chargers introduced earlier this year.
The other more comical side of the electric revolution is the idea that at some point in the not too distant future, electric vehicles will soon be the dominant sight on the roads. That means today’s petrol and diesel vehicles could become the classic cars of the future.
20 years from now, you could be leaning out of your EV’s window exclaiming: “Corr blimey, that’s one of those beautiful old Vauxhall Corsas from the early 2000s. And in green. What a beauty”. Well, maybe.
At Bonnet, we’re improving the future of electric vehicles right now. We bring together all of the leading charging networks in the UK and across Europe on a single app so you can enjoy easy flat-rate charging on the most popular public and destination chargers.
Download the Bonnet app to enjoy the future of EV charging today.
What Lies Ahead for EVs?
By now, most of us know that electric vehicles are the future, but what is the future of EVs?
In this installment of the Bonnet blog, we’re going to go all meta on you and ask you to consider what the future of the future is going to look like. And the good news is, there’s no Mark Zuckerberg in sight.
The growth of electric vehicles sales in the next few years is expected to be nothing short of meteoric. After a stuttering start, EV sales are now booming as affordable home chargers and growing public charging infrastructure are making ‘range anxiety’ and ‘charging anxiety’ a thing of the past.
Sales of new electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for a third of all new car registrations in March. And that’s a sign of things to come. By 2025, it’s forecast that 20% of all new cars sold around the world will be electric, with that rising to 40% in 2030. In the UK, that figure should be significantly higher, and let’s be honest, it needs to be given the impending climate catastrophe.
Every year, the number of vehicle manufacturers joining the all-electric party is on the up. Alfa Romeo is set to launch its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) this year, with the all-new Tonale combining understated style and good looks with reduced emissions.
One new arrival that should shake the electric vehicle market is the Dacia Spring, which is already on sale in Europe and is touted as being the continent’s most affordable EV. Priced from just over €12,000 in France, equivalent to around £10,500, the Spring could hit our showrooms before the end of the year. With room for four people, a 140-mile range and a boot that’ll swallow a week’s worth of luggage, it’s sure to be a hit.
And for those with slightly deeper pockets, how about an all-electric Maserati? The 100% electric Maserati Trofeo, which will be Maserati’s first electric model, is to be released in 2023. The only trouble is that it’s dreadfully slow, pedestrian even, doing 0-62mph in a laborious 3.8 seconds. That’s not too shabby for an SUV.
Fans of VW campers will also be buzzing to hear that Volkswagen’s first all-electric campervan, the VW ID.Buzz, has been unveiled. It will have an 82kWh battery and offer an expected 250 miles of range, although you will have to buy the obligatory surfboard separately.
Batteries in electric vehicles and even mobile phones could have double the lifespan thanks to the work of boffins at the University of Queensland. They have developed lithium-ion battery nanotechnology that doubles the lifespan of the Li-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, mobile phones, medical equipment, power tools and plenty of other things besides.
Lab coats and protective goggles on please. According to the lead professor Lianzhou Wang, the Australian-based team has “designed a uniquely-grown atomic-thin functional layer on the surface of a high voltage cathode, which is the source of lithium ions and a critical part that limits the cycle life in a battery.”
In plainer English, the new approach applies a protective coating to the battery to protect it against corrosion, which is the reason why batteries degrade over time. It’s hoped this new technology will help to produce the next generation of EV batteries, which will have a lower cost, higher energy density and longer life cycle.
With manufacturers under pressure to find ways to ramp up battery production to keep up with the increasing demand for EVs, this new technology could be a game-changer and pave the way for superior EV performance and affordability.
While sky-rocketing sales, better batteries and interesting new EV models are all relative certainties in the near future, there are also a few other EV innovations that could transform electric transport in the years to come.
Rather than having to charge your electric vehicle overnight or en route at a public charge point, imagine a world where your EV is continuously charged by a special technology lying under the surface of the road. So-called smart surfaces are still a long way off and may never come to fruition, but it’s one idea that has been proposed to help make the global transition to EVs.
We’ve already discussed how improvements in battery technology will help to improve EV battery performance and affordability. But the creation and mass adoption of solid-state batteries could go several steps further.
Solid-state batteries have no fluid or moving parts inside the pack, which makes them far more efficient and long-lasting. Eventually, that could lead to electric vehicles traveling 900+ miles on a single charge, although don’t get too excited just yet. Solid-state battery technology is still in its infancy and according to BMW, it won’t be viable until at least 2027.
Two-way charging, also known as bidirectional charging, lets energy flow both ways, from the grid to your EV and from your EV back to the grid or your home. At the moment, traditional one-way chargers can only power your car, but bidirectional charging effectively turns EV batteries into energy storage points. They can then be used to capture and store renewable energy when it’s generated to support the grid. That could allow electric vehicles to do so much more, including:
Storing excess energy and even selling it back to the grid
Creating an emergency energy supply during power outages
Connecting with renewable energy power sources such as home solar panels to make electric vehicles energy self-sufficient
Bidirectional chargers are becoming smaller, more affordable and more efficient all the time, with the first bidirectional home EV chargers introduced earlier this year.
The other more comical side of the electric revolution is the idea that at some point in the not too distant future, electric vehicles will soon be the dominant sight on the roads. That means today’s petrol and diesel vehicles could become the classic cars of the future.
20 years from now, you could be leaning out of your EV’s window exclaiming: “Corr blimey, that’s one of those beautiful old Vauxhall Corsas from the early 2000s. And in green. What a beauty”. Well, maybe.
At Bonnet, we’re improving the future of electric vehicles right now. We bring together all of the leading charging networks in the UK and across Europe on a single app so you can enjoy easy flat-rate charging on the most popular public and destination chargers.
Download the Bonnet app to enjoy the future of EV charging today.
