Transitioning to a lower carbon future through electrification of industrial processes, spaces, and fleets is no easy task. This is indeed aligned with the national vision towards achieving decarbonization by 2050. Malta is bound to reduce GHG emissions by 19 per cent below its 2005 emissions pursuant to the Effort Sharing Regulation.
To arrive at this stage, transportation will play a crucial role. Presently, Malta’s share of final energy consumption in transport is 55 per cent, which is reported to be much higher than European’s average. Also, 40 per cent of this contribution is attributed to aviation, and road transport is a major contributor, of which directly impacts our GHG emissions.
There is no fast track towards the shift to electrical mobility. The electrical car is far from ruling the road and we are all learning as we go along. However, if our country truly wants to carry out an impactful transition, one which truly sees tangible results, our energy sources need to follow suit. An energy transition due to this increase in demand towards a cleaner source of fuel would as a result reduce reliance on fossil fuel across the economy while moving toward greater use of cleaner energy sources, such as renewables.
As things stand, electric vehicles are slowly gaining cost parity while the focus on sustainability grows. The transition is with us, one that is happening now. Most industrial manufacturers are moving towards the electrification of industrial fleets, processes, and spaces. This flows in line with the broader energy transition taking place across the economy. We are indeed shifting towards a greener economy, one which does not only benefit the leaders but also the investor, manufacturer, importer and the end user. The role of the government is not to effect transition but to spearhead it. As a matter of fact, as a nation we have one of the most ambitious incentives for buying electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles and a new incentive for mass fleet transition has just been launched. Every drop counts, however, mass fleet transition is what truly requires a shift. This is what would ultimately make the major impact.
Electric vehicles are slowly gaining cost parity while the focus on sustainability grows
This shift comes about with numerous challenges among which is the consumers’ fear of range anxiety and availability of charging infrastructure. To tackle this fear, the Government has taken an account of such hurdles and set out a clear plan towards setting up a charging infrastructure strategy. This included the clear set up of a National Policy for Electric Vehicle Public Charging Infrastructure and a Regulation to assist in setting up and regulating the market through this transition. Also, new residential and domestic tariffs have just been launched to enable private charging. These were followed by the introduction of new operator rates, E-Drive Plug ‘n’ Charge.
The launch of an additional 260 charging points mixed with medium to fast chargers enable higher efficiency charging while providing one of the most competitive charging rates in Europe. Through the regulation, any new publicly accessible charging infrastructure needs to enable an interoperable platform and technology as well as enable ad-hoc and cross border charging amongst others. This would as a result enable Malta to become connected to the European charging route and beyond.
National policy and regulation could intrinsically steer the transition as private investment is likely to become encouraged to penetrate the market, however, to truly make an impact it takes more than this. The current opportunity to transform the way we move fundamentally also results from changes in two additional important factors, consumer behaviour and technology. Industry players are accelerating the speed of automotive technology innovation as they develop new concepts of electric, connected, autonomous, and shared mobility.
To ensure the widespread adoption of electric mobility, launching new EVs in the market is an important first step. In addition, the entire mobility ecosystem must work to make the transformation successful, from EV manufacturers and suppliers to financers, dealers, energy providers, and charging station operators. One cannot disregard the importance of
training all personnel who will be assisting in the troubleshooting of any potential accidents or servicing along the way. Following in depth discussions with stakeholders an opportunity has been identified, one where the shift towards greener jobs has been highlighted. Working with training institutions is key to attract and certify personnel to follow training programmes.
As the electricity supply evolves and charging with green energy for a larger fleet of EVs becomes more feasible, materials and production will become the dominant sources of emissions in an EV’s lifetime.
The world must move beyond a carbon-based economy to save the planet from irreversible climate change. The key will be to couple sustainability with economic viability through innovative technology and properly guided mobility transformation. Malta could truly become a testbed for other countries, as we emerge as a role model for other countries globally.
Ing Abigail Cutajar, Advisor, Energy and Sustainable Development, Ministry Secretariat, Ministry for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development