Electric vehicles would only add 15% of new electricity demand to the global grid in the worst 2040 case

The BloombergNEF energy research project has run its EV electricity demand forecasts, and came up with two possible scenarios for the new load they will add to our collective networks. It turns out that worries about the inability of the global electricity grid to survive all that transportation electrification rush may have been rather exaggerated.

Currently, all electric vehicles on the road will only add 0.2% to the global electricity demand this year, or about the annual consumption of Singapore. With the stated 2030 electrification goal by most major legacy automakers, however, that number is bound to exponentially rise, but not as much as feared. Even in the worst-case scenario where all new sales in 2030 are of electric vehicles, they will only add up to 15% to the global electricity consumption by 2040.

In 2050, which various global summits have pegged as the net-zero emissions deadline, that figure is projected to rise with 12% more. The so-called Net Zero scenario assumes that virtually all commercial transportation methods are electrified by then - cars, buses, trucks, and others - but the breakdown differs quite drastically by region.

In Europe, which is at the forefront of sustainable energy production and consumption, electric vehicles would add 22% of new electricity demand in 2040, says the report, while in places like China they will only add half that amount. Needless to say, Bloomberg's analysts still advise to carefully plan out the nationwide EV charging networks like the one Biden's administration set aside US$7.5 billion for, and also to spread out charging away from peak hours.

For all other intents and purposes, though, the extra electricity consumption that the switch from internal combustion engines will add to the grid is reportedly manageable. It will also seemingly only increase in a gradual manner during the next two decades, giving governments and regulatory bodies enough time to plan ahead for the electric car era.

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