The number of electric cars in Belarus has doubled over the past six months, Belarus' Energy Minister Viktor Karankevich told the media at the E-Mobility 2020 Forum on 16 October, BelTA has learned.
“A package of documents has been adopted at the level of the head of state and the government to promote the use of electric transport. Since incentive measures were introduced, the number of electric vehicles has doubled within the last two quarters, Q2 and Q3, to exceed 1,200 cars. The Energy Ministry has made calculations that if the number of electric vehicles in Belarus grows to 10,000, electricity consumption will make up some 80 million kW/h. This is more than the volume of electricity consumption in the average district of Belarus,” said Viktor Karankevich.
He emphasized that the transition to electric transport is one of the world's main trends. “The global market of electric vehicles will continue growing in the near future. In 2019, the number of electric cars worldwide increased by 2.3 million and exceeded 7 million vehicles. According to forecasts, about 20% of the world fleet will be represented by electric cars by 2030. This is a completely different quality level of urban planning, a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, which means better environment. Besides, it is a powerful impetus to the development of new high-tech industries,” the minister said.
Production and purchase preferences, combined with an affordable price for electricity compared to gasoline, contribute to the growth of electric transport sales in Europe, China and the United States. According to the International Energy Agency forecasts, by 2030 the number of electric cars will reach almost 127 million, that of electric buses - 1.5 million. The demand for batteries is expected to increase 15 times. “If 10 years ago such forecasts seemed something unreal, today we take it as an objective reality that can seriously change the landscape of the global economy and environment. Belarus considers electric mobilization as one of the promising areas of further development,” said Viktor Karankevich.
“The forum is a good opportunity to analyze the current state of affairs in the electric transport sector, to outline prospects for its development and the strategy of further actions in this direction,” the minister said.
The electric mobility promotion forum E-Mobility 2020 is taking place in Minsk on 16 October. Taking part in the forum are representatives of the Energy Ministry, the Belarusian industrial group Belorusneft, the Industry Ministry, the Transport and Communications Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry, the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the State Traffic Inspectorate, representatives of enterprises and companies which business is related to electric transport. The Forum participants discuss the effectiveness of the stimulating measures implemented in Belarus in order to encourage the use of electric transport and to develop the vehicle charging infrastructure. They also discuss issues, which resolution may help bolster the potential of this segment.
Discussions are held around several areas of interest: a forecast of the development of the electric transport market and the charging infrastructure in Belarus taking into account the forthcoming launch of the Belarusian nuclear power plant, the industrial potential for manufacturing Belarusian electric vehicles, R&D products in the area of electric transport, electric vehicles and a healthier urban environment.
The forum has been organized by the Energy Ministry and Belorusneft.
