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About the electric vehicles lecture

Energy is central to the development of the modern world, but is increasingly facing new challenges. How can the global market place ensure the supply of clean energy that will enhance and improve the daily lives of so many?

With road based transport currently accounting for 22% of the UK’s CO2 emissions reducing the reliance on carbon based fuels in this area is a priority. Electric vehicles offer the potential to reduce CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional petrol/diesel engine driven vehicles.*

This free evening lecture will explore the aim for zero carbon vehicles, the emerging energy gap and the subsequent need for significant investment.Our speakers will address such questions such as whether there might be sufficient power available from the grid for mass market adoption if electric vehicles, and how power is stored, efficiently converted and utilised on-board the vehicles.

Steve Argent from Arup will explain how greater renewables are predicted to increase future price volatility, which in turn may drive a need for future storage and demand controls. In this context he will make the case for “smart” electric vehicle charging. Pete James will outline some of the different sub-systems commonly encountered within electric vehicles.

Areas covered by the lecture will include:

• Scope for electric vehicles – findings of Arup/Cenex Report commissioned by Government
• Charging and grid implications
• Consumer charging for domestic usage
• Obstacles to mass market adoption

There will be plenty of scope for discussion, such as whether investment in city centre fast charging infrastructure could potentially be detrimental to the uptake of electric vehicles across the country.

Pete James, Technical Specialist, Electronics and Software, at Prodrive will outline some of the different sub-systems commonly encountered within electric vehicles. He'll highlight these with examples from high performance electric race motorbikes that took part in the Isle of Man electric motorbike TT in 2009, through to large electric road vehicles.

Attendees will be able to get up close to real electric vehicles which are being used for research during the evening.

* Government commissioned report: Investigation into the scope for the transport sector to switch to electric vehicles and plug in hybrid vehicles by Arup & Cenex, October 2008.

Speaker biographies

Steve Argent prepared the electricity generation and grid sections of the Arup/Cenex report for the Department of Transport and BERR 'Investigation into the Scope for the Transport Sector to Switch to Electric Vehicles and Plugin Hybrid Vehicles'. Prior to joining Arup in April 2008 Steve was Technical Adviser for the British Energy Regulator, Ofgem.

Pete has been with Prodrive Ltd for over 12 years over which time has worked developing control software, rapid prototyping ECUs, hybrid vehicles and more recently power electronics for managing the power flow on hybrid and all electric vehicles. Pete is currently studying for a PhD at University of Manchester in health monitoring of power converters.

UK Magnetics Society event

You might also be interested in the UK Magnetics Society half day seminar on 'Hybrid Vehicle Technologies' being held in the afternoon of the 12 May, also at TRW Conekt. IET members can register at the UK Magnetics Society member rate.