EDF is trialling a new electric vehicle tariff that automates smart charging to unlock cash and carbon savings for EV drivers.

Up to 300 existing customers will be invited to test the new smart charging service

The EV OptiCharge tariff trial will allow participating customers to use automated controls so that their vehicles are charged at optimum times overnight. The move will reduce consumption during carbon-intensive and grid-strained periods, helping customers save cash and carbon while also relieving pressure on the grid.

Up to 300 existing customers will be invited to test the new service to see how they can reduce consumption during peak hours.

Customers will set their charging preferences, such as the level of charge in the car and when it needs to be charged by, via a dedicated platform, and the automated controls will do the rest. The trial will go live this month and run until February 2025.

The trial is one of five created and developed as part of a wider project by EDF’s Research and Development and Customer teams. It’s part of the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero’s Alternative Energy Markets Innovation Programme, and is backed by £1.3m of funding from the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP).

This is the second phase of the project. An initial feasibility study explored various offers, with customer feedback highlighting the need for personalised advice and flexible tariffs, both of which are the backbone of phase two.

Data will be generated, collected and analysed by EDF throughout the trial to see the impact on customer bills and their usage. Loughborough University and the University of Sheffield will also be supporting the trial by carrying out qualitative and quantitative studies and providing vital insight into the tariff’s feasibility for optimising customer’s EV charging, to ensure it is aligned with low carbon generation and at the lowest cost to the customer.

Philippe Commaret, managing director of customers at EDF, said: “This trial is a brilliant example of the type of innovative solutions we’re exploring to help our customers to save cash and carbon.

“As an industry we must find ways to embed flexibility into the electricity system to reduce pressure on the grid and customers’ pockets. Trialling new tariffs such as OptiCharge will be vital if we are to help Britain achieve our net zero ambitions.”

EDF has also launched various recent offers for EV owners, including EVolve, said to be the cheapest EV tariff on the market and expected to save customers around £200 a year.