Zap-Map is to partner with energy and carbon data science company Advanced Infrastructure on a new route planner, enabling EV drivers to find the lowest-carbon charge points for their journey.

The new Zap-Zero EV route planner will enable users to select the lowest carbon charge points for their journey

While Zap-Map already offers an EV route planner, which enables drivers to map journeys with charging stops based on their vehicle’s range and charging capabilities, the new Zap-Zero project will make truly zero carbon EV journeys a possibility while helping fleets with carbon reporting requirements.

The solution draws on Advanced Infrastructure’s in-depth data on local power networks and their carbon intensity, which will be overlaid on Zap-Map’s existing database of EV chargers.

The integration will show carbon intensity data for individual charge points based on real-time grid data – allowing EV drivers to monitor the actual emissions associated with every kWh of power their vehicle consumes. This will provide Zap-Map users with the option to select the lowest carbon charge points for their journey.

This will drive the footprint of journeys down further still and will help businesses go the extra mile with carbon reporting; under the UK’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting Act 2018 (SECR), all large companies must report the emissions associated with their activities — both direct emissions and indirect emissions associated with their electricity consumption.

The Zap-Zero route planner will provide dynamic carbon intensity data, enabling businesses with fleets of EV drivers to optimise their route selection based on emissions and report their footprint as accurately as possible.

The aim is to make it possible for an electric vehicle to be powered by truly carbon free electricity, with no offsets and no energy certificates, just renewable power.

Lily Cairns Haylor, Advanced Infrastructure co-founder and COO, said: “The emissions associated with every EV charge point is specific to its location in the grid and the time of energy consumption. Zap-Zero gives that data to consumers, allowing EV drivers to measure their carbon emissions accurately and make small routing adjustments that collectively add up to a significant reduction in national carbon emissions.”

Zap-Zero will be developed as part of Zap-Map’s route planner 2.0, expected to launch in early 2022, and has been developed on the back of a £540k funding win from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) in partnership with Innovate UK.