Welcome to the PEI Connects Podcast, I’m your host Zafar Jamati and this is your go-to source for everything related to electrical connectors. Whether you're an electrical engineer, a technician or simply someone who wants to learn more about this exciting field, this podcast has something for you. From the basics of connector design to the latest advances in material science and manufacturing, we'll cover it all.

In today’s episode we ask the question: What’s next for the EV and e-mobility market?

It won’t come as a surprise to learn that the transportation sector is the world’s second largest producer of carbon emissions, second only to coal-fired electricity generation. According to the International Energy Agency the transport sector accounted for nearly 8 Gt of CO2 in 2022. To tackle this, over the last few years we’ve seen a global push towards the increased adoption of EVs. So much so, that it’s probably fair to say that when we think of battery powered vehicles, we nearly always think of EV cars. This makes sense. According to analysis from Statista.com, the vast majority of transportation-related emissions comes from road vehicles, such as passenger cars and freight trucks. Although EV cars and trucks remain front and centre, this push towards electrification over the last few years has expanded into more than just cars.

The E-mobility market is growing rapidly and includes everything from e-scooters and e-bikes all the way to electric buses, boats and planes. While these developments are encouraging, they also pose many engineering challenges. As we pack more and more electrical components into these vehicles, the burden on cable harnesses and connectors also grows.

These components must increasingly withstand higher power, higher currents and harsh environments, including issues such as ingress, temperature and pressure fluctuations, cooling capacity, shock, vibration and more. At the same time, we expect the vehicles to use lighter and stronger materials, deliver longer ranges, charge quickly and still meet high safety levels.

As the market expands to include more diverse, often more powerful vehicles, safety will become an even bigger concern.

To understand what’s next for the EV market, I recently interviewed Hans Wegendal, Regional Sales Manager Scandinavia at connector manufacturer PEI-Genesis.

PEI-Genesis is a global leader in the design and assembly of custom engineered connectors and cable solutions for harsh environments. One of the company’s key differentiators is that it doesn’t only hold stock of finished connectors, it holds most of its inventory as component parts, which are then made to order. Thanks to high levels of automation in its assembly lines, the company is able to offer a minimum order quantity of just 1 product, and lead times of 48 hours on select product lines.

I asked Hans, can you describe what makes the broader e-mobility market so exciting? Stream to the full episode to listen to the discussion.

So, what are the key takeaways from today’s episode?

The e-mobility market is very diverse and growing quickly. The sheer variation in types and applications of the vehicles makes this a highly complex market that requires a deep understanding of...