Energy Coast UTC Elements Week 2021

The Brief

In 2035 petrol powered cars will no longer be sold in the UK, from which point the electric car will become the most common means of personal transport. West Cumbria currently has one of the lowest level of charge-points in the UK. While it is expected many people will charge their car at home, the above average distances people commute to work in West Cumbria means that external charging will be essential and regular filling stations may not be able to meet this demand. Having charge-points at work may help meet this demand. If businesses are able to generate, store and provide electrical energy to cars on-site then this provides an ideal solution by ensuring the electricity is generated through zero-carbon means, reducing reliance on the national grid, increasing the reputation of the business, potentially providing extra revenue for the business.

The brief was for the teams to design a system for workplaces (offices/factories) that generates renewable electricity and delivers the energy when needed to employees’ cars.

The students were asked to include or consider in their solution:

• The overall design and how it could be implemented to different sizes or locations of workplaces;
• Research into existing technologies and how they are integrated into the system;
• What technologies can be developed or innovated further to improve the system;
• The cost-affectiveness of the solution and how much investment would be needed for installation;
• The benefits of the solutions and selling the reasons as to why this should be done;
• Maintenance required;
• The manufacturing and procurement process (supply chain) required to deliver the system;
• The carbon cost of production;
• The lifespan of the solution.