UAE is making inroads by plugging into a greener future for transport
The UAE has committed to pursuing ambitious policies geared towards achieving net-zero emissions within the next three decades.
Alongside a series of measures under the Net Zero 2050 Charter and UAE Vision 2021 initiatives, a key element of the Dh600 billion ($163.37 billion) strategy involves encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles, or EVs.
Reports suggest the public is on board with the idea of getting out of fossil fuel-reliant transport and into other options, and figures suggest the EV market in the UAE will gather significant momentum in the next four years.
There will be a near threefold increase in the number of electric vehicles sold annually in the country in that time period, says Statista, a market and consumer data analysis company.
Similar results have been predicted by other consultancies.
Such a rise will require significant upgrades in infrastructure, not least ensuring drivers have sufficient access to charging points, whatever form these might take.
Powertech Mobility is one of the UAE’s main providers of EV infrastructure. Company director Arthi Srinivasan is confident about the future of electric transport in the region, noting a tangible push in this direction from businesses and government agenies. However, he sees the need for further changes, notably the expansion of fastcharging sites on motorways and more individual charging units.
“These solutions need to be strategically placed in high-traffic areas to ensure that EVs have access to charging facilities whenever they need them,” he tells The National.
Power management may also need to be addressed.
“The country has been making significant strides in developing renewable energy sources such as solar power, and utilising these sources for charging EVs could be a game-changer for the future of electric mobility in the UAE,” he says.
There is further evidence the UAE is making moves in the right direction – a report by consultancy Arthur D Little suggests the country is ranked eighth in the world in its preparation for electric mobility.
The UAE is classified as an “emerging EV market” that ranks “high in readiness”, sitting only a few points behind traditionally innovative motoring manufacturers such as Japan and Germany.
China, Europe and the US still account for about 95 per cent of the total number of cars currently being sold, but the UAE’s growth trajectory appears to set it up well for what lies ahead.
EVs will make up about half of the new car sales worldwide by 2035, according to researchers at American investment bank Goldman Sachs. The company suggests the number being sold will rise to 73 million units in 2040, up from about two million in 2020, with percentages projected to increase to more than 60 per cent (up from 2 per cent) during that period.
So far, the UAE has converted about a fifth of its government agency cars to EVs and is aiming to have 42,000 on the roads by the end of the decade.
Speaking at Abu Dhabi Finance Week in November, Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, called the green economy the 21st century’s “logical solution”, urging other economies to “jump on our bandwagon”.
The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority says it is aiming to have 1,000 public charging stations in the emirate by 2025, an increase from 620 at the end of last year.
However, one issue that continues to surround EVs is the manufacturing and recycling of batteries.
The number of factories producing lithium-ion units, which are used to power EVs, was expected to increase almost eightfold between 2021 and 2031, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations has said.
The agency, whihc has its headquarters in the Netherlands, considers electric options to be part of the future of mobility, but it has also drawn attention to the scale of consumption of metals and minerals necessary for the creation of batteries.
“Electric vehicles are part of the solution to climate change,” says Alejandro Gonzalez, a researcher at the centre.
“But the size and sheer volume of planned EV production are not sustainable. We cannot consume our way to a cleaner, greener future. We need fewer cars, smaller cars and more sustainable public transport options.”
For its part, the UAE has made inroads into addressing these issues. At the start of the year, Beeah Group, an environmental management company in Sharjah, announced plans for its first recycling plant for spent EV batteries.
As far as alternative power sources are concerned, the Emirates is also set to launch its National Hydrogen Strategy imminently. Public transport options also continue to expand across the country, not least in the shape of Etihad Rail, which is looking to change the landscape of the UAE by transporting 36 million people annually by 2030.
The UAE has converted about a fifth of its government agency cars to EVs and is aiming for 42,000