FIVE MORE TECHNOLOGIES WE’RE LIKELY TO SEE VERY SOON
1 Sidestand charging
Inductive charging is an idea that’s starting to make its way to EVs. Several prototype inductive roads have been built around the world – allowing vehicles to recharge as they drive along them – and for bikes, BMW have filed patents for an inductive charging sidestand, allowing you to top up your battery by parking on a special charging mat.
2 Smart charging
From June 30 this year the Government will mandate that new private chargepoints are ‘smart’ – meaning they can be controlled remotely and change the time when they charge the vehicle. The idea is that the chargepoint can turn on when energy demands on the grid are low, for instance in the dead of night.
3 Bi-directional charging
A step forward from smart charging is bi-directional charging, which allows energy from EVs to go back into the grid. On a more straightforward level, the batteries in future electric bikes could be used as home power banks. Cake’s Ösa utility bike already hints at this ability, with outlets so you can use it as a mobile battery.
4 Hydrogen-powered EV chargers
Mobile, hydrogen-powered fuel cell chargers convert hydrogen to electricity on-site wherever EVs need to be recharged. The Extreme E offroad race series uses hydrogen fuel cells from British firm AFC to recharge competitors in far-flung parts of the world, and as EVs start to spread it’s a solution that’s likely to find more applications.
5 2WD is coming
Two-wheel-drive is an interesting idea but getting a petrol engine to power both wheels has always proved problematic. Electric power and hub motors solve the problem. The British WMC250EV speed record bike features two front motors as well as two for the rear wheel, and over in New Zealand UBCO are making 2x2 utility bikes.