Total number of chargepoints is important, but location matters too

The recent Geospatial Commission report identified how better use of location data can help overcome four key challenges to siting chargepoints: modelling future demand, finding suitable sites, creating a seamless consumer experience and tracking rollout. Ellie

Senior Policy Advisor at the Geospatial Commission, explores these four points

The UK government has set an ambitious agenda to decarbonise the entire transport system and put us firmly on a path to net zero by 2050. The transition to zero emission vehicles is driving progress towards net zero, with increasing numbers of motorists making the switch to electric vehicles. Last December, there were over 42,000 new registrations, 32.9 percent of all new car registrations that month according to ZapMap.

The clock is ticking: from 2030, sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned. Comprehensive, responsive and accessible EV charging infrastructure that drivers of today and tomorrow can depend on is critical to growing the number of electric vehicles on the road in the UK. Easy access to a chargepoint that can deliver a smooth consumer experience is required to successfully enable this transition. The government estimates that 300,000 chargepoints will be needed by 2030, a significant increase from today’s 37,000. While the government continues to invest in delivering the total sum of chargepoints we need, the public and private sector will also need to address where chargepoints are located. In December the Geospatial Commission, an expert committee within the Cabinet Office,

Skinner,

published a report setting out how location data – the record of what we do and where we do it – can accelerate EV chargepoint rollout to more parts of the UK. Our report identifies how better use of location data can help overcome four key challenges to siting chargepoints: modelling future demand, finding suitable sites, creating a seamless consumer experience and tracking rollout.

Challenge 1: modelling future demand

We found that location data can help local authorities understand current and future demand for chargepoints. For example, where there are clusters of households without access to off-street parking there will be greater demand. Modelling chargepoint demand can help public authorities identify E

 the right number, type and locations of public chargepoints. By bringing together data on existing chargepoints, travel patterns and infrastructure constraints, the public sector can more efficiently and effectively plan, procure and rollout chargepoints. Demand modelling could provide the evidence base to develop the investment case to set commercial terms which balance the need for equitable provision and making sustainable returns.

Challenge 2: finding suitable sites

Once demand has been established, the next stage is assessing whether sites are suitable for chargepoint installation. Location data can accelerate this process, helping planners identify optimal sites for where chargepoints can be installed to avoid wasted effort. Location data can speed up site selection by improving our understanding of energy capacity and identifying site constraints, hazards and opportunities on the kerbside.

Challenge 3: creating a seamless consumer experience

According to CI&T (formally Somo), one in five non-EV drivers say that having to research the location of chargepoints when on a long journey is stopping them from switching. The market will drive improvements in the consumer experience. Making chargepoint location data more FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) can encourage innovation in the private sector which will then improve how current EV drivers interact with the chargepoint network, creating a more seamless experience for them and building the confidence of prospective owners.

Challenge 4: tracking rollout

The UK government has a vision for a chargepoint network that reaches everyone, everywhere. The right use of location data can drive this transition and help the government to monitor rollout and identify where demand is not being met.

The Geospatial Commission will continue to work with other government departments to support local authorities and others to make better, evidence-led, decisions through the use of location data so that public chargepoints are made accessible to everybody, everywhere. L

Association for Geographic Information (AGI) hosts roundtable on EV Infrastructure

The Association for Geographic Information (AGI), the UK membership organisation for companies and individuals working in the geospatial sector, hosted a roundtable to discuss opportunities for geospatial to build a chargepoint network that works for everyone, everywhere. The findings from the event were used to support the Geospatial Commission’s policy development, which has culminated with the publication of ‘Getting to the Point: Accelerating EV chargepoint rollout through geospatial data’.

The report proposes that to build a chargepoint network that can work for everyone, chargepoints must be rolled out where they are needed for today and tomorrow. Location data is key to building the right infrastructure in the right places, giving confidence to current and future EV owners that they can efficiently reach their destination. The report identifies how location data can help model future demand, select suitable sites, create a seamless consumer experience and track rollout.

The roundtable event, held as part of the AGI’s Annual Conference GeoCom, was chaired by Geospatial Commission commissioner Dr Steve Unger and convened 13 organisations from across government and industry, including ConnectedKerb, GeoPlace, Google, NHS, Ordnance Survey, TfL and ZapMap.

Ian Maxfield, Associate Director of Geospatial Services at NHS South, Central and West, who took part in the discussions, said: “A staggering 3.5 per cent of all road travel in England relates to patients, visitors, staff and suppliers to the NHS. We know effective take up of zero-emission vehicles will require a comprehensive electric charging infrastructure across the NHS estate but this must happen in parallel with a wider rollout in the community.”