Smart pricing for public EV charging could help cut costs for drivers without home chargers while shoring up the grid, a new study finds.

Carried out by energy research and AI institute Centre for Net Zero, the study evaluated responses among 110,000 drivers across Britain to national ‘plunge price’ events, which give discounts at public charge points during periods of abundant renewable electricity when the grid is ‘green’.

The research, delivered in partnership with Electroverse, found that smart pricing successfully shifted public charging to greener times of day, bringing down running costs for consumers without private charging access.

By slashing prices 40% at participating charge points, EV charging volumes soared by 117% across the whole charging network. A smaller 15% discount still increased charging demand by 30%.

But financial incentives were imperative to change charging behaviour. By contrast, non-financial ‘nudges’ that highlighted cleaner grid conditions had no effect on driver charging behaviour.

The trial successfully demonstrated that smart EV charging can be highly effective in public settings, as well as in the home – and could help advance EV take-up among drivers without access to home charging.

Disparity in the availability and cost of EV charging infrastructure is a key factor inhibiting the widespread adoption of EVs, particularly amongst those without off-street parking, which tends to correlate with lower income and property value.

Public EV charging can be up to ten times more expensive than at-home charging, which the majority of EV drivers in the UK currently use. Closing that gap will be crucial if the UK is to meet its EV targets and decarbonise domestic transport.

In a similar vein, growing demand from the electrification of transport also poses its own problems for congestion within the UK’s grid. By matching demand to times of high renewable supply, smart charging can soak up excess power and ease local network pressure.

Electroverse said the study shows smart pricing could lower costs for millions of people who rely on public charging spots on streets, at car parks and at workplaces.

By taking advantage of a 40% price reduction offered two to three times a week, savvy drivers using public charge points could potentially reduce annual running costs from 15-24p per mile to 9-14p.

This would be on a par or better than petrol costs (13-17p per mile) and narrows the gap to private EV charging rates of 2-7p per mile.

The study also revealed a greater response to ‘plunge price’ events from lower-income areas, on average, suggesting they may benefit more from flexibility events.

Regional variations were also found, with the north and east of England seeing the most significant increase in charging volumes, and cities showing the greatest responsiveness to price signals. This variation broadly aligns with the available charging infrastructure in those areas.

Based on the findings of this analysis, Centre for Net Zero (CNZ) has made specific recommendations for UK policy and industry.

These include reforming wholesale electricity markets to better reflect the value of energy at a specific time and location. This can be passed onto the consumer in public and residential settings, maximising benefits to drivers and the grid.

The centre also said efforts to support demand flexibility in public charging should be accompanied by broader efforts to bring down costs for drivers. This includes putting VAT on par with home charging rates to alleviate the cost disparity between the two; currently, 20% VAT is added to public charging, while at-home, along with all domestic energy, has a 5% rate.

Other key asks from CNZ include work to expand charging infrastructure; address dynamic network standing charges; roll out smart charging and market-wide half hourly settlement; and support the rollout of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.

Lucy Yu, CEO of Centre for Net Zero, said: “We’re entering the consumer era of energy, where behaviours matter as much as infrastructure. Passing on grid savings to motorists in this way helps bring down their vehicle running costs and supports system stability. These findings offer a future where our vehicles can be a powerful tool that interacts with the grid, and can be charged smartly with cleaner, cheaper energy. In the future, emerging innovations such as vehicle-to-grid technology could supercharge these benefits for both consumers and the grid.”

Building on these results, CNZ is conducting several further projects that can help policymakers support EV adoption and improve infrastructure access. This includes trials to better understand the impact of EV charging, automation, and price on energy demand and the grid.

The full Centre for Net Zero study on Impact of Dynamic Prices on Electric Vehicle Public Charging Demand is here.