The UK EV transition is 20% in with 80% to go. But where will your fleet start?

On paper we appear to be doing electrification very well.  We’ve really ramped up deployment of infrastructure and additional capacity- particularly in the past 5 years- and we’re streets ahead of where we were ten years ago. No pun intended. Today 1 in 5 new vehicle sales is an EV. Great progress.  But is it?

Take a step back though and that figure means we’re effectively only 20% through our electrification journey.  And fleets-by far the biggest emitters of vehicular CO2- are lagging well behind. What’s more we’ve less time to complete the 80% than we’ve had to achieve the 20%.  A lot less.

So things are going to have to move much faster and emerging problems must be solved before they become big barriers.

Clearly, the overarching answer lies in balancing the needs of the Grid with the needs of electrification, and the Energy Conversion Congress and Expo (ECCE) gathering of leading industry innovators convened earlier this week set out to find the answer.

The premiss they began with is the 2 big barriers to electrification are Grid connection delays and charging times.

Granted, there’s nothing particularly new here.  Looking at it from the perspective of fleet operators-given they’re mission critical- the spiralling costs of Grid connections with accompanying elastic timelines bring unpredictability no operator needs, while charging times which differ dramatically from ICE refuelling times, threaten operational disruption which no operator wants.  Little wonder that fleets are hesitant to join this (very) brave new world.

So the ideal scenario, then is the provision of eHGV charging infrastructure capable of delivering capacity charging in a matter of minutes with ample power available and minimal reliance on the Grid to provide it.

Far fetched as this sounds, it is feasible.  The ECCE panel TPS chaired* concluded that a decentralised approach, using the application of advanced power electronics can reduce charging demand on the Grid by up to 38% over current levels.  And if you add V2X capability into the equation, this can rise by a further 18%.  This alone will go a long way towards unlocking the fleet conundrum.

But this in turn amplifies a new concern which threatens to become the next “Big Barrier” to energy transition more broadly. Financial uncertainty.  This new way of life is as yet unlived. What will the true cost of electrification be when we get 5, 10 or 30 years down the line? We simply don’t know.

So there’s a clear and pressing need for robust financial modelling to bring clarity and certainty before this becomes the next Big Barrier.

With this front of mind, we welcome the opportunity to join renewable energy insight experts Tamarindo when they convene experts from across the financial sector next month to address this and come up with the answer.

With thanks to fellow panellists* from Voltempo, DAF Trucks, Scottish Power Energy Networks and to our partners ECCE for organising.

Tamarindo’s one day conference Financing Energy Transition runs on 1 October in Central London. More details at Tamarindo

Meantime if you want to talk more about where we start the next 80% with you to support your electrification journey please drop us a line

Today you need a partner that understands the entire power ecosystem to provide you with solutions which will evolve, adapt, and grow as we move into the ever-changing world of tomorrow. We work closely with Fleet Operators and Energy Organisations to deliver the power of tomorrow. Today.