FOSSIL FUELS HEADING FOR EXTINCTION?
Battery power on the rise
by Service Dealer Editor, Steve Gibbs
 
Steve Gibbs

Hopefully you will have by now received your copy of the July / August Service Dealer which includes our major feature on what the future may hold for specialist dealers. If you haven't please make sure you visit our website to register for your free subscription.

A subject touched on several times within those pages, and indeed the hot topic over the past couple of years really, has hit the international headlines in a major way this week. That being battery power moving to replace traditional fossil fuel powered engines.

Firstly, there was the news that Volvo has announced that all their new models will have an electric motor from 2019.

The BBC reported that the company has become the first traditional carmaker to signal the end of the internal combustion engine. Apparently they plan to launch five fully electric models between 2019 and 2021 as well as a range of hybrid models.

The aim for Volvo is to sell one million electric cars by 2025. The BBC quotes Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo's carmaking division, saying, “This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car.

"People increasingly demand electrified cars, and we want to respond to our customers' current and future needs."

This news from Volvo was quickly followed up by news out of France that the country is set to ban the sale of any car that uses petrol or diesel fuel by 2040.

The French ecology minister Nicolas Hulot announced the planned ban on fossil fuel vehicles as part of a renewed commitment to the Paris climate deal. The BBC said he described the move as a "revolution."

France are aiming to become carbon neutral by 2050 which will require considerable investment from the French government which they appear prepared to undertake. Indications were also given by Mr Hulot that he believes that French carmakers including companies such as Peugeot-Citroen and Renault would be able to meet this challenge of phasing out fossil fuel powered cars - although he acknowledged it would be difficult.

Now of course both these stories are about cars, not mowers or tractors. However, it's been said by wiser people than I, that where the automotive industry leads in terms of technological developments, the outdoor powered machinery sector follows further down the line. The money for investment in R&D is of course far greater in the car industry. But once that technology is established and can easily be recreated on smaller scale and budget, then if filters through to our industry.

Powering ever larger machines with batteries is becoming a reality. In Service Dealer this month we have mention of John Deere's prototype SESAM electric tractor - the industry’s first fully battery-powered tractor.

And it appears that batteries are getting ever bigger. A story on the BBC this morning says that Tesla is to build world's largest lithium ion battery in Australia. The battery will protect South Australia from the kind of energy crisis which famously led to a state balckout . It's reported that the 100-megawatt (129 megawatt hour) battery should be ready this year. Apparently the next biggest battery in the world is 30 megawatts.

The boffins are clearly working on increasing the capacities, power and runtimes of these new fuel sources - and our industry will eventually see the fruits of these labours.

So should traditional servicing dealers be worried about the effects these developments will have on their businesses? Some clearly already are. What does seem to be the case is this technology is only going to become more prevalent. Therefore being adaptable and open to change will become more vital than ever.

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In this issue
EDITOR'S BLOG
FOSSIL FUELS HEADING FOR EXTINCTION?
NEWS
550+ DEALERS SIGNED UP TO GARDEN TRADER
PRICE TURFCARE AWARDED RYAN PRODUCTS FRANCHISE
TRACTOR SALES SLOW UP
FIRST YEAR OF SUCCESS ENJOYED, SAY REESINK
DEUTZ-FAHR MAKE MULTIPLE DEALER APPOINTMENTS
FURTHER INVESTMENT FOR MASSEY FERGUSON BEAUVAIS
JOHN DEERE AND KRAMER FORM STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
PEACOCK & BINNINGTON SCOOP TRIO OF AWARDS
US STUDY INTO ZERO TURN MOWER PRODUCTIVITY
KUBOTA LAUNCH NEW RTV
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