By Sam Clarke, chief vehicle officer at Gridserve

Sam Clarke, chief vehicle officer at Gridserve

The switch to electric vehicles doesn’t end when you drive out of the dealership, it requires a switch in public behaviour as well. Equally, it demands the rapid rollout of charging infrastructure at both pace and scale.

Yet, working out charge point demand needed to facilitate that mass EV uptake is both complex and nuanced.

Accelerating the UK’s transition to EVs means not only expanding the number of charge points, but carefully planning when, where, and how people will need to use them.

The charge point rollout must be accompanied by a user mentality switch – drivers need to adopt an EV centric mentality of “I don’t stop to charge; I charge because I have stopped”. We know that a public shift to this mentality is not only critical for moving the needle on climate change, but one that will lead to immense convenience and overall, improved quality of life.

Different speeds for different needs

There isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution to EV chargers. We must consider different ‘needs for speed’ across different settings to deliver a charging network that works for all drivers – a network that is both highly convenient and accessible.

In some scenarios, such as motorway charging, speed is essential. Charging hubs and forecourts, for example, must too have fast and plentiful charging. At these locations, drivers mustn’t need to wait for a charging bay and power transfer must happen in the time it takes for you to go inside, buy a snack and check your WhatsApp. This is why the likes of GRIDSERVE’s Electric Forecourts® are so important. Drivers simply drive into one of the many charging bays, which provide access to High Power chargers, supplied by 100% renewable energy and can take their charge from zero to 100 miles of range in the time it takes to browse the shops and use the bathroom.

If you’re headed to a destination however – whether on a date to the cinema or going for a lunch in the town centre – drivers can’t be inconvenienced with having to run back and forth to the car to avoid idling chargers. Understanding the needs and behaviours of drivers at certain locations is absolutely key to delivering a successful EV charging network.

This is also true for fleet cars.  Just imagine a local parcel delivery driver missing their delivery slots because they’ve had to wait for a 50kW on-route charger to charge up their car. Nor would you want to imagine a GP running out of the surgery to avoid idle charges. Simply, no employer wants to add additional workplace stress, or economic inactivity due to the wrong type of EV charger.

48-64% of on-street plug-in time is expected to be inactive, according to the Government’s UK Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy – which is a very high prediction. However, this inactivity is avoidable. By thinking carefully about what chargers are installed and where, we can not only avoid inactivity but also steer clear of associated grid capacity challenges that stem from making abundant power available in places that may not need it.

Charging infrastructure scenarios

When thinking about the government’s expectation of 300,000 charge points by 2030, we must look towards more than one scenario. Two theoretical scenarios come to mind, one that focuses on high powered public access, and the other on low home, workplace and street, in order to draw two reasonable baseline scenarios.

The first scenario is a ‘less chargers, more power’ approach. Say we need 50,000 public 175kW chargers by 2030, but instead we install 350kW chargers to future-proof charging infrastructure, ensuring what we put into the ground now is ready to cater to high-speeds of new EV charging capabilities. In this scenario, arguably we’d only need around 25,000 – as each car takes half the time to charge. The number of chargers at each location will determine different requirements and different target numbers.

Then we have the ‘more chargers, less power’ scenario. Here, we would see low powered chargers at home, on-street and at work – locations that are far less about power and more about dwell time, which is longer. We’d need a larger number of low-powered chargers, that drivers can use when going about their normal routine – such as sleeping or working.

In both scenarios, speed and location are key. These approaches are only effective if we put the right chargers in the right places, and charging sessions occur at the right times, both for consumer convenience and smart energy management.

Big picture planning is vital to EV charging rollout

Targets for EV charging infrastructure must be carefully considered to deliver a network that works for all. For example, delivering 300,000 x 7kW chargers simply would not deliver the network that drivers need. Whilst the Government has set out guidelines as to how it can achieve 300,000-charge points, we must ensure that such information is entirely accessible, and something that everyone can relate to and understand.

We must also consider the big national picture of on-route, on-street, workplace, location, and destination charging, alongside guidance from behaviour change experts, to create a thriving and accessible EV charging network that works for all charging needs. Information must be widely accessible, to help close any knowledge gaps and ensure that everyone feels well informed about EV charging.