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Electric Vehicles Rise: How Tech is Transforming the Auto Industry in the UK
Stephen Mash
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April 20, 2023
The UK is currently one of the largest markets for electric vehicles (EVs) in Europe, with continuing growth in both plug-in electric and hybrid variants. Despite the government's withdrawal of subsidies, the lag in the nationwide roll-out of fast-charging infrastructure and continuing new vehicle supply issues, EV sales continue to set new records.
One of the effects of the move to zero emissions technology is that the growing adoption of EVs is helping to transform the automotive industry and driving sustainability improvements.
EV development is driving significant advancements in battery technology and charging infrastructure. However, it is also pushing manufacturing sustainability and the challenges of minimising the environmental impact of development methods used in the construction of vehicles, specifically batteries.
The state of electric vehicles in the UK
The rapid exponential growth in electric vehicle sales is now stabilising into more steady growth as market conditions hinder the strong demand. EVs account for almost a fifth of new car sales despite UK new car sales hitting a 30-year low. The main barrier to growth is a lack of supply of new vehicles.
However, the government's new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate and CO2 emissions regulation for new vehicles in the UK may change this when it comes into force. While still in the consultation process, they should publish the mandate in 2024.
Industry forecasts anticipate that this mandate will reignite growth in electric car sales before the planned end of new petrol and diesel car sales by 2035.
Key technologies driving the electric vehicle revolution
Battery technology improvements
The key to successfully adopting EVs in the UK as replacements for internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles is producing vehicles with comparable range and performance. This requires advancing battery technology to increase energy storage while reducing weight and volume.
One area of electric vehicle technology research is the replacement of liquid electrolytes with solid-state materials that offer the potential of better stability combined with greater energy storage density and faster recharging cycles.
An immediate development area is reducing cobalt content in lithium-ion batteries and replacing this with more abundant and less environmentally damaging materials to improve product safety, particularly spontaneous combustion following physical damage.
Another critical area of research is replacing lithium-ion technology with a sodium-ion alternative. Sodium is significantly easier to obtain, is more sustainable and has a considerably less damaging environmental impact.
Charging infrastructure advancements
Charging infrastructure is still in its infancy regarding the availability and reliability of charging points and the percentage that supports fast charging.
One area of research that looks to resolve the issue of limited charging points is wireless charging technology. A charging pad installed under the surface of a parking area can use magnetic resonance techniques to charge the vehicle directly above.
Another challenge to overcome is the scaling of charging infrastructure to meet demand in a world where EVs have replaced ICE-powered vehicles. While the electric grid can support the connection of EVs, electric vehicle technology can support a more intelligent approach to energy distribution and provision, and scheduling of charging services to balance fluctuations in energy availability and EV demand.
You can read more about the National Grid's support for EVs in their article on busting the myths and misconceptions about electric vehicles.
One interesting solution to energy distribution is making the EV batteries part of the grid using vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. Here, an EV feeds energy into the network for powering other EVs or other devices when not in use and takes energy out of the network before use. This leverages typical vehicle usage patterns that are predictable and over short periods.
Lightweight materials and manufacturing techniques
Reducing overall vehicle weight is a straightforward way to increase EV range and performance. Research into alternative materials for automotive manufacturing is looking at developments already in use in supercars, such as aluminium alloys and carbon fibre composites. The challenge is making such strong but lightweight materials affordable for mass production.
Aluminium alloys are particularly attractive due to their high recyclability using established economically viable processes. Research is ongoing into adapting manufacturing techniques to produce complex thin-walled products using aluminium alloys with strength and structural consistency of its mechanical properties.
How HP UK store products are facilitating the transformation
HP workstations for automotive design and engineering
Automotive design and engineering processes place demanding requirements on its computing support. These processes combine complex computational techniques with demanding visualisation needs.
Designing any vehicle from assembled parts required complex stress calculations and techniques, such as finite element analysis, to produce elements that meet the conflicting requirements of high strength and low mass. The design process also requires 3D rendering and simulation processes to aid visualisation.
The HP Z4 G4 Workstation is ideal for engineering, visualisation and machine learning functions. Our most popular desktop workstation delivers disruptive performance across various applications. This workstation offers a choice of Intel® Xeon® or Core™ X processors and supports dual extreme graphics as part of its feature-rich functionality.
3D printing solutions for prototyping and manufacturing
Creating complex parts from advanced materials can be time-consuming and costly. Forming one-off prototype parts can significantly speed up iterative design processes. The ability to produce these parts within the design office maximises these time savings.
The HP Jet Fusion 3D Printer offers multi-jet fusion (MJF) printing technology for digital manufacturing across any application. This technology enables you to create “smart parts” with embedded electronics, integrated traceability and intelligence.
HP MJF 3D printing technology can unlock new opportunities for complementing CNC, injection moulding, additive manufacturing, and powder-based technologies.
HP laptops and tablets for field service and customer support
One of the main differences between model vehicles of all types and older classic cars is their computerisation. Electronics now make up 40% of the average car's cost, with each modern car having around 100 electronic modules.
Servicing and diagnosing cars now relies on connecting a computer to the vehicle over its internal network to talk to each module. HP supports this process with its range of lightweight yet rugged high-performance laptops.
The HP ZBook Firefly Mobile Workstation combines professional performance levels with absolute mobility in a sleek and powerful laptop. This mobile workstation can handle intense workloads, executing multiple CPU-heavy programs simultaneously without sacrificing performance with its Intel Core i7 processor.
The HP EliteBook x360 Notebook is a sleek, thin, light laptop that transforms to suit your chosen workstyle thanks to its 2-in-1 convertible form. This notebook allows you to work anywhere without compromising on performance or security.
Data storage and security solutions for connected vehicles
Modern cars are now increasingly connected to the outside world. This may be a link back to the manufacturer to report the status for reliability monitoring, and it may be a link to the dealer to report usage and diagnostic information to allow preventative maintenance to prevent faults from occurring during use.
The information cars share over their connections like sensitive data, including personal identifiable information (PII), covered by data protection legislation. They can also share location tracking and video streams from internal and external cameras that can be misused when inadvertently capturing images.
Protecting data privacy and safeguarding information obtained from connected cars requires robust security controls.
Future outlook: the impact of EVs on the UK auto industry
Shifts in consumer preferences and market dynamics
The UK's automotive industry has been a central manufacturing capability contributing to economic prosperity. This industry has created centres of excellence with skilled workforces and world-leading supply chains.
However, we expect to see a significant change in this industry. Changes in automotive industry innovation will go beyond replacing ICE with electric power.
We also imagine we'll see changes in how users control vehicles, with increasing automation and changes to ownership with intelligent transportation policies looking at shared use and cars on demand. This can help reduce the number of vehicles required to fulfil transportation needs.
EV sharing is already here; see more in this BBC news story on one electric vehicle car-sharing scheme.
Implications for automakers, suppliers, and service providers
Car makers are already phasing out petrol and diesel engines. Their challenge is producing a competitive alternately powered vehicle that can compete in the marketplace. Manufacturers of ICE vehicles looking to move to the EV market face the challenge of trying to match products made by new manufacturers focusing purely on the EV market.
The changing materials technologies and construction techniques will significantly change suppliers' design and manufacturing processes.
The move from ICS to EV technology is also a significant change for service providers. The servicing needs are entirely different, making a hundred years of experience in ICS servicing redundant and replaced with electrical engineering challenges.
Environmental benefits and sustainability initiatives
Sustainable vehicle production will need to address the environmental impact of the manufacturing processes, from the extraction of materials and their processing and use in construction to form components.
A key benefit of the broader adoption of EVs and replacement of ICE technology will move energy generation processes out of individual vehicles where they are inefficient and create local pollution emissions. Instead, in the short term, energy generation will focus on power station use where efficiencies are higher, and emissions can be more tightly controlled.
In the long term, environmentally sustainable and non-pollution energy generation technology, such as solar, wind and wave-sourced production, can create the energy utilised by vehicles. This eliminates the pollution that comes out of the exhaust pipe. The next step will be to eliminate all the over forms of pollution from brake dust to tyre particles, lubricating oils to micro-plastics.
Summary
Technology has a central role in EV adoption in the UK, from changes to manufacturing processes to the charging infrastructure and the research into autonomous driving technologies.
The HP UK store products are crucial in this transformation, supporting vehicle design, manufacture and maintenance. High-performance workstations power the computational processes of the design and development of vehicles, and support the creative techniques for product visualisation and simulations. Advanced 3D printing solutions support prototyping and manufacturing processes by placing parts manufacturing within the design office to enhance productivity. Dependable, high-performance laptops provide the power to diagnose and service advanced vehicles in the field quickly and securely.
EV technology is here, but more changes are coming, driven by the technological transformation of the automotive industry and our use of vehicles in the coming years. If you want to learn more, look at electric cars: five big questions answered by BBC News.
