As Missoula looks to Electric Vehicle adoption, charging access will be key

“Wireless charging can reduce battery size and cost, extend driving range, reduce pressure on the electric grid, and enable the electrification of autonomous vehicles,” Stevens also noted.

Cities can punch above their weight by helping to demonstrate that electric cars are viable both for businesses and private owners, said Ian Seamans, who works with city governments at Environment Texas. A large part of the effect is modeling this behavior for the public,” he said. City policies are particularly important in Republican-led states such as Texas, where there are few state incentives for clean vehicles

“Most cities have taken the approach of ‘Let’s be as ambitious as possible and start to socialize and change the norms around light-duty and medium-duty vehicles,’” said Kate Wright, executive director of the nonprofit group Climate Mayors. Her organization has worked with the Electrification Coalition, another nonprofit, to set up a purchasing cooperative for cities that are looking for electric models. That’s important for smaller municipalities that may not have the staff or the time to search for electric cars.

The transition to EVs can happen faster than you think.

This system, called e-Thermal bank, is separate from the main EV battery and combines a chemical heat pump with microwave energy to produce heating or cooling on demand.