EVolution Magazine Issue 8

EVolution is an independent source of news and analysis for organisations planning, creating and operating electric vehicle and zero-emission charging infrastructure.

Space for infrastructure

Existing magazines, websites and events covering EVs focus on the vehicles themselves. What makes EVolution different is that is the first content space dedicated to the emerging business of developing the infrastructure required to support electric vehicles.

EVolution makes the business of providing electric vehicle infrastructure its core mission.

In parallel to the website and print version there are:

Digital editions

Webinars

Conferences and exhibitions

The EVolution Awards.

Independent news, expert views

EVolution is produced by the highly regarded Landor LINKS editorial team, along with expert contributors, that bring knowledge and expertise grounded in the worlds of transport, parking, traffic management and urban development.

Send your story ideas to: mark.moran@landor.co.uk

The key issues

EVolution covers themes such as:

The planning and operation of EV charging

Designing EV infrastructure for car parks, motorway service areas, workplaces and the home

Decarbonisation policy

The development of EV charging networks

Chargepoint technology

The creation of EV hubs

Kerbside charging provision

The enforcement of EV charging bays

Connecting EV infrastructure with payment services

The uptake of EVs by drivers, commercial fleets and car-sharing providers

Vehicle design and powertrain R&D

The distribution of zero and low-emission fuels

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology

Sourcing green energy for EV charging

Legal and regulatory developments

The role of EVs within clean air schemes

Managing fire safety in EV charging areas

Developments in the energy sector

Editorial

Mark Moran

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mark.moran@landor.co.uk

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Better design should be the natural choice

The transition to zero-emission travel will be good for the environment, so it seems appropriate that the infrastructure enabling the use of electric vehicles draws on nature.

Autonomous electric vehicles traverse a vivid green landscape. This month’s cover showcases a striking vision of the future of travel created by young artist Lauren Murray, who has won a competition organised by Coventry University’s Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems (C-ALPS) and the BA (Hons) Illustration courses. Her striking design will now become a mural that will inspire those working at C-ALPS.

Murray turned to nature when envisaging how we might travel in the future. The electric autonomous vehicles she created can take to the air with wings inspired by beetles. A snakelike train travels through a landscape in which real trees are complemented by solar panel arrays inspired by flowers that feed into energy storage towers that resemble beehives.

The landscape that the mural imagines could soon become a reality if flowing, sinuous designs for charging hubs unveiled by companies such as Be.EV, Vital EV and SolarBotanic are realised. It is reassuring to see there is desire to move away from straight lines when designing EV infrastructure, echoing the energy that is put into the design of the vehicles being serviced.

Mark Moran Editor

Zero-emission infrastructure should be designed with as much care as the vehicles it serves

mural by Lauren Murray

SolarBotanic envisages EVs being charged by solar trees

APCOA plans 100,000 charging stations

Network will span 12,000 car parks

APCOA Parking has revealed a plan to deploy up to 100,000 new electric vehicle charging stations in parking facilities across Europe by 2035.

As part of its EV strategy, APCOA will make the investment to expand its AC charging infrastructure to become a EV charging operator.

In parallel, the company will work with strategic partners from the automotive industry as well as energy and charging infrastructure providers to deploy an additional 1,000 fast-charging stations across its location network.

APCOA says it has 1.8 million parking spaces at over 12,000 locations in 13 countries, including the UK and Germany, where the group is headquartered.

To date, around 2,500 EV charging stations are available in car parks operated by APCOA

APH offers EV charging service

Airport Parking Hotels (APH) has launched a new park & ride with EV charging service at its car parks serving Gatwick Airport and Manchester Airport.

From September, APH customers driving electric vehicles can book the new off-airport parking with EV charging package at both offairport sites, with the flexibility of pre-booking or upgrading on the day.

EV charging costs are £39.99 for a 30kWh charge and £59.99 for 60kWh on top of the normal parking charges.

The service offers EV owners a guaranteed parking space and a trained driver who will move the car to a secure parking bay for the duration of the trip once charged.

Drivers are asked to bring their own charging cable and arrive with a minimum charge of 5% remaining on arrival.

APH managing director Nick Caunter said: “With so many drivers now switching to electric vehicles, we needed to provide these APH customers with another valuable service when flying abroad.”

A new digital platform developed by APCOA will support the charging infrastructure. It will use nonproprietary hardware and be operated independent of chargepoint ownership.

APCOA says this open and compatible set-up will allow the integration of multiple partners and services and represents a unique proposition in the market.

The APCOA Flow and APCOA Connect apps will serve as the front-end to the

parking customer. The operator says it will be able to manage the entire EV charging process as well as additional value-added service including locating, booking and payment.

Philippe Op de Beeck, chief executive of APCOA Parking Group, said: “The transition to electric mobility as the dominant technical solution in road traffic is an irreversible trend. EV charging infrastructure thus represents a major component of the

transformation of APCOA’s car parks into ‘Urban Hubs’. For customers, the extended service infrastructure will increase the attractiveness of our locations.

“For us as an operator, we see substantial revenue potential from upgrading our parking sites with EV charging and other urban services. In keeping with its commitment to carbon neutral solutions, APCOA’s charging infrastructure will run primarily on green energy.”

APCOA cites a decision by the European Parliament to ban sales of new cars with combustion engines from 2035 as being a highly significant development.

A recent study from the market analysts at Dynata confirms that consumers are increasingly willing to choose an electric vehicle, even in countries that have so far been somewhat reluctant to make the transition: 64% of Germans expressed an interest in buying an electric or hybrid vehicle.

Westminster orders more street EV chargepoints

Westminster City Council has appointed Siemens to install a network of an additional 500 Ubitricity electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints in the borough by the end of March 2023.

The additional chargepoints are set to grow to the council’s existing network of over 1,500 chargepoints to more than 2,000.

The chargepoints, which are directly installed on existing street lampposts, charge at a speed of up to 5kW and take just under two hours to install.

The roll-out is planned to be installed into key residential and commercial locations, allowing residents to charge hybrid and electric vehicles on the street where they live.

The council says its goal is to make EV charging more accessible, with a particular focus on the residents in Westminster who do not have access to private off-street

parking and charging.

Lack of accessible public EV charging points is a common barrier to EV adoption, which is why Westminster council is also reaching out to the community and asking residents to request an EV chargepoint near to them using an online form.

Siemens has now completed

more than 4,500 Ubitricity chargepoint installations covering the breadth of the city, significantly funded from the Go Ultra Low Cities Scheme, and leading the way to improve London’s air quality. The roll-out began in late September 2022 and is set to be completed by the end of March 2023.

APCOA Parking operates car parks in 13 countries across Europe

A Ubitricity chargepoint

Which? calls for action on EV charging

Consumer champion’s research reveals significant flaws affecting drivers

Which? is calling for urgent improvements to the UK’s charging infrastructure to allow drivers to switch to electric vehicles (EVs) with confidence, as new research reveals significant flaws with the networks have resulted in threequarters (74%) of EV owners reporting that they are dissatisfied with the current infrastructure.

The consumer champion believes the UK government needs to move quickly to address issues with the UK’s charging infrastructure, including poor reliability and confusing payment options, as well as doing more to ensure chargepoints are available where drivers need them, in order for more people to make the switch to electric vehicles.

The survey of almost 1,500 Which? members who own an EV or plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) highlights current difficulties with finding a charger that works. Half (48%) of EV drivers who use the public charging infrastructure find it a challenge simply to find a charging point in good working condition. Meanwhile, four in ten (40%) reported that they have experienced a non-working charger and four in ten (43%) have faced ‘technical issues’ with charging points.

The Which? research also exposed difficulties around payment at public chargepoints – with six in ten (61%) having experienced an issue making payments.

Respondents also reported that there are not enough options when paying for

electric charging. One in six EV drivers (18%) who no longer use public chargers were put off by the lack of convenient payment options, while eight in ten (84%) who currently use public chargers want to be able to pay via contactless bank card to avoid the hassle of paying via multiple apps. Currently, only a limited number of chargepoints offer payment by bank card.

The survey also revealed that around half of those using the public charging networks believe they do not have adequate access to chargepoints close to their homes (48%) and nearly half (45%) felt this was the case while on journeys.

Which? asked EV drivers to estimate how far the nearest public on-street charging point was from their homes and nearly half (45%) estimated that the nearest was more than a 20-minute walk away. This is an issue for drivers that do not have off street parking and are unable to charge at home, but are faced with a long walk to and from their car while charging takes place.

Meanwhile, one in five (20%) EV

owners who no longer use the public charging infrastructure were put off by a lack of adequate chargepoints, while one in five (21%) drivers who have never used the public networks have been put off for the same reason.

Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, said: “Our research shows that the public EV charging infrastructure is falling short as many drivers struggle to find reliable charging points in good working order, have to navigate confusing payment systems, or are unable to rely on adequate charging points close to their homes or have to get to them through a long journey. The government must move quickly to implement its plans to improve the consumer experience of using the public charging networks by extending reliability standards across the full network and ensuring proposals for payment roaming to make paying to charge much simpler. Charging must be easy, reliable and seamless to support people making the move to an electric car.”

Over 20 chargepoint operators have signed an open letter sent to HM Treasury and new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng calling for an immediate cut in VAT on public charging. The FairCharge campaign coordinated the letter, which has been endorsed by 23 chargepoint operators (CPOs) asking for a reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% in line with private charging.

Signatories include the CEOs of Fastned, InstaVolt and Osprey Charging who all want immediate action. The letter states: “One quick solution, that is totally within your control, is to heed the FairCharge campaign’s call for an immediate cut in VAT on the electricity delivered by our networks. Such a cut would immediately feed through to a

reduction in prices. Further, it would show the strength of the government’s continued commitment to transport decarbonisation.

“Fundamentally, it would remove the current VAT anomaly that results in those living in terraced houses or flats who need to use our networks who pay 20% VAT as opposed to those with the ability to charge at home who pay 5% VAT.”

Signatories of the letter are:

• Karl Anders (MER Charging)

• Andreas Atkins (Ionity)

• Keith Brown (Paythru)

• John Byrne (ESB Energy)

• Ed Chadwick Till (Motor Fuel Group)

• Will David (Clenergy),

• Adrian Fielden-Gray (Be.EV)

• Bruce Galiford (RAW Charging)

• Michael Gibson (Fuuse)

• Linda Grave (EV Driver)

• Daniel Heery (Charge My Street)

• Eugenio Herrero (SWARCO)

• Keith Hounsell (Plug-N-Go)

• Neil Isaacson (Liberty Charge)

• Ian Johnston (Osprey)

• Peter Lagesse (CityEV)

• Michiel Langezaal (Fastned)

• Adrian Keen (InstaVolt)

• Dr Chris Pateman-Jones (Connected Kerb)

• Melanie Shufflebotham (Zap-Map)

• William Silverstone (Dragon Charging)

• Richard Stobart (Char.gy)

• Lindsay Wallace (For:EV).

The FairCharge team met with the Treasury on 6 September as part of its campaign for a reduction in VAT from 20% to 5% on public EV chargers.

The campaigners, who include a motoring journalist, say they were “very frank” about what the “catastrophic” increases in charging costs will mean for the EV transition.

Following the meeting the campaign’s chair, motoring journalist Quentin Willson, wrote “FairCharge’s message is stark: If the government and the Treasury don’t address this VAT anomaly and cap electricity costs for public charging, then they will inadvertently risk sweeping away a decade of hard work, waste the billions already spent in support of EV adoption, halt investment in charging infrastructure and prevent the development of an industry that will create thousands of clean, highly skilled and highly paid jobs that will help move our society closer to cleaner urban air and energy independence.”

Wireless taxi charging launched

Nottingham’s WiCET project is live

People in Nottingham are now able to ride in unique taxis that have been specially modified with the latest, highly efficient, wireless charging technology, to make them easier for drivers to recharge. The Wireless Charging of Electric Taxis (WiCET) trial is a governmentfunded project that has installed wireless charging equipment on to electric hackney carriages and into a taxi rank in Nottingham.

Five wireless ground transmitter pad systems have been installed at the main taxi rank near the train station, and nine electric hackney carriages have been retrofitted with wireless receiver pads –five LEVC TX Taxis, and four Nissan Dynamo taxis.

Electrification of taxi fleets in congested city areas is seen as a crucial step in the reduction of transport

emissions and improving air quality. However, the time taken for high-mileage taxi drivers to recharge can lower the driver’s earning potential. Cable charging with physical connections is usually inconvenient and impractical in a taxi rank.

The WiCET trial gives drivers the opportunity to wirelessly recharge their vehicles, in-rank, while waiting for their next passengers. The system allows

simultaneous charging of multiple vehicles so that drivers can use the rank for short, top-up charging bursts while they queue for fares without needing to leave their vehicle. Wireless charging will take place when the driver, using the guidance of a screen in the cab, completes a simple process that aligns the taxi over the pad so that it charges while stationary. As the taxis move forward in the rank, the driver will then realign with

Mina reveals real-world EV costs and trends

Real-world home charging costs for EVs have risen 30%,while public charging is 19% more expensive. These are among the findings in a new report published by Mina.

EV charging payment specialist Mina has launched a quarterly report which provides real-world data on how EVs are being used across the UK and how much they really cost.

The data gathered by Mina reveals how long vehicles are being charged for,how much each charge has cost, where vehicles are being charged and how much these EVs cost to run on a pence-per-mile basis.

The Mina EV Report Summer 22, looking at June-August,reveals that over the quarter real-world home charging costs for EVs have risen 30%,and public charging by 19%, while drivers on average only spend 45 minutes charging in public.

The report also highlights penceper-mile costs,trends and behaviours gathered from among the country’s largest group of EV users –businesses running vans and company cars.Its findings are also compared to Mina’s historic data.

Mina chief executive AshleyTate said:“There’s a lot of discussion

about the real cost of charging EVs, but much of it is entirely theoretical, and based on lots of assumptions and‘what-ifs’.At Mina,our technology monitors every single charge,and every piece of associated data from the moment a car or van is plugged in,so we know exactly what is going on in the real world,the second it happens.

“We know every tariff,at home and in public,we can see how green that electricity is,the carbon impact in

real time of every kWh and how much it costs for every kWh.This is transformative,because from this you can build a picture of real-life costs, which is so important as the energy crisis unfolds,and also begin to understand behaviour and trends.

“As an example,I think many will be surprised at just how little time drivers who can charge at home actually spend charging in public. This will inform strategy in future,not just for businesses looking at costs

the next pad and charging will recommence. Drivers will be billed for their total charge at the end of the day through an app on their phone.

The trial was officially launched with a demonstration of the technology at the rank on Trent Street.

Richard Sander, WiCET project manager and technical specialist at Cenex, said: “Wireless charging has the potential for effective deployment across a wide range of applications from public transport to emergency vehicles and mobility solutions, and the results from our research will go on to inform future deployments.

“We are extremely proud to be starting the first physical trial of wireless charging of taxis in the UK here in Nottingham. This is a big step in understanding and demonstrating the potential of wireless charging as a core technology in the electric vehicle transition.”

and productivity,but for networks and authorities rolling out chargers and assessing demand.We believe this quarterly report will provide a benchmark for the entire EV sector, businesses and drivers.”

Key findings from the Mina EV Report: Summer 22

• Average pence per mile (ppm) cost for an electric van if charged at home is 10ppm – double that of the government’s Advisory Electricity Rate (AER) of 5ppm,while cars charged at home cost 7ppm on average.

• Nine out of ten charges result in car and van drivers being out of pocket if they reclaim costs using the AER.

•The average cost of home charging over Summer 22 was 26 pence per kilowatt hour (p per kWh) – more than 30% higher than the previous 12 months.

•The average cost of public charging is 56p per kWh – a rise of 19% over the previous year.

•There is a huge variation in public charging tariffs – from the cheapest of 30p per kWh to the most expensive 277p per kWh.

• On average,drivers only spend around three-quarters of an hour charging in public,generally taking on around 90-100 miles of charge.

The WiCET project team

Ashley Tate unveiled the new quarterly report

Edinburgh’s charger network goes live

Transport Scotland funds new chargepoint provision

A network of on-street electric vehicle chargers has gone live in Edinburgh. The network was funded by £2.3m awarded through Transport Scotland’s Switched on Towns and Cities Challenge Fund. In total, 81 new chargers (141 charging bays) were installed and went live this summer across the city, including 41 rapid and fast chargers (72 bays) at on-street locations with the remainder provided at Hermiston and Ingliston park & ride sites.

The roll-out is designed to encourage and support the take-up of cleaner, low emission transport like electric vehicles.

Cllr Scott Arthur, Edinburgh’s transport and environment convener, said: “We are expanding on-street electric vehicle chargers across the capital in a way that does not leave footpaths cluttered with cables and chargers. These new chargers will provide convenient charging for residents and visitors alike travelling around the city. Increasing the provision for greener technologies such as electric cars is a vital step in our wider plan for decarbonising transport in Edinburgh and for reaching our goal to become a net zero carbon city by 2030, which is brought into

sharp focus during Scotland’s Climate Week. Of course, choosing to walk, cycle or use public transport is the best travel decision people can make if they want to help us in our net zero ambition.”

Michael Matheson, the Scottish Government’s cabinet secretary for net zero, energy and transport said: “Phasing out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030, to help respond to the climate emergency, can only be achieved if drivers have the range confidence that comes from readily available charging

SSE Energy Solutions opens rapid hub in Glasgow

SSE Energy Solutions has opened its first ultra-rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging hub as part of an initiative to deliver 300 such hubs across the UK and Ireland within the next five years.

Located on Glasgow’s Castlebank Street, the six-bay EV charging hub is powered by traceable, renewable energy. The site will make it easier for EV drivers to charge their cars on the go, as well as providing a charging facility for local fleets and residents. The hub features ultra-rapid charging units of up to 150 kilowatts (kW) that can put drivers back on the road within 20 to 40 minutes.

SSE Energy Solutions estimates at least 60,000 charges could take place at the hub each year, which aims to accommodate domestic vehicles, fleet drivers and

taxis. SSE Energy Solutions aims to build a network of EV charging stations across the UK and Ireland as part of plans to meet increasing demands for EV infrastructure following commitments from governments and OEMs to end the production of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines.

Kevin Welstead, EV sector director at SSE Energy Solutions, said: “It’s vital that we face the EV infrastructure challenge head on if we’re to meet the ambitious decarbonisation targets agreed in Glasgow, less than a year ago, at COP26.”

infrastructure. These latest chargepoints help provide that confidence to people who require EV charging in the capital.

“Our previous funding approaches have helped us deliver the most public electric vehicle charging points outside of London, and the most rapid chargepoints anywhere in the UK. We now want to see greater private sector investment and involvement in line with our draft vision for Scotland’s public EV charging network – delivering more infrastructure faster and in way that is more accessible than ever before.”

Powering up Lanarkshire’s Project PACE

More than 160 electric vehicle (EV) chargers are now available at dedicated hubs across Lanarkshire in Scotland. The charging hubs were built at locations which best suited the needs of the local community to help them make the switch to EV.

A total of 167 chargers are now available across sites including train stations, libraries, community centres and country parks such as Strathclyde Country Park, Lanark Lifestyles and Getting Better Together Shotts.

Project PACE was part of the strategic collaboration with the Scottish Government to create over 44 EV charging hubs to help with the rising demand for low-carbon technologies and to facilitate local communities’ transition to cleaner and greener lifestyles.

Since its launch in 2019, the project, which was facilitated by Transport Scotland and local authorities in North and South Lanarkshire, has provided over 3,520MWh of energy which has enabled 13.7 million miles to be driven using green energy transport. This has helped save an estimated 2,380 tonnes of CO2 which would

have been emitted into the atmosphere had the same journeys been made by petrol or diesel cars.

The charging points have already been used over 105,000 times and enable an additional 4,150 EVs to be on the roads, increasing the number of electric vehicles in Lanarkshire by 400% compared to the baseline in December 2019.

As well as providing the local communities with the infrastructure to help them shift to electric vehicles, the project also has economic benefits for customers, with the PACE charging hubs forecasted to save between £1.4m and £2.9m on electricity grid connection costs.

Lynda Ward, Project PACE transformation director, said: “The results of PACE are there for all to see and I’m proud this project delivers such a significant contribution towards the electrification of transport. The usage of the chargers shows the appetite and value of projects such as PACE and enables people to make greener choices more easily. The project is a shining example of the power of collaboration to create a greener,

Edinburgh’s Cllr Scott Arthur and transport minister Michael Matheson

A flight of imagination

Art student’s mural explores the journey towards a low-carbon future

Electricvehicles taking to the air with wings like beetles as they cross a landscape of solar panels that resemble flowers through which a train snakes. This is the striking vision of the future of travel created by young artist Lauren Murray, who has taken first prize in a mural design competition.

The competition to create the mural was organised by Coventry University’s Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems (C-ALPS), and the BA (Hons) Illustration courses, with around 15 entries submitted for consideration. The mural will be installed later this year within the C-ALPS laboratory.

Murray, 21, who graduated this year from her course in Fine Art and Illustration, said: “This was the first time I’d done a professional commission; I’ve

been taught about the process throughout my course, but to actually do it was really interesting. I wanted to create something that was green and vibrant and my initial design was inspired by a garden, so the cars resembled beetles and one of the buildings looked like a bird bath.

“After doing some further research about the work of C-ALPS I refined my design, trying to show the process behind the creation of hydrogen fuel cells. An artist never sees their work as finished, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. My course at Coventry was great, my style has definitely developed and I really enjoyed the group working and the way we talked through ideas with one another.”

Tony Smith, laboratory manager at C-ALPS, said: “The standard of all the

entries was excellent and Lauren’s mural will make such a difference in the laboratory, it’ll really brighten up the space. Everyone here got to vote on which mural they wanted. I like the way blues and greens, which are colours associated with renewable technology and electric vehicles, have been incorporated into the design and also the way it looks to the future, with the nod to science fiction.

“The artists involved in the murals were happy to receive our feedback and take these comments on-board when putting together their final submissions. It’s been a great project. Not only will we get a fantastic mural, but the artists get the experience of working to a specific brief and with a client to put together something interesting.”

Two runner-up designs will also be created, one of which will also go in the laboratory, while the other one will be installed at a local school.

Smith added that some of the students involved in the mural project are planning to speak to local school children about the work being done by C-ALPS and the move towards low-carbon technologies.

Andy Spackman, course director for BA (Hons) Illustration, said: “Professionalism is a key part of the course right from the beginning, our students learn how to market themselves, how to work with clients and businesses and they all take part in an external project.

“All students have their own visual style and Lauren has a strong visual signature, her work feels unique which helped bring the subject to life. The way she approached this project has also been very professional, she was happy to take feedback from the client and adapt her work to their suggestions.”

Fine Art and illustration graduate Lauren Murray refines her mobility mural

Start

survey

Is pay-as-you-drive a good idea?

End of survey

Given what you’ve read and understood

this survey, do you think replacing the current system of vehicle taxation

a new pay-as-you-drive system which

people based on the distance they travel is a good or bad idea?

Start

The case for reforming vehicle taxation

people in Britain support replacing fuel duty and vehicle excise duty (VED) with a pay-as-you-drive

according to a report from Campaign for Better Transport that explores the best ways to frame the case for reform and to implement a new system with fairness at its heart.

report, Pay-as-you-drive: the British public’s views on vehicle taxation reform, examined over 3,000 UK adults’ views on road pricing. It found that three out of five people (60%) believe vehicle taxation needs reforming, with half (49%) supporting the idea of a pay-as-you-drive scheme compared to fewer than one in five (18%) opposing it. Support for reform grew among those surveyed by eight percentage points (from 41% to 49%) once they were presented with options for how such a scheme could be delivered, showing that some initial concerns around road pricing can be overcome.

Paul Tuohy, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport,

“The need to reform vehicle taxation is becoming increasingly clear as we rightly move away from petrol and diesel vehicles in order to tackle climate change. What this research shows is that road pricing, far from being an unacceptable concept to the public, is in fact one that the majority of people believe can be implemented fairly and could in fact save most drivers money.”

Campaign for Better Transport’s report found that people thought a well-designed pay-as-you-drive system would be a fairer and more transparent way to tax motoring because it would include electric vehicle (EV) drivers and could ensure people who drive less, pay less.

Those polled thought that a scheme which included measures such as a tax-free mileage allowance would enable targeted tax cuts to specific groups, like those who have to drive for work, and would mean people who live in places

Campaign for Better Transport report reveals strong public support for a pay-as-you-drive scheme as fuel duty and VED replacement

Source: Campaign for Better Transport’s Pay-as-you-drive report

where there are no public transport alternatives would not be unfairly penalised, either through a higher tax-free allowance or being charged a lower rate. A pay-as-you-drive scheme would have the added benefit of bringing an immediate tax cut to drivers with the removal of VAT on fuel duty.

The report also found that a number of measures would further increase public support for a pay-as-you-drive scheme including:

• a commitment to raise no more than fuel duty and vehicle excise duty do

• ensuring tax intake keeps pace with the increased take-up of zero-emission vehicles as the main reason for reform

• a government campaign to introduce the scheme which focusses on the ‘drive less – pay less’ benefits to help with the cost-of-living crisis

• a proportion of the revenue to be set aside for road maintenance and public transport improvements

• an arm’s length body to set and review emission standards and charging rates annually.

Pay-as-you-drive: the British public’s views on vehicle taxation reform, has been written by Campaign for Better Transport with funding from the European Climate Foundation (ECF), the Foundation for Integrated Travel, Transport and Environment and Uber. The report is based on the results of four focus groups and a detailed 60-question survey of over 3,000 adults from across the UK.

Campaign for Better Transport’s report concludes that a payas-you-drive system could progress in stages from a pilot for electric vehicles, to replacing fuel duty and vehicle excise duty with a fully ‘smart’ scheme with a varied pricing structure, which would replace any pre-existing local road charging schemes and provide the ability for people to opt out and pay a higher set annual charge instead.

The campaign is now calling on the government to establish a cross-party commission before the next general election to help secure agreement on the case for reform with a view to having a pay-as-you-drive scheme ready for implementation by 2025.

The report suggests that a national pay-as-you-drive scheme could progress through three options (although some could be skipped or combined):

• a simple per-mile charge for electric vehicles only. For nonelectric vehicles, fuel duty and VED could stay as they are

• a simple per-mile charge for all vehicles, replacing fuel duty and VED. The per-mile charge should be higher for more polluting vehicles

• a smart scheme, which varies the charge according to when and where the journey takes place, so that journeys for which there is no public transport alternative can be charged less.

Silviya Barrett, head of research at Campaign for Better Transport, who wrote the report, said: “Our research found that many of the common concerns around road pricing, things like protecting people’s privacy and not penalising people who need to drive, can be overcome with a well-designed pay-as-you-drive scheme. In fact, support for road pricing increased among the survey group over the course of the research once the scheme was fully explained, proving that public concerns about road pricing can be overcome.”

Campaign for Better Transport

Since 1973,Campaign for BetterTransport has led calls for improvements to the country’s transport networks,campaigning for transport which is greener, more affordable and easier to use.Campaign for BetterTransport’s mission is to make sustainable transport available to all and encourage its use. bettertransport.org.uk

Tax reform must be a priority

The government must create a cross-party commission on vehicle taxation reform, says Silviya Barrett

Many experts and policymakers agree distance-based road pricing,or pay-asyou-drive,would be required for vehicle taxation to keep pace with the move to net zero.While much has been written about how it could work,it has been a while since the public’s views on this have been tested.Based on focus group research and polling of over 3,000 people,this report represents the most indepth recent analysis of public views on road pricing.

The Campaign for BetterTransport found:

• a majority of respondents agree there is a need to reform the current system of vehicle taxation

• half support the idea of pay-as-you-drive,while only one in six oppose it

• support for the reform increases as people engage with the arguments and options for implementation,showing that initial concerns can be overcome

• people understand the need for electric vehicles (EVs) to start paying tax like other vehicles (though at a lower rate),as the money lost in fuel duty needs to come from somewhere

• the ability to budget better as vehicle tax becomes more transparent also appealed to participants.

Our new report, Pay-as-you-drive,suggests a national pay-as-you-drive scheme could progress from a pilot flat per-mile charge for EVs to replacing fuel duty and Vehicle Excise Duty with a smart charge variable by vehicle emissions and where and when the journey takes place.To ensure fairness, the scheme can offer a tax-free mileage allowance,which could be higher for people living in rural areas with fewer alternatives to driving,and the ability to opt out and pay a simple per-mile rate instead for those concerned about vehicle tracking. We are calling on the government to establish a cross-party commission before the next general election to help broker agreement on the principle that we need to reform vehicle taxation.The commission’s findings should then be consulted upon to decide the preferred way forward so that a pay-as-you-drive scheme is ready for implementation around the middle of the decade.

Reactions to the plan

• Steve Gooding CBE,director of the RAC Foundation,said:“The question of what does or doesn’t make a policy like road user charging publicly acceptable is one of endless fascination and extensive speculation.This report genuinely shines some light on the issue and reveals the way that people’s opinions can be informed and influenced by giving them the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the issues.”

• Kate Jennings,director of policy at Logistics UK,said:“We welcome this report on what is an important subject.Change is coming and it is imperative that any road charging policy must be developed in close consultation with the logistics sector to ensure fairness and transparency between government and business.Logistics businesses already operate on extremely narrow margins, so any system must be applied to all vehicles and phased in carefully for the avoidance of double taxation.Logistics UK stands ready to work with government to develop a system which is simple,effective and transparent for all parties.”

• Edmund King OBE,AA president,said:“TheTreasury will want to reform motoring taxation as the transition to electric vehicles will cost them billions in the longer term.A balance must be struck between encouraging the uptake of zero emission vehicles against a background of increased EV running costs, and ensuring fairness for all drivers.This comprehensive report opens up some of the options,including a mileage allowance system similar to our‘Road Miles’concept.”

Silviya Barrett is director of policy and research Campaign for Better Transport and is the author of Pay-as-you-drive: the British public’s views on vehicle taxation reform

Aviva invests in Connected Kerb

Connected Kerb, an electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure specialist, has secured an investment of up to £110m from Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva. The funding will support Connected Kerb’s plan to deliver 190,000 on-street EV chargers by 2030 to provide access to charging for the millions of drivers without off-street parking.

As part of the deal, Connected Kerb will also deliver EV charging infrastructure across the insurer’s pan-European real estate portfolio, which includes over 300 major owned assets in the UK. Connected Kerb hardware and expertise will be employed in supporting the electrification of this portfolio.

EV ownership is rising in the UK. Sales so far this year have accounted for 14% of all new vehicle registrations, up 50% compared to this time last year. However, there is currently just one public-access on-street EV charger for every 52 EVs on UK roads.

Those without off-street parking or a dedicated parking space with domestic power supply – accounting for 62% of drivers find it harder to make the switch

to electric. Currently, this group makes up as few as 9% of EV drivers.

Aviva Investors’ investment into Connected Kerb aims to rebalance the growing gap between EV ownership and public charging infrastructure. Connected Kerb says the multi-million-pound investment into UK public charging infrastructure will be critical to delivering the UK government’s plan of installing more than 300,000 chargers by 2030.

Aviva’s investment of up to £110m is equivalent to around a quarter of all the

money committed by the UK government under its flagship Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund, aimed at helping local authorities fund on-street EV charging projects.

Chris Pateman-Jones, chief executive of Connected Kerb, said: “Our partnership with Aviva Investors will turn EV charging on its head. Successfully delivering the benefits of the EV transition to all –regardless of location, wealth, or circumstance – relies entirely on the UK’s ability to deploy convenient and reliable public charging at scale. For many, it has so far been neither.

Sean McLachlan, senior director, infrastructure at Aviva Investors, added: “We are pleased to support Connected Kerb’s ambitious rollout of EV charging infrastructure across the UK, a sector at the heart of the transition towards a low carbon future. The funding we are providing will help to speed up the provision of EV charging to homes and businesses alike, whilst increasing accessibility. We also look forward to working with a management team which has market leading experience in building and operating public infrastructure and integrated smart networks, alongside excellent ESG (environmental, social and governance) credentials.”

Zap-Map raises £9m Series A funding in Fleetcor collaboration

The Zap-Map EV charging app and mapping service has raised £9m in a Series A fundraising round. The company has secured investment from global fleet fuel card provider Fleetcor and further backing from clean energy company Good Energy.

The funds raised will help the business continue to build its development team and deliver on its product roadmap with a view to international expansion.

The Zap-Map app helps UK EV drivers search for available chargepoints, plan their longer electric journeys and pay for charging when out and about.

Currently around 70% of UK EV drivers are registered users of ZapMap, and the app has seen impressive growth in users as the number of fully electric vehicles in the UK has expanded to over half a million.

The business plans to build its market share by continuing to develop innovative features and services to help support the transition for the millions of drivers who will go electric in the lead up to the ban on sales of petrol and diesel cars in 2030.

In parallel, Zap-Map plans to grow

revenues in subscriptions, EV charging payments and platform services. It then plans to move into other global markets.

The deal extends Zap-Map and Fleetcor’s existing partnership which allows customers of the Fleetcor operated Allstar Electric card to use Zap-Map. Drivers using Allstar Electric can add their card in the Zap-Map app and use it to pay for EV charging via the Zap-Pay payment solution .

Meanwhile, existing investor Good Energy, which had committed to participating in the round earlier in the year, has invested a further £3.7m. Zap-Map will play a key role in Good Energy’s ambition to help one million homes and businesses cut their carbon by 2025.

Richard Bourne, chief executive of Zap-Map, said: “This fundraising round allows us to accelerate Zap-Map’s core mission: making it simple for

current and future electric vehicle drivers to plan journeys, search and pay for electric vehicle charging. Good Energy has proven a powerful partner to date and we are delighted to have a new strategic collaboration with Fleetcor which will supercharge our ambition to accelerate the provision of services to the fleet market and allow us to look ahead and expand internationally.”

Nigel Pocklington, chair of Zap-Map and chief executive of Good Energy said: “There are over half a million EV drivers in the UK, with millions more switching to electric in the coming years. It is a race towards zeroemission transport and Zap-Map is placed right at the front of the field, where we plan to keep it. Bringing on a partner with the scale and compatibility of Fleetcor ensures that is possible, opening up further possibilities in international payments and fleet electrification.”

Tom Rowlands, managing director of global EV Solutions for Fleetcor, said: “We are excited to be investing in Zap-Map alongside Good Energy, this investment will open up ZapMap’s market leading capabilities to our UK fleet customers, further demonstrating Fleetcor and Allstar’s commitment to providing best in class EV solutions to the UK market.”

£110m boost for on-street charging specialist

Richard Bourne, Alex Earl, Melanie Shufflebotham and Ben Lane

Connected Kerb Gekko chargers

Compleo Charging Solutions opens

EV charging specialist moves UK headquarters to Oxfordshire

Compleo Charging Solutions UK, a provider of turnkey electric vehicle charging hardware and software solutions to businesses, has opened a UK headquarters in Oxfordshire.

The unveiling of offices within The Lambourn at Abingdon Business Park is part of parent company Compleo Charging Solutions AG’s European expansion.

Compleo already has offices in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Sweden and employs 600 people.

Compleo’s UK team, which has been operating from smaller premises close to Swindon for the last three years, will oversee the company’s roll out of EV charging solutions into the fleet, hotel and public car park sectors from the bigger headquarters.

The location will also serve as the base for Compleo’s UK training academy where charging point installers and network operators will be given the skills they need to deliver and use the firm’s AC and DC charging products and bespoke software services.

“We’re delighted to make Abingdon the new home of Compleo Charging Solutions in the UK. It’s a vibrant and friendly town that sits at the heart of Oxfordshire – a key region for science and technology development,” said Compleo UK managing director Valentin Scheltow, who has relocated his family from Bochum in Germany to Abingdon.

“The electric vehicle market in the UK is going from strength to strength and we’re looking to build on the excellent work we’ve done across the last three years to

grow our customer portfolio even more, from a prime location in central England.”

Cllr Andy Foulsham, Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, was the guest of honour at the opening of Compleo’s new HQ. He said: “Being able to welcome a company like Compleo to Abingdon is a vote of confidence in the way we’re doing things in the town, but we also see it as us welcoming an international company that has a broad reach and is playing an important role in the drive to net zero.”

Macquarie launches Fleete infrastructure arm

Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group (GIG) has launched a new infrastructure business for operators of electric commercial vehicle fleets.

The new business, called Fleete, uses a charging-as-aservice model to help operators of buses, trucks and vans accelerate their transition to electric vehicles. Fleete offers a one-stop-shop, taking care of the entire installation, management, and financing of charging infrastructure.

Mark Dooley, global head of Green Investment Group, said: “The mass transition to electric vehicles is now inevitable, the only question is how quickly it will happen. GIG is here to make that transition happen as fast as possible and we see commercial fleets as an opportunity for significant near-term decarbonisation impact. By establishing Fleete,

we aim to accelerate the EV transition by making it easy for operators to reap the benefits of going electric immediately, while supporting the delivery of a smart, flexible, low-carbon energy system.”

Customers will have access to Fleete’s proprietary software platform, managing charging schedules and optimising energy consumption.

Dan Bentham, chief executive of Fleete, said: “The deployment of electric fleet charging infrastructure is currently in its infancy but demand is set to grow exponentially. Fleete has been created to support this largescale transition to electric commercial vehicles.

“Through a monthly subscription with no upfront costs, we are putting clients at ease as they transition to electric vehicles. All of this wrapped up in our overarching digital platform. Achieving this can only be done in a smart, connected way with a single point of service for our clients. That is Fleete.”

Fleete installs high-powered DC charging equipment, delivering between 60kW and 600kW depending on individual fleet requirements, enabling efficient charging overnight and rapid top-ups.

Seal-Driver joins Be.EV team

Public electric vehicle charging network Be.EV has appointed Joseph Seal-Driver as its new chief commercial officer.

Before joining Be.EV, Seal-Driver spent more than a decade working in the mobility sector on ideas such as electric car and bike sharing. He held a number of executive roles in this space, scaling up disruptive businesses that are backed by some of the biggest players in automotive.

In his role as ‘entrepreneur in residence’ at Jaguar Land Rover, he founded electric chauffeur service Havn, which was later acquired by Daimler-backed Blacklane. He is also a trustee of CoMoUK, the charity for shared transportation.

Compleo Charging Solutions’ open day

Dan Bentham

Kerbside charging system piloted

Brent and Camden pilot ‘flat and flush’ Trojan Energy system

New on-street electric vehicle chargepoints are now live for testing in the London boroughs of Brent and Camden. The project has been led by energy consultancy Element Energy, an ERM Group company, and will result in local EV drivers trialling 150 new on-street chargepoints.

The chargepoints, designed by Trojan Energy, sit flat and flush with the pavement so have no permanent raised structure. This technology will provide vital on-street charging for those without driveways or garages, whilst keeping streets clear of additional clutter.

The full launch of the trial is a key milestone in the threeyear Subsurface Technology for Electric Pathways (STEP) project, funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles

(OZEV) and delivered by Innovate UK, which has seen the chargepoints developed from concept, through manufacturing and now deployment.

For the STEP trial, 10 sets of

15 chargepoints are being installed on six streets in Brent and four streets in Camden. Currently nine streets are live, with the final street in Camden due to be operational later this year. More than 150

Barnet rolls out new Trojan charger

Motorists in the North London borough of Barnet will see the installation of over 500 street charging points that designed to be ‘flat and lush’ with the pavement. The chargers will enable residents without driveways to charge their EVs easily and locally. Barnet Council has awarded a contract to Trojan Energy to deliver the £4.65m project, including £3.5m secured in government grants. The funding is one of the largest amounts provided through the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS), open to local authorities in the UK.

Paythru enables EV drivers to park and charge

Payments technology company Paythru has launched a solution that combines parking and EV charging into a single transaction. Paythru says its Park and Charge solution has been developed to address a growing user frustration around dealing with multiple payment methods in car parks.

Paythru Park and Charge is a customisable piece of software that manages payments in the cloud. It can be easily implemented via APIs into car park or chargepoint operators’ existing payment apps, websites or terminals.

James O’Neill, Paythru’s chief executive, said: “Many public and private car parking locations require the purchase of a parking ticket as well as initiating and paying for a charging session. Often, the chargers and parking space

are operated by different companies, with their own payments system. There are a growing number of stories of aggrieved EV owners receiving fines because they did not realise that they needed both.

“This solution is designed to take the headache out of this process. It allows users to see a single parking and charging

tariff at their selected location and to pay the appropriate fee. Instead of building yet another app we’ve built a platform in the cloud. This means parking companies and charging companies just sign up, set their payment terms behind the scenes, and the user has one transparent transaction to pay for

EV drivers have signed-up to use the technology, with the trial scheduled to run for several months. If the trial is successful and passes council consultation, the system will remain in use for years to come.

Trojan Energy designed the flat and flush charging system for those without access to offstreet parking. Disability Rights UK provided design input to improve usability for all drivers and increase safety for all street users.

Element Energy have designed surveys for trial participants alongside academic partners from the Institute of Transport Studies at the University of Leeds to evaluate the success of the project. The partners feel success will not only be defined by feedback from local EV drivers using the technology, but additionally by more than 150 nearby nontrial residents providing their feedback on the new infrastructure in their area.

everything – which could be either through the car park or their EV charging app. Whatever they choose, we manage the payment split and make sure the parking and charging companies both get paid.

“This is the first application for consumers that recognises the need to park and charge. The EV revolution will stall unless we get the customer experience right and no one’s actually addressing this until now. Having previously spent years working at EV charging providers, I have seen the impact of poor user payment experience on customer loyalty.”

In operation, when a session is started using Paythru’s Park and Charge, the system automatically initiates the EV charge at the connected chargepoint. It supports both time-based and kWh-based tariffs. Paythru said this approach mitigates the risk of penalty charge notices.

Payment for parking and EV charging can be linked

The STEP team

Working on wireless solutions

Siemens and MAHLE agree to develop inductive charging for electric cars

Siemens and MAHLE Group intend to collaborate in the field of inductive charging of electric vehicles. Both companies have signed a letter of intent to this effect. One aspect of the planned cooperation includes coordinated standardisation efforts in the relevant prestandardisation and standardisation bodies. The goal is to close gaps to ensure full interoperability between vehicles and the charging infrastructure.

In addition, there are plans for a close exchange of ideas to develop a complete inductive charging system for electric vehicles. MAHLE aims to contribute its many years of experience as an automotive supplier and Siemens its expertise in the field of charging infrastructure.

Stefan Perras, head of pre-development and innovation for charging infrastructure at Siemens AG, said: “Wireless charging of electric vehicles is emerging as a major market for the future. In addition to making life considerably easier for drivers, who no longer have to fiddle with cables and connectors, it is a crucial requirement for the autonomous mobility of tomorrow. The transfer efficiency of wireless, inductive charging is comparable to plug-in systems.”

Harald Straky, vice president for global development in mechatronics and electronics at MAHLE, added: “We are very pleased to have found a strong partner in Siemens in order to make major advances in inductive charging. The combined experience of both companies will give us a clear competitive advantage.”

Both parties are also planning extensive interoperability and cross-testing between the charging equipment on the vehicle (secondary coil) and the charging infrastructure (primary coil). This will allow for technical improvements and validation of inductive charging systems

Could car parks become forests of

SolarBotanic Trees has officially launched its “solar tree” prototype. The London-based company wants to use the solar tree to power EV charging stations.

The SolarBotanic energy tree features what the company says is the world’s first 3-D leaf-shaped photovoltaic nanotechnology. The leaves are formed utilising thin-film solar cells and has a power generation capacity of 5 kilowatts.

The company’s target market will first be the “rapid electric vehicle charging market for homes, businesses, and commercial car parks.” The solar tree can be linked and can form part of a local grid, or it can feed into the main grid.

SolarBotanic developed its energy trees with Co-Innovate, a Londonbased business support programme that taps into academic and innovation resources at Brunel University London, the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry, and the University of Sheffield

Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s Design and Prototyping Group. Sheffield University’s centre will test SolarBotanic’s solar tree prototype.

The company has designed the solar trees to feed harvested power into an AI-driven energy storage and management system (EMS). That EMS will regulate and release the power.

for electric vehicles and ensure interoperability. Some of the testing will be performed as part of publicly funded projects. As a full-service provider for e-mobility charging infrastructure, Siemens eMobility offers a range of AC and DC charging hardware, software and services for use in residential, commercial and depot applications.

Stefan Perras added: “Siemens’ core expertise in smart buildings and smart grids makes us uniquely positioned to meet our customers’ needs with comprehensive solutions and to help them design, install and manage sustainable charging solutions for a better future.”

trees?

SolarBotanic Trees says its firstgeneration solar tree will be available in early 2023, and the company asserts that it will be affordable once it’s mass produced.

A further funding round is planned in the first half of 2023 to fund the commercial production startup and scale to commercial volumes over the following 36 months.

Be.EV works with Vital EV on hubs

Vital EV Solutions will supply charging infrastructure for Be.EV charging hubs in Greater Manchester and the north of England.

Be.EV has opted for Vital EV’s hub-and-spoke charging system, which consists of the Kempower CSeries Centralised Power Unit (CPU) and S-Series satellite charging posts, for its ultra-rapid charging speeds and class-leading power-to-footprint ratio.

Alex Rae, business development manager at Vital EV, said new hubs will also ‘look’ and ‘feel’ different.

Artist’s impression of the inductive charging system

NOVEMBER 2022

MANCHESTER CONFERENCE CENTRE

Organised by:

Sponsored by:

Presented by:

Moving forward together

Traffic and parking management teams provide an essential service. They keep our towns and cities moving. They work to provide sufficient, equitable and safe access to the kerbside for residents, shoppers, businesses, people with disabilities and the emergency services.

Local authorities and their partners are focussed on reducing traffic congestion, ensuring the free movement of public transport and safety of pedestrians. They are increasingly key to enabling active travel, as well as implementing schemes that reduce vehicle-related pollution and delivering electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Supported by:

Key themes

Traffic

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Parking 2022 will examine

such as:

enforcement

traffic regulation

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air schemes

lines and TROs

Traffic Neighbourhoods

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permit parking

consultation

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l Cycle, e-bike and e-scooter parking

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user charges

The Traffic + Parking events attract

parking and traffic managers, transport planners and urban

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Confirmed speakers:

The event will feature presentations by:

l Jason Barbour, Managing Director, Barbour Logic

l Adam Bunce, Managing Director, 2020 Consultancy

l Joseph Burbridge, Assistant Parking Director, Project Centre

l Chris Durban, Technical Director for Transport, Project Centre

l Steven Foster, Team Leader, Parking Services, Newcastle City Council

l John Galsworthy, Assistant Parking Director, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

l Mark Fanneran, Head of Service Development, Parking Services, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham

l Tina Glover, Associate Director, Project Centre

l Caroline Hamilton, Chief Adjudicator, Traffic Penalty Tribunal

l Victoria Hull, Head of Business Development, Debit My Mobile

l Andrea Jones, Director of Strategic Accounts, NSL

l Oleseni Koya, Associate Director for Parking, Project Centre

l Anjna Patel MBE, Principal Officer, Parking and Safer and Sustainable Transport Team, Sandwell Metropolitan

l Nick Ruxton-Boyle, Director of Environment, Marston Holdings

l Rob Shoebridge, Group Manager, Traffic & Transportation, Derby City Council

l Sharon Silcock, Head of Business Development for ZatPark, Unity5

l Darren Stoneman, Civil Enforcement Manager, Plymouth City Council

l Andy Stott, Sales Director, RingGo

l Keiran Taylor, Lead Consultant, Electric Vehicles, Project Centre

l Richard Williams, Co-founder and Director, Transfer 360

l Alan Wood, Strategic Account Director, Just

Exhibitors include:

Traffic + Parking 2022 provides your company with the perfect opportunity to carefully target the marketing of your products and services to those within the smart city planning, active travel, intelligent mobility and parking sectors.