People Get Ready

ECOtality is deploying its Blink electric vehicle chargers in popular spots from Arizona to California. Courtesy Ecotality

With the nation’s biggest carmakers—not to mention the country’s brightest startups—readying their electric vehicles for the road, an even greater push is going on behind the scenes to ensure a smooth road for electric vehicle (EV) owners.

Much of the media attention in 2010 has been on the EV manufacturers; meanwhile millions of dollars of investment and years of R&D are fueling an overhaul of the nation’s auto infrastructure, creating huge business opportunities for technology companies, especially up and down the West Coast, where California, Washington and Oregon are among the states expected to see the first EV rollouts.

With its first electric car, the Leaf, going on sale in December 2010, Nissan (Nasdaq: NSANY) says it plans to sell 20,000 of the cars over the next two years. In 2013, it hopes to sell 150,000. The Chevy Volt is likewise slated to go on sale this year in select markets, and GM plans to sell about 10,000 of the Volt in 2011. In addition to younger companies like Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), Fisker and Coda, other big automakers including Ford (NYSE: F), Toyota (NYSE: TM), Mitsubishi (NYSE: MTU) and Honda (Nasdaq: HMC) are also releasing electric models.

Ease and accessibility of charging is foremost among consumer concerns and could make or break EV purchasing decisions, according to surveys. But chargers and associated software tools are more than just accessories for the next generation of vehicles: They represent a burgeoning and competitive market of their own, one that has implications—not just for EVs—but for utilities and the future of the smart grid.

In the next five years, 4.7 million charging stations are expected to be installed worldwide, with about 3.1 million electric vehicles being sold by 2015, according to a 2010 report by Pike Research. That market for electric vehicle management, including charging, is expected to be worth $1.5 billion globally by 2015, and about $300 million in the United States, according to the same report.

Despite the promise of the fledging EV infrastructure market, there’s still much to figure out—such as how to secure a sustainable revenue stream. And while it’s unclear what the future of the market will look like and which company, if any, may become synonymous with EV charging in the minds of U.S. drivers, companies in the meantime are developing strategies to plug in to the market, from teaming up with automakers, utilities and smart grid companies, to eyeing other sources of income from subscriptions and retail partnerships.

When it comes to EVs and the associated infrastructure, “everybody seems to be pretty excited by how they can improve their value propositions,” says Chris Bowler, general manager of GE Energy Industrial Solutions.

That includes GE (NYSE: GE), which unveiled its sleek new charger in San Francisco in mid-2010. Created by designer Yves Behar, the WattStation charger is expected to be available for commercial customers next year, selling for between $3,000 and $7,000. GE also plans to release a residential version in late 2010. The company views the smart grid-enabled charger as an extension of its electrical distribution systems, GE’s Michael Mahan says. It debuted WattStation in conjunction with a new home energy device and the announcement of a $200 million competition to find new smart grid innovations.

In unveiling the WattStation, CEO Jeff Immelt pointed to the company’s 50,000-member sales force and commercialization prowess as factors that could offer GE an advantage over its competition. But while GE’s size and resources make it a formidable player in any new market, some smaller companies have secured the support of another big name—the U.S. government.

“The economics of selling a few kilowatt hours per charge are very challenging, senior analyst John Gartner says in Pike Research’s report, “and as such we anticipate that public charging station deployments will be driven mainly by government initiatives over the next several years.”