Electric vehicles will begin shipping in volume starting in 2010.  These vehicles will require the rollout of a new infrastructure for charging access at home, at work, and around town.  By 2015, access to vehicle charging will be available at more than one million charge points in the United States alone.  Vehicles will be primarily charged at home as early adopters will prefer the convenience.  China, which has mandated the production of electric vehicles, will be the world leader in charging stations, selling nearly half of the global total of 1.5 million units in 2015.  Bidirectional smart vehicle-to-grid charging will remain a niche application for the foreseeable future due to technical difficulties and utilities’ conservative deployment strategies.

Utilities in the U.S. will slowly see revenue from vehicle charging increase from $3 million in 2010 to more than $200 million in 2015.  The added demand will have little overall impact on grid reliability, but could diminish performance in neighborhoods with the highest EV concentrations.  Utilities will prepare for the additional load to the grid by tracking vehicle sales and creating new customer billing programs.  Charging equipment sales will initially be driven by government funding of public stations.  Fees for commercial charging will be low due to the availability of free and low-cost charging at residences and public locations.  Retailers will install public access stations primarily as a marketing tool and not to generate direct revenue from charging fees.

This Pike Research report examines the many open questions surrounding business models and technology issues for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.  It analyzes and forecasts the market for residential, public, private, and workplace charging stations through 2015 as well as examining operational and technological impacts of plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles on the grid infrastructure.  Analysis includes an in-depth assessment of market drivers and barriers, along with profiles of charging infrastructure vendors, utilities, automakers, and smart grid companies.

Key questions addressed:

• How will the emergence of electric vehicles impact grid reliability and peak demand?
• What will be the composition of the charging infrastructure?
• What are the business opportunities in providing charging services?
• How many charging stations will be installed worldwide?
• What are the technical challenges for the integration of electric vehicles onto the grid? 

Who needs this report?

• Utilities
• Electric vehicle manufacturers
• Charging station manufacturers and service providers
• Electric vehicle associations
• City and local government transportation agencies
• State and federal government agencies
• Investors

Table of Contents

1.     Executive Summary

2.     Market Issues

2.1 EV Market

2.1.1 Government EV Incentives

2.2 Vehicle Charging

2.2.1 Residential Charging

2.2.1.1 Residential Upgrade Requirements

2.2.1.2 Cost

2.2.1.3 Permits and Utility Rates

2.2.1.4 Connection Equipment

2.2.2 Standalone Charging Stations

2.2.2.1 Cost

2.2.2.2 Public/Municipal Charging

2.2.2.2.1 Public Funding of Charging Stations

2.2.2.3 Private Charging Stations

2.2.2.4 Workplace Charging

2.3 Battery Swapping Stations

2.4 Industry Growth Drivers

2.4.1 Energy Cost Savings

2.4.2 Carbon Reduction

2.4.3 Cities’ Desire to be Green

2.4.3.1 Top 20 U.S. Metro Areas for PHEV Charging Stations in 2015

2.4.4 Energy Security

2.4.5 Smart Grid

2.5 Marketability and Commercialization

2.5.1 Home Charging Equipment

2.5.2 Charging Station Equipment

2.5.3 Charging Station Energy Sales

2.5.3.1 Fast Charging

2.5.4 Customer Billing

2.6 Implementation Issues

2.6.1 Equipment Connection Standards

2.6.1.1 Standard Connector

2.6.1.2 Plug Standard

2.6.2 Vehicle-Grid Communications

2.6.2.1 Energy Transfer Standard J2847

2.6.2.2 Messaging Standard J2836

2.6.3 Regulatory Restrictions

3.     Technology Issues

3.1 Vehicle Power Consumption

3.2 Charging Time Required

3.3 Grid Impact

3.3.1 Impact on Capacity

3.3.2 Utility Revenue

3.3.3 Charging Times

3.3.4 Regional Impact

3.3.4.1 Impact on Equipment

3.3.5 Neighborhood Power Demand

3.3.5.1 Impact on Transformers

3.4 National Grid Standards

3.4.1 Vehicle-Grid Power Transfer Standards

3.4.2 Smart Grid Device Standards

3.4.2.1 Federal Government Standards

4.     Selling Electricity to Vehicles

4.1 Marketing and Commercialization

4.1.1 Utility Revenue

4.1.2 Pricing Models

4.1.2.1 Time of Use Pricing

4.1.2.2 Flat Pricing

4.2 Energy Aggregators

4.3 Information and Communication Services

4.4 Industry Drivers

4.4.1 Carbon Pricing

4.4.2 Battery Services

4.4.3 Renewable Energy

4.4.3.1 Residential Solar

4.4.3.2 Wind

4.4.4 Vehicle to Grid

4.4.4.1 Marketability and Commercialization

4.4.4.2 Implementation Issues

4.4.4.2.1 Cost

4.4.4.2.2 Scalability

4.4.4.2.3 Standards

4.4.4.2.4 Control of Energy

4.4.4.2.5 Battery Storage

5.     Market Forecasts

5.1 Global EV Charging

5.1.1 North America

5.1.1.1 Metropolitan Areas

5.1.1.2 Residential Charging

5.1.1.3 Public Charging

5.1.1.4 Private Charging

5.1.1.5 Workplace Charging

5.2 Europe

5.2.1 Denmark

5.3 Asia Pacific

5.3.1 China

5.3.2 Japan

5.4 Middle East/Africa

5.4.1 Israel

5.5 Rest of the World

6.     Key Industry Players

6.1 Charging Infrastructure

6.1.1 AeroVironment

6.1.2 Better Place

6.1.3 Coulomb Technologies

6.1.4 ECOtality

6.2 Utilities Preparing EV Charging Infrastructure

6.2.1 Austin Energy

6.2.2 Duke Energy

6.2.3 Pacific Gas and Electric

6.2.4 Portland General Electric

6.2.5 Progress Energy

6.2.6 Southern California Edison

6.2.7 Xcel Energy

6.3 EV Automakers Participating in EV Charging

6.3.1 Ford Motor Company

6.3.2 General Motors

6.3.3 Mitsubishi Motors

6.3.4 Nissan/Renault

6.4 Smart Grid Service Providers Participating in EV Charging

6.4.1 GridPoint

6.4.2 IBM

6.4.3 SmartSynch

7. Company Directory

8. Acronym and Abbreviation List

9. Table of Contents

10. Table of Charts and Figures

11. Scope of Study, Sources and Methodology, Notes

 

List of Charts and Figures

• Total EV Charging Station Unit Sales by Region, World Markets: 2010-2015
• Electric Vehicle Sales, United States: 2010-2015
• Charging Equipment Market Segmentation, United States: 2015
• Residential Access to Charge Spots
• Typical U.S. Commute Distances
• PHEV Energy Consumption, United States: 2010-2015
• Utility Revenue from PHEV Charging, United States: 2010-2015
• Vehicle Charging Without Off-Peak Incentive
• Example of Combined Evening Charging
• Total EV Charging Station Unit Sales, World Markets: 2010-2015
• Charging Equipment Sales by Segment, United States: 2015
• Electric Vehicle Product Plans, North America: 2010-2012 and Beyond
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Product Plans, Europe: 2010-2012 and Beyond
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Product Plans, Asia: 2010-2012 and Beyond
• Vehicle Charging Levels
• Estimated Costs for Installing Charging Equipment
• State Incentives for EV Infrastructure Investment
• Average Daily Charging Time for PHEVs

List of Tables

• Total EV Charging Station Unit Sales by Region, World Markets: 2010-2015
• Electric Vehicle Sales, United States: 2010-2015
• Charging Equipment Market Segmentation, United States: 2015
• Residential Access to Charge Spots
• Typical U.S. Commute Distances
• PHEV Energy Consumption, United States: 2010-2015
• Utility Revenue from PHEV Charging, United States: 2010-2015
• Vehicle Charging Without Off-Peak Incentive
• Example of Combined Evening Charging
• Total EV Charging Station Unit Sales, World Markets: 2010-2015
• Charging Equipment Sales by Segment, United States: 2015
• Electric Vehicle Product Plans, North America: 2010-2012 and Beyond
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Product Plans, Europe: 2010-2012 and Beyond
• Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Product Plans, Asia: 2010-2012 and Beyond
• Vehicle Charging Levels
• Estimated Costs for Installing Charging Equipment
• State Incentives for EV Infrastructure Investment
• Average Daily Charging Time for PHEVs