Electric vehicles: a fair way to go

The transition to Electric Vehicles (EVs) has been acknowledged by many governments as a key means to reduce emissions from the transport sector. The current work has focused on the technical challenges and benefits of EVs, yet the adoption of new technologies can often expose new inequalities. In the case of EVs, purchase costs are high and a new inequity arises; those with the ability to connect their car at home can access its storage capability and lower charging tariffs. There is therefore an urgent need to understand how policies will impact on different socioeconomic groups and the resulting challenges and opportunities for electricity system operators. This work seeks to answer three key questions: 1. What policies will best drive a socially equitable EV transition? 2. What are the technical impacts and opportunities presented by EV adoption from a socioeconomic perspective? 3. Can environmentally and financially sustainable public transport be integrated to support a socially equitable EV transition? These questions are explored through two novel multi-scale models. An EV adoption and use simulation combines consumer behaviour modelling with travel data generating long-term EV adoption forecasts and 30 minute resolution charging patterns across eight different socioeconomic groups. And an electrified bus fleet techno-economic model integrates wind and solar generation, hydrogen production, energy storage and EV charging to explore environmental and financial sustainability alongside reducing costs for EV owners without home charging. Bans on the sale of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles are shown to be the only effective means to deliver a timely transition. Making it more equitable can be achieved by tailoring other policies so as not to disproportionately benefit generally wealthier early adopters whilst bringing forward the availability of lower cost used vehicles. Rural residents are shown to have greater impacts on network demands than city dwellers and lower income socioeconomic groups tend to impose the lowest impacts. In-car smart-charging algorithms can avoid, or defer, the need for network upgrades, whilst more sophisticated technologies can help support greater renewables integration at lower cost. Improving access to slow on-street charging can both facilitate better management of charging demands and, by linking street charging to consumers’ home accounts, could help reduce tariff inequities. Finally, near-self sufficient electrified public transport systems are viable in some circumstances and could halve the cost of EV charging for those without access to facilities at home.