Energy Infrastructure for EV Charging Stations Market (2022-2029)

The growth of this market is mainly attributed to factors such as government initiatives to drive the adoption of EVs and associated infrastructure and rising demand for EV fast-charging infrastructure. However, the high cost of infrastructure equipment is likely to restrain the growth of this market. The increasing adoption of electric mobility in emerging economies and the growing deployment of charging stations by retail MNCs are projected to provide significant growth opportunities for vendors operating in this market. The impact of voltage dips on electrical vehicle charging stations is a major challenge to the growth of this market.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a widespread economic downturn. Several countries imposed strict lockdowns to contain the infection, leading to the shutdown of manufacturing industries and disruptions in supply chains and production schedules. There has been a significant impact on technology supply chains globally. The economic slowdown significantly disrupted the automotive industry, causing rapid declines in light vehicle sales. The light vehicles market suffered a decline in revenue by close to 20% in 2020. Furthermore, shifts in consumer purchasing behavior due to uncertainty surrounding the pandemic are expected to significantly affect the industry's near-future growth. Meanwhile, shortfall and cash crunch affected fleet operators' sales, which are expected to widen further in the coming months.

In North America, automobile players faced a major setback from the demand side due to stringent federal, state or provincial, and local measures restricting travel and social interactions. The sale of automobiles declined by 15% in North America due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Automobile industries in Asia-Pacific countries were the first to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 disease outbreak. Most Asian-Pacific countries immediately reported a double-digit drop in car sales due to production halts and cancellations in marketing activities. The Chinese automobile industry has been hit twice in 24 months due to the China-US trade war and later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Manufacturing units in South Korea and Japan were temporarily shut down or reported production loss due to disruption in the automotive supply chain from China. The Indian automotive industry witnessed a total production loss of $16.09 billion in 2020.

However, EV production witnessed a limited effect due to the pandemic as their production levels in 2020 were predicted to remain the same as in 2019. Governments of various countries are providing monetary subsidies for EV purchases. As a result, the demand for EVs is not expected to be significantly disrupted due to the pandemic. In addition, several governments are investing in charging infrastructure as part of their economic stimulus packages. These packages range from direct investments for public charging stations to subsidies for installing private charging stations at homes and workplaces. For instance, in April 2020, China announced over $1.4 billion to subsidize the construction of charging stations on top of existing programs promoting EV sales.

The inclusion of EV infrastructure investment into COVID-19-related stimulus packages by the governments of countries in Europe and Asia is expected to boost its growth in the future. For instance, in June 2020, Germany proposed a €130 billion ($145.8 billion) stimulus future package, featuring at least €50 billion ($56 billion) for climate-related spending. It includes plans to boost electric vehicle sales, improve building energy efficiency, enhance public transport networks, develop hydrogen infrastructure, and shift the cost of renewables subsidies onto general taxation. Subsidies for electric vehicles were also doubled. The program includes an extra €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) for EV infrastructure, including EV charging stations.

However, most governments from affected regions have turned to infrastructure rehabilitation to stimulate economic recovery. Several governments are investing in charging infrastructure through direct investments for public charging stations or subsidies for installing private charging stations at homes and workplaces. For instance, in April 2020, China announced subsidies amounting to $1.4 billion for installing charging stations. In Germany, the government announced a stimulus package worth €2.5 billion to develop infrastructure for electric vehicles and construct charging stations. The European Union also aims to have 1 million charging stations by 2025. Additionally, in January 2021, the Government of India allocated $486 million incentives for adopting 7,090 e-buses. Such initiatives by the government are anticipated to drive the growth of the electric vehicle market, creating growth prospects for the energy infrastructure for the EV charging stations market.

Voltage drops and distribution power losses are the main factors affecting the penetration of a large number of EVs. Voltage dips due to faults or switching actions in the transmission grid affect a large geographic region and can propagate to the terminals of EV charging stations. These voltage dips may lead to abnormal operation of EV charging stations and reduce the life cycles of EV batteries. SAE Standard J2894 provides the power quality requirements for EV chargers. According to them, the EV chargers must remain energized if the supply voltage drops until 80% nominal for up to 2 sec. Also, the EV chargers must ride through a complete voltage loss for up to 12 cycles. When the dip magnitude is below 80% but remains nonzero, it is not explicitly covered by the standard. These problems are bound to affect the performance as well as endurance of the distribution network equipment.