Companies in different industries have key roles in the development of the necessary technologies and in the integration of them into systems. Currently, the debate focuses of a few areas where development has started to make progress, such as cars, buses, trucks, charging infrastructure, and information services.
Early projects have been initiated in the fields of electric roads, ships, and airplanes, but there are still large technical and financial challenges to overcome until these sectors to drive development to large-scale transformation. There is also the challenge of developing power grids and expanding power generation to produce and distribute power to accommodate the transformation of the vehicle fleets of entire countries.
Many companies that have not yet started to take an interest in electric mobility will have to become key players in this development. The transformation to e-mobility involves the transformation of entire industries and sectors of business and society and changes will have to be made in many areas. The automotive industry, ship building and retrofitting of electric propulsion systems, and the production of aircraft for short-distance routes will over time become affected. The utilities sector will experience an increasing demand for electricity and with an expansion of production from renewable sources it will become increasingly challenging to match production with demand.
Fleets of electric cars with their batteries will provide storage capacity for large volumes of electricity and the opportunity to charge batteries when large volumes of power is produced from wind or solar sources, provided that most cars are connected to the grid at these times. Smart grid technologies will need to be implemented on a large scale and communication and intelligence needs to be installed in the grid long before the need arises for the systems to be developed to a point where they can become effective. The development of smart grids and the monitoring and steering of activities in the grid will require advanced communication between cars and heating installations and the control systems of utilities companies. This will give rise to the development of a new sub-sector of the ICT industry, with companies that offer smart-grid technologies and systems solutions.
As the development progresses business opportunities will emerge that make it possible for entrepreneurs to develop new businesses in fledgling areas.