Are Roads Ready For Electric Vehicles‪?‬ The Energy Podcast

The electric vehicle (EV) market is booming and widespread adoption of EVs is critical if countries are to realise their climate ambitions. But every new EV on the road increases the demand for convenient, affordable charging. The Energy Podcast investigates how the world is meeting this infrastructure challenge. Presented by Julia Streets. Featuring Elizabeth Connelly of the International Energy Agency, Lucie Mattera from ChargeUP Europe, Ingrid Malmgren of Plug In America and Shell’s Istvan Kapitany.

The Energy Podcast is a Fresh Air Production for Shell, produced by Annie Day and Sarah Moore, and edited by Molly Lynch and Sophie Curtis.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Shell The Energy PodcastSeason 4, Episode 3

00:00Julia Streets: Today on The Energy Podcast…..

MUSIC BED COMES IN

Istvan Kapitany: When  this  is  becoming  really  the  global  way  of  mobility,  finally,  we  really  need  to  be  sorting  out  public  charging.Ingrid Malmgren: Through  deliberate  planning  and  innovation  and  organic  growth, we're  going  to  have  chargers  where  we  need  them,  when  we  need  them,  and  we'll  have  a  cleaner,  more  sustainable  equitable  transportation  system.

00:29Julia Streets: There  can  be  little  denial  that  the  electric  vehicle  revolution  is  upon  us.  According  to  the  International  Energy  Agency,  sales  of  Electric  Vehicles,  or  EVs,  exceeded  10  million  worldwide  in  2022,  and  the  global  market  is  predicted  to  grow  even  further  this  year.  This  is  good  news  for  the  nations  relying  on  widespread  adoption  of  EVs  in  helping  them  to  realize  their  climate  ambitions.  If  global  carbon  emissions  are  to  reach  net  zero  by  2050  in  line  with  the  Paris  Agreement,  there  will  need  to  be  300  million  EVs  on  the  road  by  the  end  of  this  decade.Such  rapid  growth  intensifies  the  need  for  EV  infrastructure,  namely  access  to  reliable,  affordable  charging.  Ensuring  that  EVs  match  the  cost  and  convenience  of  running  a  conventional  fuel  vehicle  is  crucial,  not  just  for  existing  owners,  but  also  in  convincing  more  drivers  to  make  the  switch.  Governments  and  businesses  across  the  world  are  grappling  with  the  infrastructure  challenge  created  by  the  EV  boom  with  varying  degrees  of  success.Hello,  I'm  Julia  Streets,  and  today  on  The  Energy  Podcast  we  ask,  are  roads  ready  for  EVs? 

MUSIC ENDS

With  me  to  discuss  this  are  Elizabeth  Connelly,  transport  analyst  at  the  International  Energy  Agency.  Lucie  Mattera,  Secretary  General  of  the  infrastructure  industry  association,  ChargeUp  Europe.  Ingrid  Malmgren,  policy  director  at  Plug  In  America,  and  Shell's  Executive  Vice  President  for  Mobility,  Istvan  Kapitany. I'm  delighted  that  you're  all  with  me  today.  Elizabeth,  when  you  think  about  EV  infrastructure,  what's  the  global  outlook?

02:16Elizabeth Connelly: One  thing  to  note  about  charging  infrastructure  right  now  is  that  most  charging  of  electric  cars  occurs  at  homes,  but  a  lot  of  the  attention  is  around  public  charging,  of  course,  because  this  helps  enable  people  to own EVs  that  don't  have  access  to  home  charging.  Looking  at  the  picture  today,  worldwide  there  are  about  we  estimate  17  million  home  chargers  for  electric  vehicles  and  that's  compared  to  about  three  million  public  EV  chargers. In  terms  of  who's  leading  the  way  with  charging  infrastructure,  I  don't  want