3FOOD

Third Industrial Revolution Consulting Group
and buses. Moreover, specific attention should be given to the sustainability of the batteries
themselves.
In addition, batteries require a much longer recharging time than what is needed for the
refueling of fossil fuel. This means not only a radical change of habit by users (no more casual
refueling, but planned ones), but also the need for many more recharging points, located
mainly at home, but also at parking lots and exchange stations. However, since the average
daily distance travelled in Luxembourg by the majority doesn’t exceed 60km, the range offered
by most of the existing electric cars, (around 100-120km) is already sufficient.
At the same time, two major technological innovations will become mainstream: inductive and
dynamic charging (charging without plug) and highly automated driving. With the combination
of these two technologies, new EVs can charge themselves by driving autonomously to a free
inductive charging point nearby. As soon as highly automated driving is established, inductive
charging systems will be standardized and interoperable and these two technologies will
become more and more affordable.
1.1.3 Hydrogen as a power supply for electric vehicles.
At present, hydrogen is a much less widespread technology for automotive use than batteries
due to the disadvantages that were discussed in proposal 1.1.1 and therefore, at the moment,
hydrogen vehicles have not yet been identified as an immediate priority. However, there are
many advantages to hydrogen vehicles. On-board hydrogen tanks are only slightly heavier than
fossil fuels tanks, and refueling is almost as quick. Hydrogen could replace fossil fuels, requiring
only a slight change in driving habits by the users. Thanks to its high energy density, hydrogen
could also be suitable in the long-run as a zero-emissions fuel for long distance trucks and
buses.
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