Norrie Hunter of the Electric Vehicle Association Scotland discusses the issues with Scotland’s EV charge point infrastructure and the way forward with the Energy Saving Trust’s senior programme manager, Neil Leckie. 

Energy Saving Trust senior programme manager Neil Leckie

Q. Public charging infrastructure – how is it shaping up in Scotland?

A. The public charging infrastructure in Scotland is more established in comparison with the rest of the UK. Around 600 charge points were installed in Scotland in the last financial year, including Charge Place Scotland and other networks. As of March 2022, Zap Map report the total number of charge points in Scotland as 2,934 – this is equivalent to 5.4 charge points per 10,000 population. Across the other nations, there are 4.4 electric vehicle charge points per 10,000 people.

More needs to be done to meet Scotland’s charging infrastructure needs, including well-planned public charging infrastructure for households without off-street parking, but new installations are continuing at pace.

Q. Fleet operators’ own infrastructure planning – is that essential?

A. In addition to public charging infrastructure, fleet operators are likely to require their own infrastructure, either at their site depots or at staff homes, in order to support their electrified fleet. Fleet operators should analyse the available power capacity at their depots, to determine what could be used for charging. They should also consider the need for high-powered chargers to support long-range vehicles.

To support with the cost of installing charging infrastructure, fleet operators can explore opportunities to partner with other private or public sector organisations on projects. During 2022-23, Energy Saving Trust will be working on a project aiming to build a database of organisations interested in collaborating on charging infrastructure, to help facilitate these partnerships and make access to infrastructure more affordable.

Q. Is residential charging also a possibility?

A. Operators may also consider the home charging solutions available on the market, which would allow staff to charge their vehicles from home. It can be challenging for commercial vehicle drivers who are required to take their electric vehicles home but who don’t have a driveway to charge on. There is funding available to provide a solution to this problem in the form of the On-street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), which supports local authorities to install residential charge points on-street or in public car parks. We encourage residents who would like a charge point installed near them, either for their domestic or commercial electric vehicles, to contact their local authority to request they apply to the OZEV scheme.

Q. What improvements do you consider are essential if commercial fleet operators switch to electric vehicles?

A. Greater choice of zero-emission vehicles... It is encouraging to see the ongoing expansion in the range of zero-emission vehicles, including electric vans and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) and it is key that innovation continues to provide more choice. One example is the Fiat eDucato, a ‘larger van’ that can travel up to 175 miles on a single charge and is capable of charging quickly at 50kW. This level of range will be more than sufficient for most commercial fleet operators.

Reduction in costs

The main barrier to electric vehicle (EV) adoption is the high initial cost, particularly for vans and larger vehicles. The capital cost of EVs is starting to fall and price parity with petrol or diesel vehicles is expected in the years ahead which will encourage wider take up. At present, there is still a gap. The lifetime running costs of electric vehicles are lower than for petrol and diesel vehicles which is already prompting many fleet managers to make the switch. 

Higher-quality data

Before making the switch to electric vehicles, fleet operators should understand their energy usage and the power available to them at their depots. In parallel, they should collect high-quality data on their fleet usage (i.e. the energy requirements of the fleet) using a telematics system. These two datasets can be used to inform whether a network upgrade is required to support the electrification of their fleet.  Better quality data on vehicle usage and depot power capacity gives fleet operators more confidence to invest in zero carbon vehicles and infrastructure.

Improvements to EV maintenance support in rural areas

Lack of access to vehicle maintenance support is a barrier to EV adoption for fleet operators based in more rural locations in Scotland. There is a need for local garages to be trained in EV maintenance to avoid rural fleet operators from having to travel long distances to service or maintain their vehicles. Likewise, it is crucial that EV charge points are well-maintained, particularly in rural areas where an alternative could be some distance away.

Public charging infrastructure for multiple types of vehicles

Most public charging bays cater for cars, rather than large vans. This restricts the use of public chargers for larger commercial vehicles and could be hindering the switch to electric for commercial fleets. This should be factored into the planning and design of charging bays, to ensure that bays can accommodate different types of users including cars, vans, and users with disabilities.

Q. Are there any developments that are coming (or are yet to be addressed) to help meet the demands of fleet users i.e. longer-range vehicles / ones requiring heavier load capacities?

A. The following solutions are being developed to help fleet operators make the switch to electric vehicles:

Software and hardware solutions that make it easy to charge business vehicles at staff homes: Charging solutions are now on the market that allow staff to easily charge company vehicles at home overnight. Software communicates directly with the domestic energy supplier so that business usage of the domestic energy supply is automatically charged to the business rather than the employee.

Higher-powered chargers: These are being developed and will reduce charging times. There are now 350kW chargers available in the UK and power ratings continue to increase, reducing charging times for compatible vehicles. The rollout of these high-powered chargers at service stations on the major road network will help to address concerns around range and recharging periods.

Catenary charging for freight/delivery vehicles: Catenary charging is a potential charging solution that could support freight vehicles to make longer journeys by powering their batteries using overhead wires. The challenge with this infrastructure is the significant investment required to install it.

Q. Is there any legislation in the pipeline that supports / encourages fleet operators to switch to electric vehicles… e.g. charge point installations / adequate access to public charge points / special charge point hubs etc.?

A. With the development of low emission zones in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow, we will see a shift in fleet operators towards low-emission vehicles and potentially into zero-emission vehicles. The creation of low emission zones was made possible by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019. A low emission zone is already in place in Glasgow and the other zones will be introduced during 2022.