The public electric van (PEVan) is equipped with a removable battery pack that can be swapped in under a minute at automated stations by sliding out the underfloor unit and replacing it with a fully charged one. Battery swapping gives the PEVans unlimited range and allows continuous 24/7 operation without downtime for charging.
The routing software monitors the battery charge of all PEVans in real time. When a battery is low, it directs the vehicle to the nearest swapping station on its route. The 25 kWh battery provides a range of about 150 km. At an average speed of 50 km/h, a PEVan must swap its battery every three hours.
Battery charging and swapping system
The battery charging and swapping system is installed in standard 20-foot shipping containers that require only an electrical connection. The containers can be transported by a standard truck and placed by the roadside, at existing service stations or near wind and solar parks, reducing transmission and distribution losses.
An electric bus fitted with integrated solar modules
The 20 batteries of the swapping station are stored and charged in two racks of 10 at each end of the container and handled by the automated storage and retrieval system in the middle. A swapping station can supply 20 PEVans with fully charged batteries in less than half an hour. Today’s fast-charging stations require half an hour or more to provide an 80 percent charge for a single private car battery.
Backup stations store excess solar and wind power
Backup stations are connected to the swapping stations and the electrical grid. These “powerbanks”, also installed in containers, store excess electricity from solar and wind to charge the PEVan batteries.
Marcus Fendt: “Intelligent charging is possible immediately”
As renewable energy generation increases and climate instability from global warming intensifies, power fluctuations will rise. The backup stations, together with the batteries in the swapping stations, decentralise and stabilise the European electrical grid, preventing brownouts and blackouts during peak demand. To reduce peak loads, the electricity stored in the backup stations can be fed into the grid within milliseconds. Fossil fuel peak power plants that produce CO₂ can take tens of minutes to start up.
Sodium-ion batteries as alternative
Today, lithium-ion batteries are the only viable option. In future, sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries may serve as a drop-in replacement. They perform better at lower temperatures, are safer and cheaper with longer lifespans, but are heavier and bulkier per kWh than lithium-ion batteries.
Sodium-ion batteries – “built for trade resilience”
Lithium supply depends on countries outside Europe. Lithium is often described as the “new oil”, creating potential “lithium crises” similar to past oil crises. The future price of lithium-ion batteries remains uncertain. Sodium (with NaCl as its most common form in salt) is more abundant than lithium and available worldwide. The EU is urged to invest in this alternative battery technology to reduce dependence on lithium sources outside Europe.
The backup stations can be equipped with recycled lithium-ion “second life” batteries from electric vehicles. Sodium-ion batteries offer an even better solution. As the backup stations are not mobile, the higher weight and bulk of their batteries are not an issue.
PEVans save energy
Replacing fossil fuel cars with electric cars on a one-to-one basis reduces CO₂ emissions on the roads but does not lower the total energy consumed by transport. The source of electricity for these vehicles remains uncertain: will it come from renewables backed by nuclear, or from fossil fuels? A further challenge – and open question – is how the electrical grid will handle peak demand during rush hours. The PEVan solution consumes far less energy per passenger-kilometre than private cars and could be powered entirely by zero-emission nuclear and renewable energy.
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The production and maintenance of the PEVan network, with its swapping and backup stations, will support the ecological reindustrialisation of Europe and create sustainable employment, positioning Europe as a leader in zero-emission and equitable mobility. (Richard Peel/hcn)
About the author: Richard Peel is a freelance journalist and researcher, and the author of “Greeners, leggers & wheelers”, a fact-based futuristic novel about sodium-ion batteries spanning 1945 to 2045. He is based in Marseille, France. More information on the PEVan concept can be found here.
