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Electric vehicles will play a critical role in slashing transport-related emissions in the years ahead.

Momentum behind the industry is building, with a number of big economies gearing up for the mass rollout of EVs and sales of electric cars hitting 6.6 million in 2021, a record, according to the International Energy Agency.

Not all countries will move at the same pace in the planned transition to low and zero-emission mobility, and the shift away from cars powered by fossil fuels won’t always be smooth.

There are concerns, for example, that the lower noise levels of EVs may pose a challenge to people with sight problems, while talk of a skills gap is sparking discussions about cost and safety.

Charging infrastructure is another area to watch, with the construction of vast networks set to be crucial in allaying fears about range anxiety. Equally important is making sure these EV chargers are accessible to all.

Read more about electric vehicles from CNBC Pro

According to the charity Motability, it’s estimated the U.K. will have 2.7 million disabled drivers by 2035.

As many as 1.35 million of this group, it says, “will be at least wholly or partially reliant on public charging infrastructure.”

The year 2035 is seen as being particularly important because that’s when the U.K. government wants all new cars and vans to have zero tailpipe emissions.

A disabled person who wants to use an EV charger today faces “inaccessibility at lots of different points throughout the process,” Catherine Marris, Motability’s head of innovation, told CNBC.

Such challenges begin when one leaves the house to use a public charger, she added.

“If they want to go on an app, for example, to see where there’s chargers, there isn’t usually information available about which chargers might be more accessible,” Marris said.

“Then, when they get to a charging site, there might not be clear signage and information about where charging points are located.”

The built environment around the charging bay could create difficulties too. “There might not be enough space around the charging bay to exit your vehicle,” Marris said.

“If you’re using a mobility aid, there might be a really high, raised curb that … someone would have to mount to get on the pavement.”

“The charge point itself might be surrounded with bollards that aren’t adequately spaced, so … if you’re using a mobility aid or wheelchair, you wouldn’t be able to actually get up to the charge point itself.”

Marris told CNBC that a charging point may also be “too high for a seated user, it might be too low for someone who might have difficulties reaching down.”

Ensuring EV chargers are accessible to all is a big task, and organizations like Motability are pushing hard to create conditions for change.

In collaboration with the U.K. government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles, it commissioned the British Standards Institution to develop a “national accessible charging standard for EV chargepoints.”

PAS 1899:2022, as it’s known, was published in October 2022, and covers everything from curb height and location of charging kits, to the spacing of bollards and height of charge points. 

“There was a yearlong process where industry … accessibility experts and disabled people came together, and they developed the standard through consensus as a group,” Marris said.

She went on to describe the end product as “a really powerful document that sets out exactly what accessible charging is and how it can be achieved.”

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Another charity, Designability, was included in a steering group to help inform PAS 1899:2022. Separately, it received funding from Motability to develop design guidance for those involved in the charging industry.

The guidance covers three main areas: signage and information; the built environment; and the process of charging a vehicle.

“We did a deep dive into the areas that were really difficult,” Matt Ford, director of design and innovation at Designability, told CNBC.

“It’s out there, it’s free, it’s there for anybody to use that’s involved in providing vehicle recharging,” he said.

Having design guidance and a standard like PAS 1899 is one thing. Getting charging stations that actually incorporate accessible features is another.

‘Change is required across the industry’

In February 2023, Tanni Grey-Thompson, a wheelchair user who won multiple gold medals at the Paralympic Games, highlighted the issue when she tweeted a picture of EV chargers from the firm InstaVolt with the caption: “This is why I can’t change to an electric car.”

Expanding on her point, Grey-Thompson — who sits in the U.K.’s House of Lords — tweeted about a lack of space on either side and how she couldn’t “get close enough to reach.”

In a statement sent to CNBC, InstaVolt CEO Adrian Keen said it’s “committed to cooperating with the requirements outlined in the PAS1899 consultation, while also taking on board direct feedback from charge point users, to improve accessibility at InstaVolt sites.”

“We are in contact with Tanni Grey-Thompson to discuss the work we’re doing in the space, challenges that users face, and how this can influence our site designs in future,” he added.

“We recognise that change is required across the industry as a whole and we are taking steps to ensure we’re providing accessible sites where we can.”  

“In addition, we have fully redesigned our chargers based on PAS1899 guidance, and these will be installed at new sites from the spring,” Keen said.

This unit has now incorporated a number of features, such as longer cables, lower screens and payment terminals, as well as what Keen called “an enhanced cable management system, to allow for improved charger accessibility.”

Creating a standard

InstaVolt’s plans represent a step in the right direction, but there’s still a lot of work ahead.

Designability’s Ford explained that a PAS, or publicly available specification, is “not an official standard — it’s not been adopted into legislation. It’s not … regulation.”

“But by creating a standard, by doing it through a robust process with the British Standards Institute, by having a steering group of stakeholders from across industry and the disabled community … what you have is a standard that is a really good blueprint for making chargepoints accessible.”

Such a standard became “really powerful” when local authorities started to incorporate it in procurement forms for companies bidding to install charging installations, Ford said.

“It’s being adopted, from what we can see, really quite quickly, not just by councils [but] … hotel chains, large companies [as well].”

A global challenge

U.K.-based organizations like Motability and Designability aren’t alone in looking to develop ideas and designs focused on accessibility.  

In July 2022, the U.S. Access Board, an independent federal agency, issued design recommendations for accessible charging stations.

And in December 2022, the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia announced it was launching a trial focused on creating “access standards for people with disabilities seeking to use electric vehicle charging infrastructure.”

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The IEA, seen by many as an authoritative voice on the energy transition, describes EVs as being “the key technology to decarbonise road transport.”

To achieve this mass decarbonization, a huge network of public chargers will be required in the years ahead.

For charities like Designability, that represents a huge chance to put accessibility at the heart of charging networks. “It is a once in a generation opportunity … once an infrastructure goes in, it’s very hard to affect it,” Ford said.

For her part, Motability’s Marris said she firmly believes that “100% of charge points should be accessible.”

“Not only because we want disabled people to charge at any charge point they come across — not just only a select few — but also, accessibility is great for everyone.”

“Whether you’re a disabled person, whether you’re an older person, whether you’re a parent pushing a pram and you need some more space, accessibility really does result in a better consumer experience.”

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Environment

Lucid’s Gravity SUV just smoked the Corvette Z06 to 150 mph

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9 hours ago

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July 25, 2025

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Lucid's Gravity SUV just smoked the Corvette Z06 to 150 mph

Lucid's-SUV-Corvette-Z06

Lucid’s electric minivan can outsprint the Chevy Corvette Z06, and it has more interior space than a Ford Explorer. Is the Lucid Gravity really the “ultimate uncompromising SUV?”

Lucid Gravity SUV is faster than a Corvette Z06

Lucid’s electric SUV is impressive inside and out. The Gravity provides up to 450 miles of driving range, ultra-fast charging (200 miles in under 11 mins), and it even offers up to 120 cubic feet of cargo space. That’s more than the Ford Explorer (87.8 cu ft).

It’s also faster than most sports cars. The Grand Touring trim has up to 845 hp, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.4 seconds, but the Dream Edition takes it to another level.

Powered by dual electric motors, the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition boasts 1,070 hp. To see how Lucid’s minivan stacks up against the competition, Car and Driver nabbed one for testing.

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On the test track, the Lucid’s minivan covered a quarter-mile in just 10.6 secs, beating a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to 150 mph by nearly three seconds.

According to Car and Driver, the Gravity didn’t just impress in the quarter-mile, “it was a beast in every acceleration metric.” Lucid’s SUV hit 30 mph in 1.4 seconds, 70 mph in 3.7 secs, and topped 100 mph in just 5.9 seconds.

Lucid's-SUV-Corvette-Z06
Lucid Gravity Grand Touring (Source: Lucid)

Dave Vanderwerp, the testing director who took the Gravity for a spin, said the electric SUV “gets a sort of second wave of thrust starting around 60 mph.”

With a quarter-mile of just 10.6 secs, Lucid’s Gravity is the fastest SUV they have ever tested, beating out the Rivian Tri-Motor Max (11.1 secs), BMW iX M60 (11.5 secs), and Mercedes-AMG EQE53 SUV.

Lucid-Gravity-SUV
Lucid Gravity (Source: Lucid)

Although the Rivian’s 850 hp R1S Tri-Motor beat the Gravity to 60 mph, Lucid’s SUV sprinted ahead in the quarter-mile, traveling nearly 20 mph faster.

It was also faster than gas-powered super SUVs, including the Lamborghini Urus Performante (11.2 secs) and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT (11.2 secs). However, they have yet to test a Tesla Model X Plaid, so that could change the game.

Lucid Gravity Dream Edition vs Audi RS Q8 Performance, Range Rover Sport SV, Porsche Macan Turbo Electric, Rivian R1S Quad, and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid (Source: Hagerty)

In what it called the “1,000 hp mom missiles” drag race, Hagerty recently pitted the Gravity Dream Edition against the Audi RS Q8 Performance, Range Rover Sport SV, Porsche Macan Turbo Electric, Rivian R1S Quad, and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid.

The result was a three-way tie between Lucid’s Gravity, the Porsche Panamera Turbo, and Rivian R1S Quad hitting the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds.

The Lucid Gravity is available to order starting at $94,900 in the US. Later this year, Lucid is launching the lower-priced Touring trim, priced from $79,900.

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Environment

EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May

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9 hours ago

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July 25, 2025

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EIA: Solar outproduced wind for the first time ever in May

Nexamp solar
Photo: Nexamp

Solar provided over 11% of total US electrical generation in May, while wind + solar produced over one-fifth, and the mix of all renewable energy sources generated nearly 30%, according to data just released by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Solar continues to set new records

Solar continues to be the fastest-growing source of US electricity, according to EIA’s latest “Electric Power Monthly” report (with data through May 31, 2025), which the SUN DAY Campaign reviewed.

In May alone, electrical generation by utility-scale solar (>1-megawatt (MW)) increased by 33.3% year-over-year, while “estimated” small-scale (e.g., rooftop) solar PV increased by 8.9%. Combined, they grew by 26.4% and provided over 11% of US electrical output during the month.

For the first time ever, the mix of utility-scale and small-scale solar produced more electricity than wind: solar – 38,965 gigawatt-hours (GWh); wind – 36,907-GWh.

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Moreover, utility-scale solar thermal and photovoltaic expanded by 39.8% while that from small-scale systems rose by 10.7% during the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The combination of utility-scale and small-scale solar increased by 31.1% and was nearly 8.4% of total US electrical generation for January to May – up from 6.6% a year earlier.

Solar-generated electricity easily surpassed the output of US hydropower plants (6.1%). Solar now produces more electricity than hydropower, biomass, and geothermal combined.

Wind is also on the rise in 2025

Wind produced 12.2% of US electricity in the first five months of 2025. Its output was 3.9% greater than the year before, almost double that produced by hydropower.

During the first five months of 2025, electrical generation by wind + utility-scale and small-scale solar provided 20.5% of the US total, up from 18.7% during the first five months of 2024. Solar + wind accounted for nearly 21.5% of US electrical output in May alone.

During the first five months of this year, wind and solar provided 26.2% more electricity than coal, and 15.4% more than US nuclear power plants. In May alone, the disparity increased further when solar + wind outproduced coal and nuclear power by 55.7% and 22.1%, respectively.

All renewables produced almost 30% in May

The mix of all renewables – wind, solar, hydropower, biomass, geothermal – produced 9.7% more electricity in January to May than they did a year ago (7.6% more in May alone) and provided 28.1% of total US electricity production compared to 26.5% 12 months earlier.

Electrical generation by all renewables in May alone provided 29.7% of total US electrical generation. Renewables’ share of electrical generation is now second only to that of natural gas, whose electrical output actually dropped by 5.9% during the month.  

“Solar and wind continue to grow, set new records, and outproduce both coal and nuclear power,” said Ken Bossong, the SUN DAY Campaign’s executive director. “Consequently, the ongoing Republican assault against renewables is not only misguided and illogical but also a good example of shooting oneself in the foot.”

Read more: FERC: Solar + wind made up 96% of new US power generating capacity in first third of 2025

The 30% federal solar tax credit is ending this year. If you’ve ever considered going solar, now’s the time to act. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them. 

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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Environment

Podcast: Tesla’s disturbing earnings, self-driving challenge, solid state batteries, and more

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10 hours ago

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July 25, 2025

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Podcast: Tesla's disturbing earnings, self-driving challenge, solid state batteries, and more

electrek podcast

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Tesla’s disturbing earnings, a new self-driving challenge, solid-state batteries, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:

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