Techno-Economic Evaluation of Strategic Solutions to Extend the Range of Electric Vehicles

Abstract

The spread of electric mobility in Germany lags far behind government's targets. High vehicle and energy prices, the limited vehicle range and obligatory time-consuming conductive charging processes are the main obstacles to mass adoption. Strategic mobility concepts, such as electric vehicles with high performance batteries (BEV), hydrogen technologies (FCEV), or dynamic inductive charging (IPTEV), i.e. a constant energy supply while the vehicle is in motion, can overcome those obstacles in Germany and beyond. Numerous studies investigated the different energy sources and compared potential drive technologies. However, in most prior studies, only partial aspects of a specific technology are considered. The contribution of this study is in providing a comprehensive technology comparison, enabling a thorough analysis and evaluation of various technological alternatives for solving the range problem of electric vehicles. For this purpose, a general framework as well as technology-specific key indicators and aspects are presented. The holistic evaluation of the technologies is carried out on the basis of specially defined evaluation criteria, with the focus on passenger car and commercial vehicle applications. In order to ensure a comparison that is as unbiased and objective as possible, measures are adjusted to avoid bias of key figures. Finally, the consideration of foreseeable macroeconomic and technological developments should ensure that long-term valid statements can also be derived from the results of the investigation.