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Keith discusses his role and involvement with regards to EV batteries, industry challenges, what he is looking forward to at the event and why it is important for engineers to attend.
Q: Could you briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with regards to EV batteries?
Keith Pullen (KP): As CTO of Levistor, I am excited to be part of a company offering a solution to a very serious problem which is greatly inhibiting the move to electric vehicles. This is the issue of providing fast, accessible and convenient charging for owners of EVs. As an early EV adopter, I have experienced first hand the perils of nearly running out of charge on a journey. Despite EV’s themselves being superior to ICEs, the sceptics are right, the charging infrastructure falls far short of providing the reliable fuelling experience enjoyed by ICE vehicles and EVs are not yet a practical alternative for the majority.
Q: Many OEMs are pledging to be fully electric by 2030/2035, in light of this what would you say we need next to ensure a mainly electric vehicle presence in the market in the UK?
KP: Apart from further cost reduction and performance enhancements, todays EV’s are already adequate for mass adoption. As said before, it is the charging infrastructure which is lacking. The only way to really understand the problem is to drive an EV, reliance on which will challenge the ardent enthusiast. Drivers are used to the convenience of the fossil fuelling and expect something similar with EV’s. To provide something close means access to ultra-charging powers of hundreds of kW geographically within a couple miles. The grid without massive upgrade cannot service this but local storage can.
Q: What do you think is the main area in the battery lifecycle that needs development to ensure a net-zero carbon lifecycle to match the 2050 target?
KP: This is not within my area of expertise but bringing in ease of recycling into cell and package design is essential despite this leading to increased manufacturing costs and performance reduction. Given the dubious sources and high embedded energy of some of the raw materials, it is all the more important to “bake” ease of recycling into cell design despite additional cost.
Q: What key topics are you excited to discuss at this year's conference?
KP: There are a number of presentations on the topic of charging infrastructure and need for ultra-fast charging. It will be useful to share experience in this important field.
Q: Regarding new technologies for battery use and operation, what would you say are the ones to watch for the future?
KP: There are dozens of new chemistries being developed, each with great potential but the Li-Ion solution is established and hard to beat in terms of its cost-performance metric. The proof is delivery of similar or better performance but at lower cost.
Q: Who else are you most interested in hearing from on the programme?
KP: I am interested to hear from anyone about how the charging infrastructure problem will be addressed. Market forces alone will not facilitate the pace of change needed, how will the different actors from EV manufacturers to charge point operators address this?
Q: Why is it important for engineers to join this year’s International EV Batteries conference?
KP: The changes required to move from the dominant ICE to EVs are monumental and will affect most engineers professionally and in their personal lives. Climate change and air quality are such pressing issues that all engineers should be engaged in promoting EVs as part of the solution even if not directly involved in battery technology.
This year’s International EV Batteries conference will be taking place on 8-9 November 2022 in the heart of the world famous Grand Prix circuit at Silverstone. To book your place, please visit www.imeche.org/evbatteries.