Depot Charging - An emerging market for Innovation and Technology

Clearly, the world is experiencing changes in the use of new technologies and innovation in traditional industry practices. One of these changes is completely related to transportation and the creation of new vehicles that allow for a more cost-effective way of consuming energy.

It's not surprising that there is a much more pronounced trend towards electric vehicles, as they play a fundamental role in respecting the environment while also significantly reducing costs, creating an efficiency that tilts the balance towards this model as an alternative option. But, how long will it remain an option?

There is no doubt that there is an increasing number of electric vehicle charging stations. But we are also starting to see another type of space that, in turn, generates a new market: depot charging.

It is estimated that by 2030, this market will grow exponentially, starting from the current 0.6 million sales of electric vehicles (e-LCV, e-MHCV, and e-Buses) to 4.8 million, according to the firm MarketsandMarkets. This growth makes it necessary to create new infrastructure to supply this electricity-based charging model.

It will be crucial to have facilities that enable the convenient handling of electrical energy, which will also lead to growth in the infrastructure installation market and depot chargers. As a result, the value of this growth we are talking about will increase from $4.7 billion to $30.7 billion by 2030.

There is also expected growth in commercial vehicles, in my understanding those that transport commercial and industrial products, which require a type of loading solution in storage, to increase by 13.8 million for the year we are estimating. We are talking, ultimately, about an expansion without any precedents, and no one knows for certain what will happen after the year 2030.

This expansion will happen worldwide, mainly in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. We can see this in the following table that specifies the increase of vehicle chargers that have this technology in their systems.

Region	Year 2023	Year 2030
North America	21,000	166,000
Europe	70,000	365,000
Asia and the Pacific	194,000	606,000

Sujay Sharma, who is CEO of bp pulse, sees enormous potential in this industry that continues to improve and innovate more and more and that there will be a significant leap to make a difference in the coming years. Something that I totally agree with, because in my opinion there are two things that need to be kept in mind. On one hand, the creation of new charging markets requires a great deal of expertise for both installation and maintenance of the infrastructure. On the other hand, there will be a demand for vehicles that need this charging model, so both sectors should grow in parallel and also be able to develop technologies that advance after each period of innovation.

The ecosystem that can be created will have its complexity, but it will be in one place, although it will require specialized personnel for its maintenance. What surprises me is the number of companies that are embracing the use of renewable energy sources, maybe this is not the case, but it is far from fossil fuels.

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The aim is that the used load stops being alternating current and becomes direct current. The effect it would generate would be a faster charging speed and efficiency. There would also be an interesting benefit in that the fleet of vehicles decreases in the time of charge recovery and therefore they would be inactive for a shorter time compared to the current used until now. This change in trend would be crucial for this industry to thrive and achieve its goals.

The expansion of charging centers is continuing towards greater adoption by these sustainable energy sources. The use of solar panels and giant batteries will be something common to see in the future, if we're not already seeing it. This will also create greater competition in the technology industry to provide the best service, but the most important thing is that the planet benefits from it, positively affecting the environment and leaving behind those polluting gases that do us so much harm.

Truly important companies in the sector such as BP, Hitachi, and Siemens recognize the potential that deposit charging has, while others like Shell are considering this alternative. The future in this sense is promising and suggests that innovation and the emergence of new technologies will be what awaits us.