The electric vehicle industry is constantly in flux amid a continuing flow of advancements, new technologies, and shifting policies around the globe. This news round-up brought to you by Ideal Power (IPWR) gathers some of the most important and critical events impacting EVs and the potential market opportunities the space presents for investors.
This month, we're looking at why bidirectional EV chargers are growing in popularity, projections for the size of the EV charging market, and 2022 sales numbers for the best-selling EV makers.
Bidirectional EV chargers could pay for themselves in three years
One bit of under-the-radar news involves bidirectional EV chargers. Fermata Energy, a developer of bidirectional chargers, reported in a recent presentation that the payback on such chargers could be about $15,000 over their 10-year lifespan.
In fact, bidirectional EV chargers could reimburse drivers for the upfront hardware and installation costs in only three years. On the other hand, Fermata's projections suggest unidirectional chargers could incur $30,000 in maintenance costs over the course of their 10-year lifespan.
Bidirectional chargers turn electric vehicles into revenue-earning machines by enabling drivers to sell the energy they don't use back to the electric grid, or use the extra energy to power their homes. While residential EV owners can certainly benefit from bidirectional chargers, fleet operators may reap even more benefits due to the vast amount of energy their vehicles may be able to generate while charging.
Fermata Energy's presentation covered the results of its V2G pilot program with Revel, a New York City operator of ridesharing, scooter and moped services. Revel installed three bidirectional chargers at its maintenance and repair facility in Brooklyn. Under the terms of its agreement with its local utility, the vehicles in the fleet discharged the power stored in their battery packs into the grid during peak energy usage times — between 2 and 6 p.m. on weekdays during the summer.
Although Revel did earn some money from the bidirectional chargers, this strategy may not apply on a large scale yet. The company benefited greatly from its agreement with Con Edison, so other fleet owners may have to negotiate similar agreements with their local utilities.
Global EV charging market slated for CAGR of 28%
A new report pegs the size of the EV charging market at $14.5 billion in 2021 and estimates that it will reach $128.1 billion by 2030, marking a compound annual growth rate of 28.2% between 2022 and 2030. According to Research and Markets, surging gas and diesel prices are boosting demand for fuel-efficient vehicles, thus increasing demand for EV charging infrastructure.
The firm warned that high startup costs for Level 3 and ultra-fast chargers threaten to restrain the industry's growth. However, it expects growing adoption of bidirectional EV chargers that allow plug-in EVs and the power grid to exchange energy to create plenty of opportunities for key players in the EV charging market over the next 10 years.
EV makers grapple for market share
Tesla (TSLA) has held the title of the world's largest EV maker for some time, and it continues to do so despite the South China Morning Post's claim that BYD, a Chinese automaker, has unseated it. Tesla only sells all-electric vehicles, but BYD makes both all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, which are all included in the automaker's total sales. When combining these two vehicle categories, it looks like BYD outsold Tesla, but it's critical to look beyond the headlines.
Inside EVs reports that BYD sold more than 1.86 million EVs and plug-in hybrids in 2022, which includes more than 911,000 all-electric vehicles and over 946,000 plug-in hybrids. However, if looking only at all-electric vehicles, Tesla still holds the crown, having sold 1.3 million all-electric cars in 2022.
Meanwhile, EV sales have soared to record highs in the U.K. despite supply chain disruptions. According to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, a little over 1.6 million new cars were sold in the U.K. in 2022. Tesla took the prize for top EV seller in the U.K., with the Model Y landing the top spot as the best-selling EV and the third best-selling vehicle overall.
In other parts of the EV industry, Ford's EV sales more than doubled in the U.S., bolstering its position as the number two best-selling EV maker after Tesla. Ford sold 61,575 EVs in 2022, a 126% year-over-year increase.
First commercial product from Ideal Power
Ideal Power launched its first commercial product, the SymCool Power Module, which is rated at 1200V 100A and incorporates double-sided cooling. It’s designed to meet the ultra-low conduction loss needs of the Solid-State Circuit Breaker (SSCB) market. Multiple modules can be paralleled to achieve a wide range of high-power SSCB ratings for industrial, military and utility applications.
The company claims this is superior to conventional switches in SSCBs because it exhibits dramatically reduced conduction losses compared to insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), allowing for significant energy savings. It is also bidirectional, reducing the number of switches required by half. Fewer components result in a smaller, more cost-efficient SSCB, which will be needed for new and growing applications such as vehicle-to-grid, vehicle-to-home, and vehicle-to-vehicle chargers.
Sony and Honda unveil their new electric car brand
Sony and Honda (HMC) have revealed the electric car brand that's developed from their joint venture. Their joint mobility venture has produced a prototype for the new Afeela EV, which was unveiled during Sony's presentation at CES. The Afeela will be Sony and Honda's first production EV and is scheduled to go on sale in North American markets in 2026.
Although the Afeela EV remains shrouded in mystery in some areas, Sony said it will leverage its artificial intelligence, entertainment, virtual reality, and augmented reality technologies. They also said drivers and passengers will "feel the sensation of interactive mobility and where mobility can detect and understand people and society by utilizing sensing and AI technologies."
The Afeela will feature more than 40 different sensors around its exterior, including cameras and radar, ultrasonic, and lidar sensors. These sensors will enhance the EV's autonomous driving capability. Sony highlighted three primary themes for their new EV created in partnership with Honda: autonomy, augmentation and affinity.
The Afeela will be priced along the lines of other high-end EVs, like those from BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. Sony also plans to offer subscription services through the software included in the EV.
Where to look for EV charging investments
With the EV charging market set to explode on the back of skyrocketing adoption of electric vehicles, it’s looking like the time to invest in EV charging technology is here. Vehicle ownership has always been a pricey proposition. However, bidirectional charging turns an EV into a source of revenue — something that’s never been done for vehicle owners before.
Investors might want to look into publicly traded companies with exposure to bidirectional charging, like Ideal Power (disclosure: Ideal Power is responsible for the contents of this article), Nuvve (NVVE) or Wallbox (WBX).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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Dan Brdar
Dan Brdar is the President, CEO and a Director of Ideal Power. He has over 30 years of experience in the power systems and energy industries and has held a variety of leadership positions during his career. In addition to his role at Ideal Power, Dan previously served as President and CEO of FuelCell Energy Inc., a Nasdaq-listed company with a market cap of over $250 million.
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