Electric Vehicles

Used in cabling, feeder pillars, renewable energy feeds, energy storage and associated switchboards/switchgear, copper is essential in electric vehicle infrastructure. Its excellent conductivity, durability and recyclability make it ideal for efficient energy transfer. Metelec supplies copper busbar solutions for charging stations, supporting the growth of EV infrastructure and Britain’s electric future.

Copper – the unsung hero in electric vehicle infrastructure

Copper is inseparable from the electric vehicles (EVs) story.

The number and proportion of EVs in the UK car market continues to increase steadily – and there are now
more than 70,000 public charging points across the country.

Copper is an essential material within EVs, with the metal now increasingly used in the motor and higher voltage application for the inverter and battery connections. It is also extensively used within the cabling and switchboards of charging stations.

Where Metelec is making a significant contribution to this exciting, evolving industry is by supplying and developing the copper busbar solutions used in charging station feeder pillars. We also supply high-quality copper solutions for the switchgear and transformer systems necessary at the charging station, grid and interface, and to enable battery storage.

Why is copper so useful in the EV sector?

Copper is key in these charging stations as it is:

  • An excellent electrical conductor capable of quickly carrying large amounts of electricity
  • Highly durable, ensuring it is reliable and effective for long periods of time
  • Formable, making it perfect for application to restricted design spaces
  • Fully recyclable without losing its properties, making it a green solution

Uninterrupted power supply is vital for the EV charging infrastructure, providing faster charging for the consumer. Various studies have found that the time it takes to charge an EV remains a barrier for some people considering the switch from fossil fuels. This is driving innovation within EV battery systems, and Metelec continues to support product development in the charging infrastructure as higher voltage trends emerge, along with ‘off grid’ solutions and storage.

How Metelec can provide solutions

As an integrated supply chain solutions partner, Metelec supports our growing customer base with their innovation by providing prototypes very quickly and cost effectively.

With considerable automotive experience between them, our management team have applied industry practice to account management and supply chain management systems and processes.

Metelec is one the UK’s leading copper distributors linked to a vertically integrated supply chain. Our demand planning capability is linked into our Group machine capacity reservation system which looks four to eight weeks ahead for copper bar and coil mill deliveries.

Electric vehicles are set to grow significantly over the next decade – and huge investment is being made to expand the charging infrastructure. At Metelec, we are committed to playing a key role in Britain’s electric future.

Our supply chain reaches many EV charging infrastructure OEMs. Please contact us to discover more about how we can support your projects and programmes.