The research model takes into consideration projected fleet sizes from 2022 to year-end 2030, specific values found in online and print literature, and estimated emissions produced from Electreon’s operations. The review of the methodology, sources, assumptions, and calculations of Electreon’s research was performed in conjunction with Kenneth Gillingham, professor of economics at the Yale School of the Environment. “The Electreon modeling accurately quantifies the emission reductions possible from widespread adoption of the Electreon technology,” said Professor Gillingham.
The four key benefits of Electreon’s technology that lead to CO2 reductions include:
1. Reduced EV battery sizes: Charging EVs wirelessly through roadways instead of plug-in or connected charging points removes limitations for charging location; enabling charging stations to be deployed wherever needed, including strategically along EV routes as part of wireless Electric Road Systems (ERS) to charge vehicles intermittently with shorter, spread out charging sessions while the vehicles drive. This permits EVs to operate on fewer and smaller batteries, as the batteries no longer need to be large enough to power vehicles for prolonged periods and can instead refill from the road itself without interruptions to driving. This simultaneously delivers extended range, and with EVs able to operate further with fewer/smaller batteries, EV battery kWh production, which has a significant carbon footprint, can be reduced. Battery sizes also impact total vehicle weight, so an EV operating with smaller batteries will be lighter and will emit fewer emissions while in operation.
“This research shows that EVs can only help to drastically cut emissions if they are powered by sustainable solutions like Electreon’s wireless charging technology,” says Oren Ezer, CEO of Electreon. “This effort by our team was inspired by Bill Gates and Breakthrough Energy’s benchmark for companies to reduce global annual emissions by 1%, and which estimates the current total global emissions to be approximately 51 billion tons of CO2 every year. As we deploy Electric Roads Systems all around the world, these metrics will remind our team and partners of our ability to prevent further damage to our planet and achieve our vision of a decarbonized world.”
2. Utilizing renewable (solar) energy for electricity generation: EVs still rely upon the electric grid, which mainly relies on fossil fuel energy sources to supply power during their plug-in charging sessions. Electreon’s wireless charging technology can be easily integrated with off-grid renewable energy sources, alleviating pressure on the electric grid. CO2 emissions are saved through reduced reliance on fossil fuels to power EVs, with EVs receiving a portion of their required electricity from greener, cleaner, energy sources.
3. On-site electricity generation from renewables through existing infrastructure: Indeed, incorporating renewable solar energy to power EVs can help reduce emissions through less reliance on fossil fuels for energy. Coupling this with the use of existing roadway infrastructure – such as median walls and road corridors – to safely mount the required solar panel fences to power a wireless ERS directly on-site will result in even greater CO2 reductions. CO2 emissions are saved through the protection of land acreage and tree populations, often destroyed to make way for large solar farms, as well as reduced manufacturing of large-scale solar facilities.
4. Dynamic charging roads as a shared charging platform: Electreon’s charging technology can wirelessly charge multiple vehicles simultaneously, all via a single management unit. This reduces the demand for private and public plug-in EV chargers, which can only charge one vehicle at a time and whose manufacturing process generates CO2 emissions.
Electreon continues to develop partnerships around the world and stay committed to its goal of wide-scale implementation of wireless EV charging technology to reduce global CO2 emissions. Electreon’s award-winning technology is actively operating pilots in Germany, Italy, Israel and Sweden, and the company is preparing to execute first-of-their-kind pilots in the U.S.
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