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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Charging ahead: why Shell sees a future of electric, hydrogen and LNG Charging ahead: why Shell sees a future of electric, hydrogen and LNG Published on October 18, 2017 Sinead Lynch Follow Sinead Lynch UK Country Chair at Shell I’ve been Shell’s UK Country Chair for just over a year. When it comes to the future of transport, it has certainly been a year of headlines. In July, Volvo announced all cars launched after 2019 would be electric or hybrid, a day before the French government said that sales of sole petrol and diesel vehicles would be outlawed by 2040. The UK announced similar measures weeks later. At Shell, meanwhile, we have seen changes across the business, from continual improvements in how we drive efficiencies, to the launch, in April 2016, of our New Energies business. These moves will make us more resilient and competitive in the future. Today marks another first for Shell – not just in the UK, but for the group globally. We are opening our first Shell Recharge electric vehicle (EV) charging points at three UK forecourts. The service can charge most electric vehicles in around 30 minutes. Our plan is to offer recharging in 10 UK service stations by the end of the year. The launch of Shell Recharge comes days after our announcement to buy NewMotion, one of Europe’s largest electric vehicle charging companies. Both initiatives will help us test and develop the full raft of electric vehicle charging solutions for customers at home, at work and on the go. The appetite for electric So, what is behind this? We believe that electrification is going to play a big part in the transport sector, which currently accounts for around a quarter of UK carbon emissions in the UK. The use of electric vehicles is gathering pace rapidly, but a step-change isn’t going to happen overnight. Between April and June in the UK this year, 4.4% of cars registered for the first time were either wholly or partly electric. So, a mass move will take time. Different journeys, different fuels In the meantime, we are going to require a mosaic of transport fuels to make a lower-carbon UK a reality. These fuels will need to suit different vehicle and types of journey and will run alongside petrol and diesel. Hydrogen is also part of that mosaic. Earlier this year, we opened our first hydrogen refuelling station in Cobham, Surrey. The second will follow soon in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire. Just like electric battery cars, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles can help to reduce carbon emissions while addressing air pollution. They have a longer range than battery electric vehicles and are quicker to refuel. They have the potential to be an important part of a low-carbon transport system in the future. Tackling carbon emissions is not the only challenge the transport sector faces. Many parts of the UK have pressing air quality problems with sulphur, Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions and other particulates. They need cleaner transport solutions now. The heaviest emitters are typically older, large trucks. For this reason, in the shorter term at least, we see potential for liquefied natural gas, or LNG, as a lower-carbon, low particulate fuel that can power heavy transport. In Europe, there are some 1,500 heavy-duty trucks running on LNG and Shell is already supplying LNG for transport in Norway and the Netherlands. We are looking to bring it to UK customers next year. Looking ahead No one knows exactly how the energy transition will pan out in the UK. It is too complex for any single company to predict and will almost certainly take several decades. I do know however that it will require us to listen to our customers and work in partnership, particularly with policy-makers, industry and non-governmental organisations. There is a lot of work to do, but there are many opportunities within the challenges. I’m excited that Shell has seized another one today. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)
Much more effective and economical way to reduce auto pollution is to car pool/ride share with drivers and riders becoming members of an association in which members are screened for acceptable behavior. Less cumbersome than lugging limited range and life batteries, production of which produces pollution as does electricity generation.
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