From race to road: Is Formula E fuelling the future of green transport?

LONDON: Setting off with just 60% of the power needed to finish the race, drivers at the Formula E World Championship race here this month relied on their brakes at tight turns to produce enough energy to complete the race's 39 laps.

The latest model of the electric racecar regenerates nearly half of its power from braking in what the International automobile Federation (FIA), the motorsport's organiser, described as the most efficient Formula E car yet.

Since its first championship in 2014, Formula E has helped hasten the development of technology for electric vehicles (EVs), making them easier to sell to consumers.

Tax incentives, price reductions and a greater range of vehicles are also expanding the market.

"What we learn on the racetrack through software enables us to transfer that information to our core engineering teams for our future vehicles," said James Barclay, team principal of Jaguar TCS Formula E racing team.

Nearly one in five cars sold globally in 2023 was electric, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

EVs are set to play a key role in meeting net-zero goals by reducing oil usage and carbon emissions, the IEA said.

But experts warn there are still barriers to the widespread adoption of EVs, which alone is not enough to tackle emissions from transport that are increasing as economies and populations grow.

"Electric vehicles are a necessary but not sufficient condition for decarbonization," said Cecilia Briceno-Garmendia, global lead for transport economics at the World Bank.

Trickle-down tech

Advances in technology have helped increase the market share of EVs, according to a study by researchers from Yale University and Carnegie Mellon University.

But it takes four to five years for innovations developed for Formula E racing to trickle down to passenger EVs, said Julia Palle, vice president of sustainability at Formula E.

This year, Formula E teams are working to improve the efficiency of regenerative braking to ensure more energy created from braking is fed back to the battery when the car has the right momentum.

Regenerative braking could also help to improve the range and drivability of passenger EVs, said Tommaso Volpe, team principal of Nissan's Formula E team.

The battery capacity of the Nissan Leaf, one of the first mass-produced EVs launched in 2010, has increased by 181% since the team joined Formula E in 2014.

Winners of this year's championship, Jaguar TCS have also boosted the battery range of Jaguar Land Rover's electric SUVs, based on experience at the Formula E racetrack.

The carmaker will use silicon carbide inverter technology, which allows for a faster, lightweight powertrain, developed for its race cars in all future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles.

Teams are also experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) to learn how energy is deployed during a race. AI would be even more useful in passenger EVs, where an engineer is unavailable to make changes on the spot, according to Volpe.

Though considered environmentally safer than conventional cars, EVs come with their share of unsustainable practices, especially the mining of lithium for batteries.

Formula E is looking at ways to extend battery life, reduce tyre waste and develop ultra-fast charging.
The batteries used in Formula E cars are recycled, and both minerals and metals are reinserted into battery cells every other season, Palle said.

"The real game changer is the charging infrastructure. There is not enough, and it is not fast enough," she said.

No charge

At the season finale at London's ExCeL circuit on July 21, Formula E drivers created plenty of smoke as their tyres gripped the track.

The smell of burnt rubber lingered beneath the stands - still far less air pollution than produced by conventional racecars.

In addition to fuelling research into new technology, Formula E is also credited with popularising electric vehicles, showcasing their drivability and speed to consumers.

EV sales have grown sharply in the last five years, reaching nearly 14 million in 2023, more than six times the number in 2018, according to the IEA.

But those sales are concentrated in just three regions, with 95% of cars sold in China, the United States and Europe.

A lack of charging infrastructure and the price premium of EVs, which can cost 70% more than conventional vehicles according to the World Bank, have slowed EV uptake in the Global South.

"The largest problem that we face moving forward is how to deal with transport decarbonization in developing countries, where emissions are growing," said Briceno-Garmendia.

These countries need to invest in charging infrastructure and electrifying public transport, she said.

Public charging points globally grew by 40% in 2023, with the increase in fast chargers outpacing that of slow chargers, according to the IEA.

But charging infrastructure is still an issue for lower-income communities living in densely populated areas, according to Ashley Nunes, a researcher at Harvard University.

"It's simply impossible to build a charging station for every single person, and it's even more impossible to do that when you live in highly dense housing, because there just isn't enough space," said Nunes.

Switching to clean vehicles is the most direct way to tackle transport emissions, especially with demand for vehicles expected to grow.

But governments also need to adapt urban planning to reduce traffic, invest in improving and electrifying public transport and switch road freight to rail and boat, said Briceno-Garmendia.