Commercial and industrial charging sites with ‘smart’ infrastructure will play an essential role when it comes to supporting large-scale EV roll-out by 2040, bringing major investment opportunities.

report predicts full electrification of the GB car fleet could lead to demand for up to 3 million charging outlets on C&I sites by 2040

That’s the finding of a new cross industry study developed by Aurora Energy Research and supported by Eaton, the Renewable Energy Association, NatWest and Lombard.

The report builds on government ambitions, reiterated in the clean air strategy last summer, for the sale of ‘conventional’ petrol and diesel vehicles to be banned from 2040 and finds that full electrification of the GB car fleet could lead to demand for up to three million charging outlets on commercial and industrial sites by 2040, opening up a £6bn investment opportunity.

The study looks at four main applications of charging at these sites: fleet vans, workplace charging, public car parks and motorway service stations, and what it will take for a profitable business case.

Analysis shows that profitable business cases and positive returns for C&I charging applications can be identified in cases where users pay for the electricity they use. For example, supermarket car parks and motorway service stations could see a profitable business case by charging a premium of 5-6p per kWh above retail electricity prices, assuming high levels of utilisation.

Combining EVs with technologies such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging, energy storage systems and solar panels can enhance the opportunity on suitable sites, supporting a lower consumer price for electricity, reducing grid upgrade costs, compensating for lower utilisation rates or providing extra revenues from the capacity market or ancillary services. In the case of a motorway service station in GB, for example, an optimistic scenario for adding solar and storage provides a profitable business case with utilisation of 4 hours per day for each charging point when otherwise a utilisation of 6 hours per day would be needed.

Commenting on the report, Dr Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said: “Charging infrastructure deployment is crucial for building consumer confidence in EVs, for growing EV sales, and for achieving our Industrial Strategy goals of manufacturing EVs in the future. This report is a welcome development as it emphasises to businesses and commercial property owners that they too can benefit from the great evolutions currently underway in our transport and energy sectors.”

To request a copy of the report, click here.