How do things stand for industrial production of electrical vehicles in France and in particular in Grenoble-Isere?

Three categories of player have a stake in developing this technology: car manufacturers, electricity utilities and the electrical engineering industry. France enjoys a leadership position in each of these fields, thanks to PSA and Renault-Nissan in manufacturing, EDF for power, and Schneider Electric, Alstom and Legrand in electrical engineering. These front-line players are surrounded by a host of suppliers, partners and research laboratories. So we have all the necessary ingredients for France to become a driving force in developing electric vehicles (EV). The top firms in each of these fields are stepping up their R&D capacity in Grenoble-Isere, working on batteries and infrastructure, as well as studying patterns of consumption. Why have they chosen this area? Quite simply because there is a powerful environment with several competitiveness clusters (Tenerrdis, Minalogic), research institutes (Minatec, Ines), industrial firms and start-ups. The local authorities have also provided a lot of support for EV technology. The fact that Grenoble has been chosen as one of the pilot-towns for the government’s electrical vehicle development plan is further proof of this trend.

How is Schneider Electric involved in developing this technology?

Electric vehicles will require a huge amount of infrastructure for charging and energy management. To obtain vehicles with zero carbon-dioxide emissions they have to be charged with emissions-free electricity. The whole operation would be pointless if we had to turn on fossil-fuel power stations to charge the batteries for the rush hour. So proper energy management is essential to achieve the goal of an entirely carbon-free car. Schneider Electric fully intends to position itself as a “first entrant” for the production of charging infrastructures and the development of service offerings. We have already pioneered solutions and technology and we shall continue to contribute to building up the industrial process.

What are the challenges regarding standardization of the electricity supply?

The question of standardization is absolutely crucial. Schneider Electric has set up the EV Plug Alliance (1) in partnership with Legrand and Scame, an Italian firm, to promote standardized, interoperable and safe solutions for the power plugs to be used on EVs. Standardization means deployment all over Europe, at least. But we need to use this work to project a whole range of values: safety first, which is a pre-requisite which is absolutely not negotiable; then simplicity of use, energy efficiency and, of course, cost.

(1) The EV Plug alliance was set up in March 2010 by Schneider Electric, Legrand and Scame. In May they were joined by Gewiss, Marechal Electric, Radiall, Vimar, Weidmüller France and Yazaki Europe.