With the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles set to be banned from 2030, the number of people driving electric vehicles (EVs) is expected to rise year-on-year.
The increase in EV adoption can present a number of opportunities for savvy businesses – which means it’s time to think about how your business can seize the EV charge point opportunity.
There are currently around 239,000 fully electric vehicles on the UK’s road – and over 100,000 were registered in 2020 alone, which shows that the popularity of EVs is rising rapidly. Alongside fully electric vehicles, there are also around 259,000 plug-in hybrids and 629,000 conventional hybrids on UK roads.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) estimates that we will need 10 times as many charge points by 2030. With currently around 25,000 charge points across Britain, there is also a real need for public charge points, as not everyone will be able to charge their EVs at home.
If your organisation can install EV charge points on site, you could seize some significant benefits for your business, including:
1. Attracting new customers
With EV drivers visiting your site for the charge points, they may visit your business while they’re waiting for their vehicle to recharge. Having charge points on-site shows that you’re supporting the transition to a cleaner transportation future, which could encourage sustainability-minded customers to visit your business.
2. Boosting your environmental credentials
‘Range Anxiety’ – a driver’s fear that an EV’s battery will run out before they reach their destination or a suitable charging point – is holding many drivers back from switching to an EV.
By installing charge points on site, you can boost the availability of charging points in your local area and encourage more drivers to make the switch to an electric vehicle.
Your employees may also be more inclined to choose an EV if they know that they can charge their vehicle at work.
In this way, you’re supporting the transition to a cleaner transportation future, and you can boost your environmental credentials.
3. Accessing a new source of revenue
Some EV charge points (known as ‘two way’ charge points) are embedded with Vehicle-to-Grid technology, which means that they can supply power back to the grid. If you install these charge points on site, and have electric vehicles within your company’s fleet of delivery or company vehicles, you could access a new revenue stream by getting involved in demand-side response schemes.
Within these schemes, you can get paid for storing energy in your EVs, then providing it back to the grid when it’s needed. You could also be paid for charging your vehicles during periods of low demand (e.g. overnight).
Key considerations
If you’re keen to seize the benefits of on-site EV charge points, it’s important to take some key considerations into account before you invest. Some of the areas you need to consider include…
1. Is your site right for EV charge points?
Not every business will be able to install publicly available charge points. If your site is very remote, then you simply might not have enough passing traffic to get much revenue from your charge points.
Similarly, if there are already a lot of EV charge points in your area, then you may not get as many users as you might need to see a meaningful ROI.
It’s therefore important to consider whether your site is ideal for EV charge points and be aware of the local EV charge point infrastructure.
2. Which type of chargers should you install?
EV charge point technology is evolving rapidly, meaning there are a range of different charge points to choose from. Ultra-rapid chargers, for example, provide power at up to 350 kW and can recharge EVs in 20-40 minutes.
At the other end of the spectrum, slow charge points provide power at up to 3 kW and take 6-12 hours to fully charge an EV.
It’s important to consider why you are installing charge points when you choose which type of charger to install – your customers are likely to need rapid charging, whereas your employees may be fine with slower speeds if they can charge their car for the duration of their shift.
If you want to participate in demand response schemes, you will also need to choose chargers with V2G technology.
3. How will charge points impact your energy use?
Installing charge points on site will increase your site’s energy use, and it’s important to understand how this could impact your energy bills.
The type of chargers you choose will affect your load profile – rapid chargers will create significant spikes for short periods, while slow chargers will increase your load slightly over a much longer time period.
If you have a maximum import capacity as part of your connection agreement, it’s vital to understand how much additional load your site is likely to use in order to ensure that your Agreed Supply Capacity is set at the right level.
If you don’t adjust your Agreed Supply Capacity to accommodate the additional load required by your charge points, then you could face substantial fees for exceeding it.
Technology to help you seize the EV opportunity
If you’re interested in installing EV charge points on your site, make sure you can seize the benefits without facing excessive energy bills with our Energy Manager software.
Energy Manager analyses all of your utility data and enables you to see how much energy you’re using, as well as when and where you’re using it, so that you can ensure your Agreed Supply Capacity is set at the optimum level and monitor your usage once your charge points are installed.
To find out more about how Energy Manager can support your business, click here or email sales@systems-link.com.
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