The tipping point is coming, say electric vehicle (EV) charging point companies, fossil majors and would-be disruptors building charging networks. “Within five years, EV charging will be like wifi; a hygiene factor that you have to offer or customers will be unhappy,” says Erik Fairbairn, CEO & founder, Pod Point. Supermarkets and other retail and destination sites Read more…

UPS outlines what it has learned from deploying electric vans in central London – and why smart charging could be key to electrifying transport. Brendan Coyne reports UPS first trialled electric vehicles in New York in 1930. The technology has moved on somewhat, yet in 2019, decarbonising a delivery fleet at scale remains a complex Read more…

Businesses surveyed by The Energyst have significant appetite for electric vehicle (EV) chargers. Our latest report details their deployment plans, whether they have sufficient power capacity on site, their attitudes towards controlled or smart charging and receptiveness to engage in vehicle-to-grid services. Download the report The report also contains interviews with businesses that are switching Read more…

Oxford City Council has received government funding to build what it terms a ‘Superhub’ – a massive lithium ion-flow storage hybrid that underpins a network of EV chargers via a 10km private wire around the city. The project will also install 300 heat pumps, which, along with the battery and EVs, will be smartly controlled Read more…

Electric vehicles and charging infrastructure is the chicken and egg of our times. Without the charging infrastructure, range anxiety persists, dampening uptake. Without the vehicles, infrastructure investors fear demand risk. Toddington Harper, former CEO of Belectric, aims to crack that conundrum. Now CEO of Gridserve, Harper spent the two years since Innogy acquired Belectric hatching Read more…

Western Power Distribution’s EV strategy details what its network can handle, costs of connections and upgrades – and some interesting plans to pay customers that charge their cars flexibly. Western Power Distribution has published an electric vehicle strategy that outlines how it plans to handle increased uptake by households, businesses and local authorities. The distribution Read more…

An InnovateUK-funded project to demonstrate how electric vehicles could play a role in stabilising the UK power system seeks six trial sites. The project will combine solar, storage and smart technology. It wants to prove that large numbers of vehicles can be charged in different types of destinations – such as public and retail car Read more…

Jaguar Land Rover has installed 166 electric vehicle chargers at its Gaydon engineering centre. The company is using 7kW smart charging stations from Shell-owned NewMotion. It plans to install more chargers at its other UK sites. “We hope that by providing a network of electric charging points to staff and visitors at our Gaydon engineering Read more…

Decarbonising transport requires an integrated, multi modal approach, with more freight shifted to rail and government taking palpable action to sort out public transport. Meanwhile, power and funding should be handed to local authorities to cut emissions from short journeys. Those are key recommendations from a new report from the Aldersdate Group, a think tank Read more…

Good Energy has taken a 12.9 per cent stake in Zap-Map with an option to buy the company in two years. The move is strategic, as it gives Good Energy significant data on EV owners and another potential avenue to sell renewable power and related energy services. Zap-Map has 70,000 monthly users who use the Read more…

Honda has announced plans to ensure its entire range of European models are electrified by 2025, though it will still make hybrids. It also plans to launch an energy management company. The carmaker has struck agreements with charging companies and smart grid platforms in a bid to unlock smart charging and vehicle-to-grid opportunities, where cars Read more…

Legal & General has acquired a 13 per cent stake in electric vehicle charge point operator Pod Point. The EV charging firm recently struck a major deal with Tesco to install 2,400 charging bays in car parks at around 600 UK stores. Pod Point has 60,000 charging points in the UK and Norway, one of Read more…

Yü Energy aims to sell electric vehicle chargers as well as energy to business customers. The company said it will bundle installation, electricity supply and EV charging management on lease or purchase options. It is targeting both ‘destination’ businesses, such as retail or leisure operators with large car parks, as well as workplaces requiring staff Read more…

Electric vehicle charging companies must develop common systems to avoid EV drivers having to juggle multiple apps and to enable electric vehicles to help rather than hinder the UK power system. A new report by the Renewable Energy Association calls for government and industry to work towards a common standard so that everybody benefits – Read more…

Mitsubishi Corporation has acquired a 20% stake in UK independent energy supplier Ovo. The Japanese conglomerate will pay £216m. Ovo said it will use the money to expand overseas, primarily Europe, Australia and Japan, and continue its push into electric vehicles, smart charging and vehicle to grid (V2G) services, where vehicles and storage infrastructure are Read more…

Councils and bus companies in England and Wales have been given £48m to pay for low carbon buses and infrastructure. Most are electric, though Brighton and Hove Buses has been awarded £4.4m for 20 hydrogen buses and associated infrastructure. Nottingham City Transport has been awarded £1.13m to pay for biomethane infrastructure. The funding will be Read more…

Electricity network operators aim to reduce the time it takes to connect electric vehicle charging points to the local grid. Industry body the Energy Networks Association (ENA) says its new, standardised process will enable more mass rollouts for all types of business and households, including commercial properties. The streamlined process, which stops installers having to Read more…