Background material for Signal Session on Business Opportunities for Electric Vehicles in US and Russian markets
The goal of this Signal Session
Actively discuss developments and opportunities in the US and Russian EV markets.
Target group
Finnish companies, organizations and persons that are interested in the various segments of the US and Russian EV market and potential opportunities that will continue to arise.
Electric Vehicle market in the USA:
The US electric vehicle (EV) market has tremendous potential. It is also multi-faceted and news concerning the various aspects of the market is ever increasing. However, whether the hype and all the news really translates into momentum for mass adoption remains to be seen. With over 3,000 utilities in the United States and a growing number of charging equipment manufacturers entering the market, how they communicate with EV owners will become increasingly more important.
Where are the real US opportunities? How can Finnish technology developers introduce their innovations to the US market? Are there opportunities to cooperate in demonstration programs with the Dept. of Energy labs, universities, EV associations and industry?
Electric Vehicle market in Russia:
The Russian EV market is in its infancy. It may seem that the country rich in natural resources has no needs for development of electric vehicles except traditional trolley-busses and heavy trucks. However, the increase in population of large cities (more than 1 million inhabitants), the overall economic recovery led to a sharp increase in the number of vehicles, constant traffic jams and, consequently, to a significant deterioration of the environment in cities. It is a real driver for development of EVs and infrastructure for them.
Description of the Electic Vehicles market
Electric vehicles in the US are just beginning to roll out of the showrooms. The all electric Nissan Leaf and General Motors’ extended range Volt have received considerable press coverage and advanced sales figures are encouraging. In addition, there are numerous other smaller OEM’s manufacturing EV’s and trucks in the US including Tesla, Think, Aptera, EVI and Smith Electric Vehicles.
Although initial EV charging will mostly take place at home during the evening hours, the public charging infrastructre is beginning to take shape. Early on, accessible public charging facilities will be critically important in order to increase consumer confidence – especially for those without a garage. Presently there are a number of smaller charging equipment providers that have received funding from federal programs. However consolidation is likely as the larger players enter the market as it begins to develop.
The rise in the number of EVs will open up new opportunities for the utilities requiring them to work out new business models for providing new services that encourage energy efficiency and promote the smart grid through EV programs. Some utilities will own their own charging stations, others will not. However most are still waiting to see what the EV market will look like a year or two down the road before deciding on the their course of action.
By 2013, utilities will likely begin investing in EV-related IT systems and services so that the aggregated load of EVs can be managed as an asset and integrated into demand response and other energy management systems. The advanced battery segment continues to be among the most active areas receiving public and private research funding. More than a dozen lithium battery chemistries are in development, and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 has provided more than $1.5 billion for energy storage research.
Where are the real US opportunities? How can Finnish technology developers introduce their innovations to the US market? Are there opportunities to cooperate in demonstration programs with the Dept. of Energy labs, universities, EV associations and industry?
The main reason for the growth of EV-market in Russia is the environmental despoliation in big cities. Development of electric transport in former USSR was focused on reduction of operational cost and increase of operational effectiveness, not on energy- or resource-saving. Main focus groups were loaders and forklifts, huge dump-trucks, locomotives, passenger and cargo trolley-buses sometimes of “mild-hybrid” scheme.
In Russia there are no federal programs for the development or support of EV, but there is a number of regional programs and regulations. The most important of them is the program of the Government of Moscow. Moscow Program can be of interest for Finnish companies working in ecologically friendly transport. Currently, two types of the electric vehicles compete in the Russian market, i.e. battery and hybrid ones. Each type has advantages and disadvantages, as well as issues that were not resolved. Unsolved problems are a source of opportunities for Finnish companies.For battery vehicles there is a complete lack of charging stations equipped with necessary services, undeveloped legal (registration and technical survey) infrastructure and a lot of technical problems.
Many influential persons of the automotive world, especially in Russia, consider hybrid electric vehicles as the key solution of moving into environmentally friendly transport. Main focus of research and development is implementation of hybrid schemes in existing models of passenger transport, mainly city buses. There are several projects that are close to mass implementation. In addition, Russian media widely publicized the project of mass production of small hybrid cars so called ё(Yo)-mobiles.
What are real opportunities for Finnish companies in Russian market? How to enter Russian market of electric vehicles?