European Commission signs Innovation Deal to tackle barriers to innovation in E-Mobility

The European Commission with eight partners recently signed an “Innovation Deal” to address regulatory barriers for recycling and re-use of electric vehicle batteries.

EU Commissioners Carlos Moedas and Karmenu Vella signed the Innovation Deal titled ‘From E-Mobility to recycling: the virtuous loop of the electric Vehicle' with public and private partners involved in an innovative pilot project Smart Solar Charging aiming to store locally produced sustainable energy in batteries used in electric vehicles. It is a concrete step to address regulatory barriers to innovation in the area of electric vehicles and reduce total cost of electric vehicles.

Carlos Moedas (Research, Science and Innovation) said: “The electric vehicle revolution is a testimony to how innovation generates growth and fundamentally changes society for the better. In order for Europe to stay in the lead of this innovation race, we need to work together with innovators and authorities to make sure our laws do not hamper innovation. This Innovation Deal will clarify the regulatory landscape in this area, and boost demand for electric vehicles.”

The ERDF funded project Smart Solar Charging is an innovative pilot project in the city of Utrecht that builds a sustainable energy system at district level. Locally produced solar energy is stored in (pool) cars via Vehicle2Grid technology: a smart and dynamic quick load- and storage system. This creates flexible storage capacity that reduces peak loads on the power grid. The stored energy is being released to the district at a later time, when energy prices are high.

It is estimated some 200 electric vehicles are required for supply of electricity to all households in the pilot area. That equals some ten percent of the vehicle fleet in the area. Currently, there are still only 30-40 electric vehicles registered in the area.

By addressing national, regional as well as the local regulatory barriers for use of propulsion batteries for energy storage, the Innovation Deal aims to optimise e-vehicle battery usage through its full life cycle. In this way, total cost can be reduce, eventually increasing access to electric mobility.

The evaluation report of this pilot EU Innovation Deal will be discussed during a workshop that will be organised in the second part of 2018 in Brussels. The workshop will bring together representatives of the Commission, national administrations and innovators to discuss their experience with instruments to address regulatory barriers to eco-innovation at EU and national level.

Smart Solar Charging will be developed further and tested over the next four years in five linked pilot areas in the Utrecht region.