The rapid rise in electric vehicles (EVs) in the UK for domestic and commercial use is helping to decarbonise the transport sector, as well as affording benefits to residential air quality. As a society, this is clearly a good thing, if we are to tackle the growing spectre of climate change and to help prevent life-curtailing respiratory diseases. However, if we scratch beneath the surface of this positive drive towards electrification, there are hidden depths that should be considered; including the extent to which access to the benefits of electrification are fair.

The FEVER project team exhibited a solar photovoltaic (pv) powered, off-grid, solution for electric vehicle (EV) charging on Saturday 16th March 2024, as part of the University of Southampton’s Science and Engineering Festival (https://www.sotsef.co.uk/). This event was delivered as part of the national British Science Week.

Part of the FEVER team (Prof Andy Cruden and Mr Andy Westerman) drove a Kia Niro battery EV from Southampton to Manchester (and back to Southampton!) on Wednesday 10th Jan 2024, to visit one of the FEVER partners, Siemens, to view and discuss the suitability of the new Siemens SiCharge-D high rate CCS type EV fast charging unit. Convenience and cost targets were defined!

The Powering Net Zero Week 2023 was held in Glasgow from 14-17 November. The event had three conferences, including Renewable Power Generation (RPG), Energy Storage, and EVI: Charging Ahead, where attendees learned and discussed the most relevant challenges for the UK to meet net zero. A team from the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton attended this event and presented their findings from the FEVER project through oral presentations and a poster.

A recent article in the Time/Sunday Times has raised fresh concerns regarding the ability of the UK electricity grid to provide the necessary electrical capacity to supply the rapid growth in public EV charging stations.

The FEVER project is developing both the design methodology and the hybrid energy storage technology to deliver large scale off-grid EV charging stations, and believe this solution will enable projects to be delivered much more quickly by removing the need to request, pay for and utilise a grid connection.

We invite you to submit your article on Hybrid Battery Energy Storage System to the special issue the FEVER team is guest editing.

The FEVER team discuss some of the key social and economic issues which impact the success of an off-grid electric vehicle charging hub.

A Southampton Engineering Professor is leading an EPSRC-funded project that aims to alleviate the demands on the electricity grid due to the oncoming rise in electric vehicle (EV) usage.

Off-grid, renewable energy-powered charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) are being explored by researchers from the University of Surrey in a new £8m project set to solve some of the biggest problems facing the growth of EVs in the UK.