Subsurface Technology for Electric Pathways (STEP)

电动汽车的采用对英国实现气候目标和解决空气污染至关重要。电池成本和消费者接受度正在改善，但阻碍电动汽车快速普及的另一个障碍是缺乏公共充电基础设施。在英国，有800万车主无法使用非道路停车，因此无法在家中为电动汽车充电。解决这个问题的方法有几种，但每种方法都有缺点：独立的街道充电点--通常位置不方便，价格昂贵，而且由于设备笨重而存在接入问题灯柱充电--便宜，但仅限于靠近道路的路灯柱。功率限制在2-5千瓦。电线沟-在家里和汽车的充电点之间的路面上开槽电缆。需要用户直接停在房屋弹出窗口和无线充电的外面--在开发的早期阶段快速充电中心--目前还没有证据表明这是居民的解决方案然而特洛伊能源系统为街道充电站的缺乏提供了一种新颖、经济高效的解决方案。它涉及一种齐平连接，其中ChargePoint被开槽到地面，导致人行道边缘不会出现永久性的街道混乱。要给电动汽车充电，用户需要将喷枪插入连接器，另一端插入汽车。第一阶段的研究成功证明了这些充电点的可行性。对这种商业上可行的产品有很大的需求：约90%的研讨会与会者表示，他们希望将该技术安装在家里以外的地方，大多数调查受访者表示，该解决方案将有助于克服缺乏公共充电的障碍。此外，地方当局对这项技术很有信心，特别是因为它具有可扩展性，并有助于缓解行政区内的停车压力。第二阶段的试验将在现实环境中演示充电系统。布伦特和卡姆登的整个街道都将安装这项技术--连接器将被放置在大约5米的间隔，允许居民无论他们把车停在哪里都可以充电。已有多个用户表示对该技术感兴趣，八达通能源也将招募部分家庭能源和电动汽车客户。此外，由于15个连接器可以并行运行，只需一个电网连接，因此可以降低成本，并可以进行有效的电网管理。在试验中，将对充电站和车辆进行监控，以获取有关充电行为的信息，并证实电网服务的潜在收入，这是配电网络运营商(DNO)的一个重要方面。

EV adoption is crucial for the UK to meet climate targets and tackle air pollution. Battery costs and consumer acceptance are improving, but a remaining barrier inhibiting rapid EV uptake is lack of public recharging infrastructure. A substantial 8m vehicle owners in the UK don't have access to off-street parking and therefore cannot charge an EV at home.There are several approaches to this problem, however each has drawbacks:Standalone on-street chargepoint -- often inconveniently located, expensive, and presents access issues due to bulky equipmentLamppost charging -- cheap but limited to lampposts close to the road. Power restricted to 2-5kW.Wire trenches -- slotting cable in pavement between chargepoint in home and car. Needs users parked directly outside their housePop-up and wireless charging -- in early stages of developmentRapid charge hubs -- no evidence yet that this is a solution for residentsThe Trojan Energy system however, presents a novel, cost-effective solution to the lack of on-street chargepoints. It involves a flush connection, where the chargepoint is slotted into the ground, resulting in no permanent street clutter on the pavement edge. To charge an EV, the user inserts the 'lance' into the connector, and the other end plugs into the car.The STEP Phase 1 study successfully proved the feasibility of these chargepoints. There is substantial demand for the commercially viable product: ~90% of workshop attendees said they wanted the technology installed outside their home, and the majority of survey respondents said the solution would help overcome the barrier of lack of public charging. Additionally, local authorities have confidence in the technology, particularly as it is scalable and helps to relieve parking pressure within boroughs.The Phase 2 trial will demonstrate the charging system in a real-life environment. Entire streets within Brent and Camden will be fitted with the technology -- connectors will be placed about 5m apart, allowing residents to charge regardless of where they park. Several users have already expressed interest in the technology, and Octopus Energy will also recruit some of their home energy and EV customers.Furthermore, as 15 connectors can run in parallel, requiring only one grid connection, costs can be reduced, and effective grid management can be enabled. Chargepoints and vehicles will be monitored in the trial, to gain information on charging behaviour and to substantiate potential revenue from grid services, an important aspect for distribution network operators (DNOs).