Category Archives: Charging

Renault rolling-out V2G trials across Europe

April 6, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, Renault, V2GRepost

First vehicle-to-grid projects live in the Netherlands and Portugal.

Renault has launched the first large-scale bi-directional charging pilot projects in Europe, starting in Utrecht, the Netherlands and on the Portuguese island of Porto Santo. Similar projects will follow in five more European countries with the aim to develop services and gather learnings for future harmonisation.

In concrete terms, Renault intends to introduce a fleet of 15 Renault Zoe vehicles with vehicle-to-grid functionality in Europe during the course of the year, in order to develop new bi-directional charging offers together with partners and lay the foundations for future standards. The aim is to get to the bottom of feasibility and potential benefits, according to a press release by the French. It is interesting to note that Renault is using alternating current technology, which is apparently based on the type 2 connector.

More than a year ago, the carmaker announced that, together with the energy supplier Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira, it wanted to turn the Atlantic island of Porto Santo into an “electric island” including electric cars, second-life batteries and V2G in combination with “smart” charging. While this trial is going ahead, not as much is known about the second project in the Dutch town of Utrecht. Renault only mentions that it is a pilot project in an ecosystem developed by We Drive Solar.

BP Chargemaster opens ‘largest’ universal rapid charging hub

April 1, 2019BP Chargemaster, Charging, Electric Cars, Milton Keynes, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

[Of course, some of you will know about this place from my blog in January about the Milton Keynes Mushrooms]

BP Chargemaster has opened a new rapid EV charging hub in Milton Keynes, claiming it to be the largest of its kind in the UK.

The hub was developed by Milton Keynes Council and contractor Ringway as part of the Go Ultra Low City programme. It was funded as part of a £9 million investment package from a £40 million pot distributed to various local authorities by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV).

The site hosts eight 50kW rapid chargers that any EV can hook up to and charge from. A universal charging hub gives drivers confidence that they can charge their vehicles and that the infrastructure is there, BP Chargemaster’s Tom Callow told Current±, adding that hubs of this size also help raise consumer awareness.

“It’s a shame if you’re a driver of a different type of EV. You want the kind of experience where you can turn up somewhere and have a really good chance of charging. So it was really important to have chargers that work on every type of EV,” Callow added, continuing that it gives an almost “Tesla-type of experience” that will help “ease people’s minds.”

Over 500 EVs have used the hub since it went live, with the site providing access to the facilities at the main Coachway building, including a café for drivers to pass time in while their vehicle charges.

Read more: Current News

Fastned to add five further rapid charger hubs in North East

March 28, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, Fastned, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Fastned, which is building a European network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles, has won a second tender in the UK led by the North East Joined Transport Committee.

Fastned will build and operate five fast charging stations (hubs) for electric vehicles across the region. Each station will initially house two 50kW rapid chargers that will deliver 100% renewable electricity.

Fastned intends to build and operate the five fast charging stations in Gateshead, Blyth, Whitley Bay, Washington, and Kingston Park. These fast charging stations will enable fully electric cars to fast charge their batteries and will be added to Fastned’s European network.

The network currently consists of 88 stations in the Netherlands and. Two other Fastned stations are currently under development in Newcastle and Sunderland as part of the Go Ultra Low NE programme.

Highways England announces £2.8m electric vehicle deal

March 19, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, Evolt, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Highways England has awarded two contracts worth a total a £2.8m to install 50 electric vehicle charging points across the country over the next nine months.

The deal is part of Highways England’s aim to ensure 95% of its motorways and major A roads are within 20 miles of a charge point.

The contracts have been awarded to BP Chargemaster to carry out work in the north of the country and Swarco UK Ltd in the south and include initial installation and commissioning of facilities followed by ongoing operation and maintenance for a seven-year period.

Highways England’s Mark Collins, Environmental Designated Fund (Carbon) portfolio manager and project lead said:

‘To help improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions we’re introducing more electric charging points, at locations near to the network, for example at nearby town centres. This shows that we are looking ahead to meet the future demand for this facility.

‘This contract is about supporting drivers of electric vehicles using our network. It will give them additional charging facilities just off England’s motorways and major A roads to help them make longer journeys and reduce the anxiety of potentially running out of power. We look forward to the benefits this will provide drivers on our roads.’

Good Energy accelerates EV push with £1 million Zap-Map deal

March 17, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Clean power supplier Good Energy has taken a 12.9% stake in the parent company of EV charging app Zap-Map, bolstering its nascent position in the EV sector.

And the firm has also reserved the option to take a majority stake in the firm within the next two years.

Zap-Map, which has around 70,000 monthly users, has been described as “go-to app” for EV drivers in the UK and helps consumers locate charge points, plot routes, check charger availability and, crucially for Good Energy, share power.

Good Energy said the investment reflected the evolution of the power sector towards a more localised nature, insisting it was the company’s intent to be at the forefront of that transition.

The firm expects EVs to play a “crucial role” in that development by helping enable a “new energy sharing economy”.

A crucial factor in Good’s decision to take the stake in Zap-Map is the app’s ‘Zap-Home’ feature, which essentially opens up private household and business EV chargers to be used publically by other Zap-Map registered drivers. The charge point owner sets the access times and charging costs, with peer-to-peer payments able to be processed in-app.

The investment is intended to help fund further product development at Zap-Map, with the duo’s respective teams aiming to collaborate on “broader applications” for its proprietary platform.

Good is to pay a total consideration of just over £1 million for the stake in a structured deal which sees it acquire the 12.9% share for a cash consideration of £280,000. In addition, a maximum further consideration of £720,000 is to be payable upon certain product milestones and financial targets being reached by July 2020 and December 2021 respectively.

A further investment of £800,000 is to be made through secured convertible loan notes comprising three tranches. Good has the right to exercise the convertible into additional shares in Zap-Map up until the end of 2021.

Read more: Current News

Zouk Capital named preferred bidder to run government-backed EV Charging

February 21, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

Infrastructure fund manager Zouk Capital has been named as the preferred bidder for the government’s much-vaunted EV Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF).

The £400 million fund – half of which will be raised from the private sector and matched by the UK government – was announced in the 2017 Autumn Budget amongst a raft of other measures designed to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles in the UK.

The CIIF was launched in a bid to both enable the more rapid expansion of public EV charging networks and to stimulate further capital investment in the sector, with the government aiming for the fund to act as a catalyst for further investment.

A bidding process was launched by HM Treasury’s Infrastructure and Projects Authority last summer, inviting tenders from investment managers to be tasked with either the entire CIIF or a section of it.

Read more: Current News

EO Charging partners Bulb for UK’s ‘first fully open’ EV charging network

February 17, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, EO Charging, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

EO Charging has partnered with energy supplier Bulb and Suffolk County Council to launch what the trio claim to be the country’s first “fully open” charging network.

Plug In Suffolk, as the programme has been called, is said to be the country’s first fast charging network that allows EV drivers to charge simply through using contactless payments with no need to register or become a member of any organisation.

The first installation under the Plug In Suffolk scheme has been unveiled at the Urban Jungle Plant Nursery and Café in Beccles, near Lowestoft, comprising two 7kW chargers supplied by EV charge point manufacturer EO, as well as an EO Pay kiosk.

Slow Charging the ZOE at Highgate (Image: T. Larkum) — (Image: T. Larkum)

Up to 400 individual charge points across 100 locations and businesses are to be installed under the scheme once complete.

In addition, businesses participating in the scheme will be offered the chance to sign up to renewable energy supplier Bulb in order to ensure their power supply is green.

Read more: Current News

Networks commit to cut EV charging red tape

February 15, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The UK’s distribution network operators (DNOs) have committed to cut the red tape surrounding EV charger installations, aiming to help facilitate more mass installs.

Today the UK’s six DNOs have responded to calls from the parliament, enacting reforms that will make it easier for charging network operators to install charge points.

These reforms include a new, standardised process for all types of properties and businesses to apply for grid connection approval. As it stands, installers need to complete a range of different forms and meet different requirements in order to inform them of a new installation.

But as a result of these changes, the process will be streamlined and paperwork slashed. In addition, there is further work in the pipeline to digitalise the entire process, simplifying it further still.

Last month the government responded to a business, energy and industrial strategy select committee report into EV charging that sought to identify and highlight, as well as a perceived lack of real ambition on the government’s side, a raft of potential barriers that could hamper the adoption of EVs and rollout of associated infrastructure.

Read more: Current News

How Cars Like Tesla Model S and Nissan Leaf Disrupt Gas Stations

February 9, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

The disruption of the gas station is looming.

What will the future gas station look like? Cars like Tesla Model S, Model 3, Nissan Leaf and Chevy Bolt will turn the future gas station into a Wall Connector charging your car inside your garage. Most likely it will be two cars load sharing on a charger powered by 14 solar panels.

While we will still have gas stations in 5 years the number of them closing the fuel pumps and turning into convenience stores, such as Walgreens is going to increase dramatically.

Current opportunity

Fueling stations in the past could raise and lower prices seemingly at will, and unless consumers were making their own biodiesel (not recommended) at home they had no choice but to pay high gas prices.

Recently Tesla increased supercharging prices while Shell has partnered with Greenlots to offer EV charging at Shell Stations. These are moves to profit on the upcoming revolution in powering vehicles. There is profit in DC fast charging because the country needs additional Superchargers and DC fast chargers as the fleet of electric vehicles grows. Although after the initial growth phase of fast chargers this fast charging profit will be limited by common motorist not oil elitist. (Also see why Toyota suddenly partnered with Panasonic on EV batteries).

The Disruptive weapon

Why will the new “energy” pump become such a disruption? The disruptive weapon will become small home and business charging. Common motorist will limit the profit of DC fast charging by simply choosing to charge more at home, and or share charging with friends, families, and small businesses who want your business by allowing free charging. Apps such as PlugShare increase the ability to easily peer-to-peer charge.

Everyone loves free, hence why more commuters at Tesla superchargers are older Tesla models with free supercharging. As free disappear at the superchargers and DC fast chargers increase prices motorist will counter with free home charging. For the most part no one places a gas or diesel fuel pump in their garage. No most motorist can have unlimited and free energy (after the initial investment) for the life of their home.

Electric vehicles are suitable for higher-mileage drivers, says Arval

January 31, 2019Charging, Electric Cars, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

High-mileage drivers can use electric vehicles if their daily driving profile is suitable.

So says Arval, adding that the persistent belief that pure electric vehicles are only suitable for low annual mileage needs to be overturned.

According to head of consulting Shaun Sadlier, the myth that EVs are not a suitable choice for drivers covering more than a few thousand miles a year is still frequently bandied around.

He explained:

“This argument is really an extension of range anxiety, the idea that because an EV has a limited range and takes time to recharge, that it cannot cover a longer distance annually.”

However, Sadlier added, the real-world suitability of EVs depends much more on the range of a particular model and each driver’s actual needs on a day-by-day basis.

“If you look at a driver who covers 25,000 miles a year, towards the upper end of the typical fleet spectrum, then the suitability of an EV rests entirely on their daily mileage.

“If that driver covers 246 miles, twice a week, for 46 weeks of the year, then an EV is probably not for them. They are exceeding or getting close to the maximum range of even the best EVs that are now available on the market.

“However, if they drive 110 miles, five days a week, for 46 weeks of the year and this mileage pattern is very predictable, then an EV could absolutely be suitable because it is well within the range for most models and the car can be recharged overnight.”

Sadlier added that there was an argument that the financial model of EVs meant that the higher the mileage, the more cost-effective an EV becomes.