Telenor helps cure “range anxiety” in electric car drivers

Range anxiety is a condition that often afflicts people while at the helm of an electric vehicle. Anxiety escalates as the driver grows increasingly uncertain as to whether the battery-powered car will make it from point A to point B.

“Drivers of electric cars know that they cannot simply re-fuel at any given time. They must re-charge, which requires planning,” explained Per Lindberg, Global Business Development Executive, Telenor Connexion. “A good communications solution is necessary in order to plan your driving. You will not find an electric car without a telematics solution – that’s where we come in.”

Battery life of an electric car is dependent on a number of factors, including traffic conditions and even the weather. This makes it critical that the driver is able to communicate with the outside world and accurately calculate just how far his battery can take him.

Telenor in ideal position to deliver solutions

Telenor Connexion has a history of delivering telematics solutions to vehicles, in addition to experience working with the electric utilities companies in creating automated meter reading solutions. This puts the company in an ideal position when combining automotive telematics and electric utilities support for the electric car industry.

“Telenor will deliver the communication. We have a network of companies that we will work with, including the electric utility companies, so it is possible to take on the role of mediator,” said Lindberg. “The utility companies are now looking into how electric cars will affect their business, what they need to do and what their position will be, and we’re helping them along the way.”

New challenges for the electric utility companies

Electric vehicles present new challenges for the utility companies. For example, a driver of an electric car may drive to a friend’s house for dinner and wish to charge his vehicle during his stay. The problem arises when the driver’s electricity usage to re-charge his car shows up on his friend’s monthly power bill. To solve this dilemma the power company needs to be alerted that this electricity is for the car, not the friend, and that the driver of the vehicle should be charged instead.

“The industry is developing ways of identifying whether electricity is used by the vehicle or the household, which results in a completely new business model for the utility companies,” said Lindberg. “From a Telenor perspective it doesn’t differ much whether it’s an electricity meter or a car that wants to send data via our network, it’s the data that we transmit in both cases. Where it gets interesting is when we start thinking about the electric vehicle communicating to the electric grid.”

Electric cars challenge the current methods of distributing electricity

There are still a number of questions remaining when it comes to the infrastructure and distribution of electricity to meet the new needs of electric cars. For example, who will own the charging stations? When parking downtown, will parking and battery charging be billed together? And when you charge your car, can you select the company from which you will purchase your power?

According to Göran Brandt, Vice President of Business Development at Telenor Connexion, flexibility is the key to the successful spread of electric cars. “At the end of the day, it’s all about retrieving the necessary information, such as location, consumption, preferred method of payment, etc. There will most likely not be a single solution working in all countries and places. Flexibility and long-term consistency are essential.”

Electric cars drive telematics growth

Telenor has identified telematics as one of its key growth areas. Since telematics will be a standard feature in all electric cars, this industry will serve as one of the main drivers of this growth.

“I think we will see a very quick rollout of electric cars, as there is a lot of political pressure on getting these vehicles to the market and many government subsidies are now being offered to encourage uptake,” said Lindberg. “We are excited to support the spread of electric cars, and we will do our best to help alleviate all unnecessary range anxiety for consumers.”