French-owned utility Engie has acquired electric vehicle charging provider Charge Point Services (CPS), which owns the Genie Point nationwide EV charging network.  The charging company’s business customers include Ford, Microsoft, Waitrose, Morrisons and Siemens and it works with around 30 local authorities on rolling out charging infrastructure. Engie said the deal buys it 20,000 Genie Read more…

Centrica Business Solutions is hoping to take a slice of the burgeoning EV market by bundling charging infrastructure with solar, storage and energy supply. The company says businesses aiming to install large numbers of chargers are often falling at the first hurdle: sufficient grid capacity. It believes on-site generation can help address the issue and Read more…

A UK study into the income potential of using electric vehicles to balance the grid suggests around £400 per annum may be the upper limit for cars plugged in 75 per cent of the time. The findings contrast with headline figures touted by vehicle-to-grid (V2G) proponents such as Nissan and Nuvve, which have suggested earnings Read more…

UK Power Networks and Northern Powergrid on the need to define what smart charging actually means, greater low voltage network visibility and how businesses and local authorities can ensure a smoother EV charging infrastructure rollout. UK Power Networks has one key message for organisations planning electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure rollouts, says Adriana Laguna, senior Read more…

Businesses with electric vehicle fleets are sought for a London vehicle-to-grid trial. Firms within the M25 with compatible vehicles (Nissan Leaf, Nissan e-NV200 or Mitsubishi Outlander) will be offered free V2G charging equipment, installation, maintenance and support. They will also get access to an app to manage their chargers. The E-Flex trial involves Cenex, Nuvve, Read more…

Mitie has ambitious plans to convert its fleet to electric vehicles. But getting hold of the vehicles is no mean feat. Mitie plans to switch 20 per cent of its cars and small vans to EVs by 2020. That’s around 717 vehicles, says fleet and procurement director, Simon King. “It’s very important to focus on Read more…

SES Water has decarbonised its power consumption, the next challenge is its transport emissions. The firm is trialling 10 electric vans with a view to ultimately linking vehicles to its other generation and flex assets as part of an advanced energy strategy. SES Water is trialling 10 Nissan e-NV200 vans, installing chargers at its head Read more…

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…