It is clear that the electrification of the automobile has begun and it is likely that this technology will only become increasingly more important as time goes on. At present all the major players in the industry are working on, or have released, an electric vehicle and this is driven by market demands, legislation, environmental lobbying and a concern about the long term stability of oil supplies. For example, the European union has established stringent greenhouse gas emission laws that can only be reasonably met by a large scale introduction of electric vehicles. Key players in the global automotive market, such as China and the USA have also pledged massive investments in this area and aim to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015. This therefore represents a significant change of policy and an exciting opportunity to develop new technology.