Defining the role of businesses in getting EVs on the roads

Utilities and other businesses across the spectrum all have a role to play in advancing the electric vehicle (EV) transition.

The consensus from panellists in the business session at Eurelectric’s Evision 2022 was that it is widely accepted that EVs are the future and it is up to businesses, from utilities to charge point operators to fleet operators, to make it easy and fun for consumers to switch.

In the keynote, Fiona Howarth, who runs UK independent supplier Octopus Energy’s Electric Vehicles business, explained that the company’s focus was on aiming to “pull everything together – the vehicles, charging, energy supply and customer service”.

“As individuals and companies discover going electric they need to think not just about the vehicle but also all the associated aspects.”

A trend she highlighted has been an “explode” in the number of new vehicles, from just five with a range of about 250km five years ago to over fifty today from city cars to luxury cars to suit different people with different situations.

However, the challenge is in the lead times as the demand has increased and for some passenger models as well as vans can be up to 18 months.

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She also highlighted a “mind shift towards charging” with two-thirds able to charge at home, while also there are over 18,000 public charging locations across the UK versus less than half of that number of traditional fuel stations.

“We have even seen people opening up their driveways in a sort of Airbnb style offering, which is useful for people such as Uber drivers.”

Howarth also commented on the benefits, including the low monthly running costs due to significant savings in fuel and maintenance costs and the considerable tax saving incentives in the UK amounting to as much as 40% of the monthly car costs.

“This has made an absolute shift in the appetite for EVs,” she said.

“We have found that the savings have encouraged people to get into the cars and test them.”

To further encourage uptake, Octopus also has started doing test events for businesses at which employees can see and test drive vehicles, with the overwhelming majority of those who have tested wanting to obtain an EV.

Customer response

Referring to Octopus’s vehicle to grid project, Howarth said customers are loving the opportunity to use smart technologies and they feel good because their electricity is green.

“By 2030 we expect about 40 million EVs and if just 10 million of those give energy back to the grid, it could power the whole of the UK at peak times. Our customers today see they are among the first to do that and are enjoying being part of that innovation process.”

Brian Palmer, Head of Public Policy EU Last Mile at Amazon, said that customers want the company to be a leader in the fight against climate change and sustainability and that was the driver for its climate actions, including the ‘Shipment Zero’ initiative to make half of all orders net zero by 2030.

“This needs a holistic approach to reducing carbon emissions across the chain from sustainable packaging to last mile delivery,” he said, adding that over 100,000 electric company delivery vans will be on the roads by 2030 with the first 10,000 of these during 2022.

Role of data

Orlin Radev, founder and CEO of EV charging platform AMPECO, said that software plays an important role to meeting the many challenges such as controlled charging, achieving operational efficiencies and adding to the positive environmental impact of EVs.

“Advanced technology solutions, i.e. smart hardware and intelligent software can solve most if not all the challenges of EV charging and help increase the benefits of the transition to e-mobility.”

He added that a lot of data is becoming available through the charging stations, which can be used to improve the reliability and quality of the service.

“Something we are doing is to apply self-healing coverage to try to recognise and resolve faults in charging stations before sending out someone to do it manually.”

Palmer noted that a major challenge to decarbonisation is in the ‘middle mile’ and the forthcoming investment in heavy-duty vehicle charging across European corridors should support the expansion of lower carbon freight.

“Data will be required to predict where and the extent to which heavy vehicle charging is needed.”

Looking ahead to meeting the challenges of millions of EVs on the roads, Radev said the problem is in the demand peaks. The technology is there for managing charging but it needs to be leveraged to gain driver participation.

Howarth said that Octopus’s flexible tariffs had demonstrated the potential of a tariff approach, but lacking is transparent time-of-use pricing across the whole generation and distribution system.

EV challenges

Commenting on future challenges, Howarth said she felt that “for the most part the electricity infrastructure piece is working its way through” with investment and significantly improved reliability and quality of charging.

However, the main challenges are in the supply of vehicles and the potential future shortfall in materials. For example, it has been estimated there could be an almost 20% shortfall versus demand for copper by 2030.

Palmer agreed, adding that other outstanding issues are around range and ownership and driving down the life cycle costs of ownership.

He also noted the importance of partnerships with other companies, such as Amazon’s with Rivian as an EV supplier, as a critical element in the future business.

Radev highlighted the importance of government support, suggesting this should come as businesses moved in the e-mobility transition.

“I think individual drivers are convinced that EVs are going to be the future and the innovations and successes of businesses will convince others to jump in and transition.”