EXPERT PANEL CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE

Vehicle electrification will no doubt be in the minds of fleet operators, as the 2030 end-date for new petrol and diesel vehicles comes closer. With around 80 electric models available, attention has now turned to how these vehicles will be charged. We ask our expert panelists to discuss all things charging infrastructure – from workplace, home and public charging, to ensure any charging strategy is successful

Alun Davies, operations director, ElectrAssure

Alun Davies is the operations director of ElectrAssure Ltd and was proud to receive the EV Champion award at the Greenfleet Awards 2019. With 10 years’ experience in EV charging, Alun is responsible of the day to day running of ElectrAssure and is the first point of contact for customers, suppliers and staff while continuing to lead the electrical teams from a technical standpoint. Alun is a City & Guilds qualified electrotechnical engineer with 18th edition wiring regulations and EV charger installation qualifications and several expert installer certificates.

Daniel Eyers, electric vehicle charging Specialist – fleet, Drax

Dan has a decade of experience in a number of different areas within the EV sector. Prior to joining Drax, he worked in sales for a charging solutions company focussing on smart technologies. Prior to that, he spent time working in sales and business development for a provider of EV charge points. Dan’s role at Drax is to work with customers on end-to-end electric vehicle business charging solutions that enable financial and sustainability benefits to their business.

Gill Nowell, head of EV communications at LV= General Insurance / ElectriX

Gill has over 20 years’ experience across sustainable energy, utility, and environmental technologies sectors, including eight years working on electric vehicle-grid integration projects (My Electric Avenue, Smart EV, Electric Nation). Gill initiated the establishment of the EV Network Group, that transformed into the Governmentsupported EV Energy Taskforce, and co-founded EVA England in 2020. She is now Head of EV Communications at LV= General Insurance, working on its new EV proposition ElectriX.

The 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles has focused the attention of vehicle manufacturers, and there are now around 80 electric models available across every vehicle segment. Companies considering their fleet strategies will no doubt be preparing for the change – and many will already be making progress in switching their vehicles to zero-emission alternatives. But such a substantial change to established practices take careful consideration, and there are a number of things to think about before embarking on fleet electrification. One of the main areas to consider is how the vehicles will be charged.

“Successful electrification of fleets relies on a thorough assessment of fleet behaviour to ensure that the transition will be smooth and meet minimal resistance,” comments Alun Davies, operations director of ElectrAssure.

“Driver mileage and behaviour must be assessed in order to understand whether the electric vehicles are able to cover the mileage required by the operators usual driving patterns and whether adequate dwell time to charge the vehicle is available either in the working day or between shifts. If the driver mileage is lower than the expected EV range, then the assessment of when and where the vehicle is stationary and for how long will begin to form the basis for the charging provisions required as they will need to be adequately charged within that time frame.

“Charging is always best, where possible, provided at company or driver premises to avoid any delays or issues that can be encountered when using public charging.

However, the increase of available and reliable public charging means that in exceptional circumstances, such as longer than average journeys, drivers are able to make it to their destination. Utilising home and public charging as part of the plan for charging fleets isn’t uncommon, however, it is critical that the payment for public charging or the reimbursement of home charging activities is simple and as close to autonomous as possible to prevent resistance from drivers.”

Range, cost and infrastructure

Daniel Eyers, electric vehicle charging specialist for fleets at Drax, breaks down the areas of fleet electrification into three categories –range, cost and infrastructure. He says: “Fleet managers will need to take vehicle range into account if their EVs are travelling hundreds of miles each day. As they’ll be aware, drivers stopping to charge their vehicles can cause operational inefficiencies. Planning charging solutions will be more complicated if the fleet’s EVs have high mileage requirements.”

Fleet managers will need to project the costs of charging based on the options available and the specification of their fleet. Daniel Eyers comments: “Buying charging hardware and installing it on company sites carries a high upfront cost – but it brings down the ongoing cost of charging. Drivers will know where to charge and can avoid high public-chargingfacility prices. There may also be the option of recouping some of the initial expense by introducing charging tariffs for visitors.

“It’s also worth noting that government support exists for the upfront cost of purchase and install. And organisations shouldn’t assume they always need the most powerful chargers. Low-power units are often sufficient if charging vehicles overnight – and they’re much cheaper.

“Leasing the hardware is also an option –particularly if the organisation doesn’t own the site or may be looking to move in the future.”

There is also the option of installing home chargers in drivers homes, and of using the public charging infrastructure. Dan Eyers comments: “Installing chargers at drivers’ homes can be complicated, but it can also increase operational efficiencies and minimise ongoing charging costs. As well as reducing the need to charge at expensive publiccharging facilities, it’ll enable drivers to charge overnight, when electricity’s at its cheapest.

“Relying on public facilities means paying over the odds for charging EVs –but it avoids the upfront cost of buying (or leasing) and installing a network of chargers. Organisation’s should consider their needs and compare the cost implications of suitable charging solutions.

“To help with this, Drax partners with Mina to offer its Homecharge and Chargepass solutions. Homecharge accurately pays drivers’ domestic energy suppliers each month for the cost of charging their company EV at home. Chargepass provides access to over 11,500 public-facing charge points via drivers’ fuel cards and issues a monthly invoice directly to the organisation.”

Consider the options

A good understanding of drivers and vehicle requirements is needed for an informed transition to electric vehicles, believes Gill Nowell, head of EV communications at LV= General Insurance and ElectriX. She says: “Clear communication with employees who will be driving electric vehicles is key; understanding what kind of mileage they’ll be doing, and where and how they will charge is critical.

“It will be important to consider whether installing chargers in the workplace is an option, or whether drivers will be able to charge at home. And indeed what local and en-route charging facilities are available – we now have over 45,000 public chargers across the UK, so there are plenty of options to choose from!

“If we focus on workplace charging for a moment, there’s a government grant available, run by the OZEV and administered by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). The grant covers up to 75 per cent of the total costs of the purchase and installation of EV chargepoints (inclusive of VAT), capped at a maximum of £350 per socket, and 40 sockets across all sites per applicant.”

Workplace charging

So if workplace charging is decided upon, what are the key steps to consider to ensure success?

Alun Davies from ElectrAssure, says that the first consideration is to assess whether the site has parking spaces for charging. He comments: “To avoid an almighty game of vehicle tetris, suitable parking spaces will make installation and consequent utilisation of the chargers simple and efficient.”

Then there’s power capacity, driver dwell time and future proofing. Alun Davies explains: “Charging requires power. Simply put, without adequate available electrical capacity, efficient charging at the speeds required will not be possible.

“Regarding driver dwell time, assessing the amount of time drivers are stationary from a vehicle perspective at a given site or premises will guide the provision of charging provided due to the timeframe within which they require to be charged in order to avoid delays.

“Finally, while assessing current or shortterm fleet charging requirements is critical, assessing future requirements is just as important. Installations can be expensive and by carrying out the enabling works (installation of supply & civils works) for future requirements at the initial installation stage, expensive upgrade works can be avoided.”

Define the steps involved

Daniel Eyers from Drax says that it’s crucial organisations list and review the steps involved with installing fleet charging infrastructure. “Doing so will help them establish whether they feel confident managing the process themselves – or if a contracting an electrification partner to provide expert end-to-end support would be preferable,” explains Daniel. To start off, an organisation needs to do an EV suitability assessment. Daniel Eyers explains: “An assessment of an organisation’s existing fleet and its operational requirements is a vital initial step before committing to purchase or install hardware. Understanding existing vehicle operational requirements E