Why Nottingham taxi drivers are at the forefront of EV innovation

By 2020, it seems safe to assume that most people are now familiar with battery-powered cars, even if only a few have ever driven one. There are, after all, more than 270,000 rechargeable vehicles on the roads of the United Kingdom, and electric vehicle charging points spread across the country are now more numerous than petrol stations.

But, how about an electric vehicle that gives up physically plugging into a power supply and instead charges its wireless battery, simply by briefly parking on a panel on the ground?

To some in the world of green technology, this may seem like the latest inevitable milestone in the rapid technological advances that have already seen cars move hundreds of miles across the UK. But for many people, tapping energy from the road to fuel a car looks and looks like a futuristic sci-fi kit, most likely to be found on the streets of Silicon Valley.

Yet this technology is far from futuristic – it currently works. And you don't have to cross the Atlantic to find it. Instead, the pioneer system is located at a Nottingham station.

Over the next few weeks, a six-month pilot is expected to start, who will see 10 electric taxis charging just outside of Nottingham station via five “ pads '' & amp; # 39; specially designed installed on the ground, thanks to funding of £ 3.4 million from the government. The project is carried out via Innovation Gateway, a coalition of organizations set up to share knowledge and innovations in order to reduce the costs and the environmental impacts of the built environment.

Charging technology is located in a taxi stand, and therefore only reserved for the 10 specially modified taxis, made up of a combination of LEVC TX black electric taxis – which have now become a daily sight on the streets of London. – and Nissan ENV200 models.

Similar trials have already taken place in other parts of Europe, while in the UK, the electric car charging technology company Char.gy obtained £ 2.3 million from the government last year to deploy wireless charging on the residential streets of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Redbridge, in collaboration with Open University and University of Warwick. But Nottingham station marks the first major test of its kind for wireless charging in the UK, says Wayne Bexton, head of energy services at Nottingham City Council.

"It's pretty simple," he says. BusinessGreen. “There is already a loading infrastructure on the side of the road. Just add material that penetrates the ground, so that vehicles stop and their batteries are recharged using wireless electromagnetic charge. Part of the test is to determine the time it takes to recharge the battery to the level required by the pilots. "

Indeed, the trial is not just an opportunity to show off flashy technology for fun. The idea, explains Bexton, is to capture data on how taxi drivers use technology and on the type of benefits it can bring to them, their customers and to them. Wider use of roads in the city. Wireless charging will not be suitable for all types and uses of electric vehicles, but for busy taxi drivers, very rapid charging between trips could allow their car to run longer throughout the day. without fear of losing business. when the battery is low.

"This could potentially increase the earning potential of a taxi driver, as these wireless chargers at the taxi station allow them to charge while waiting for passengers," said Bexton. "It facilitates shorter and more frequent recharging, and benefits vehicles with smaller batteries. It also removes part of this so-called" anxiety of autonomy "which has been mentioned even by some drivers of taxi determined to participate in the trial, suggesting that there is some nervousness about how long they can drive and how many microphones they can make. So I think this technology should hopefully just give them the assurance that the lack of battery will not be a problem. "

It may offer a glimpse of the future, but wireless charging may not yet offer a direct exchange for traditional EV charging via plug and adapter, so don't expect to see technology appear on entrances and parking lots of households across the country. too early. Indeed, it takes longer to charge a wireless battery, which is why it is tested for taxi charging. Rough early estimates, which the test is largely designed to refine more precisely, indicate that an 11 kWh charge block could take up to three hours to charge an EV battery from empty to full, or 4.5 hours for a 7 kWh block, according to Nottingham City Council.

However, if the trial is successful, the Council hopes to keep the charging signs in place at the taxi station for the foreseeable future. And, as technology improves, it potentially offers an efficient charging solution for electric buses to reduce their downtime, as well as for electric vehicle drivers who live in properties without their own garage or driveway from which to connect directly to their electrical network, says Bexton.

"This is a proven technology, but the trials are aimed at finding out how it actually works on the roads, which could perhaps pave the way for more of these technologies, or even make them available to the public as the 39; adoption of electric vehicles is increasing, "he explains. . "If it works, if someone goes to the stores, maybe he could leave his vehicle in a parking lot where he could wirelessly charge the battery with these electromagnetic chargers. Or, when you think of people living in apartments and flats that may not have the ability to have a charger themselves, they are going to need the public grid to help them own an electric vehicle. So this is the kind of Innovations which, I think, can facilitate this transition. "

It is far from the only green transportation initiative in Nottingham. The Council having set itself the ambitious goal of becoming a carbon neutral city in 2028, it is now carrying out public consultations on an action plan to achieve this and is already on track after reducing its emissions. 41% CO2 since 2005.

It has already made significant progress towards reducing traffic and emissions on the roads, which Bexton says is a "significant" part of Nottingham's CO2. However, thanks to investments in public transport and the city's tram network, as well as around £ 6 million in funding for low-carbon vehicle projects via the government’s initiative For Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), Nottingham has managed to keep traffic and air pollution relatively under control where other British cities of similar size have often struggled. And it is precisely in these broader Council carbon neutrality efforts that the wireless taxi driving trial took place.

"It's about bringing taxi drivers on this trip because they are essential to the city's infrastructure," said Bexton. "Other cities have seen an increase in transport emissions, but we in Nottingham have seen it stay level, which is good."

As it is now common sense in the green economy, Nottingham's weak transport efforts are also closely linked to its energy policies, 24% of which in the city is now sourced from local renewable energy. To take just a few examples, there are 5,000 domestic and 60 commercial photovoltaic solar installations across the city, in addition to the UK's largest district heating network which currently services 5,000 homes and 150 commercial businesses with excess heat. from energy from waste incinerator.

It has not been easy to pursue an ambitious decarbonization program in a decade that has seen council budgets severely cut, recognizes Bexton, but says the various initiatives have been possible thanks to support so strong from the people of Nottingham.

"The whole program has been overwhelmingly adopted," he says. "I think we are starting to see great interest and enthusiasm for this program and a desire to do the right thing among the citizens and businesses of Nottingham. We are seeing this change in people's daily behavior, and some of the demands that are reaching the Council on Environmental Issues. People are much more informed about this program than ever, which is great. It really means that we can continue and support this across the city. "

If the wireless electric taxi trial proves successful, taxi drivers could constitute another population of Nottingham, who was conquered by the city's ambitious carbon-neutral program.

This article was sponsored by Gateway to innovation