Matthew Sealy
Chairperson, Irish EV Association
Battery electric vehicles can not only transform transport but also play a crucial role in building a reliable, renewable energy grid for a sustainable future.
The change to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) led to a fundamental shift in enabling and maximising a clean, renewable energy grid that is reliable and secure. We are not just changing our fuel source, or how we get from A to B, but playing a much bigger part in what a fully renewable grid and transportation sector will look like.
Sustainable transport in Ireland
BEV is the best option we have to reduce any emissions from road transport. No, BEVs are not zero emissions — they do have some. One ‘complaint’ we come across at the Irish EV Association (IEVA) is the additional upfront CO2 found in the battery pack production makes them a poor choice.
Since 2019, in Ireland, our grid supply CO2/kWh means that this additional CO2 from battery production is offset somewhere between 10,000 kilometres and 55,000 kilometres (for the worst offending battery manufacturing and large vans). As each kilometre is driven beyond this, with more renewables coming online year-on-year, this timeline and CO2 impact only reduces in real terms as all sectors work together in this change.
BEV is the best option we have to reduce
any emissions from road transport.
Is vehicle-to-grid the next step?
Looking beyond the health or environmental impacts afforded by BEV, the next stage is to look to the near-term future where we shift from a grid that is just over 40% renewable and moves towards 80%+ renewables and what that looks like. This is where BEV has an even greater impact than just for sustainable transport. Individual cars sit parked for the overwhelming majority of their life. This is where vehicle-to-grid (V2G) comes in.
V2G is the ability for your car to connect to a bidirectional charger that can accept and deliver power from the vehicle’s high-voltage battery to the home or grid. This has a large impact on demand generation and consumption, as your BEV can be used to ‘soak up’ excess renewables instead of turning them off — to then supply energy at times of higher demand, contributing to ‘peak shaving’ and reducing costs for all electricity users while still leaving enough in the tank to do your next journey.
BEVs are crucial not only for sustainable transport, CO2 reduction and healthier air but also for building a fully renewable energy grid — a change with significant impact that shouldn’t be underestimated.
