Developments in EV charging

Anyone thinking about taking action for the climate by buying a new electric car now has a far wider choice of vehicles than in previous years. The UK market for electric vehicle (EV) sales is growing significantly every month¹ and the range of makes and models is only set to get bigger and better to satisfy this demand.

Whatever model of EV you choose, your next decision is likely to be around how you keep its battery topped up with power. For drivers with access to off-street parking, a home EV charger is probably the simplest and most convenient option. It's also the cheapest way to charge your electric car.

It's not the only option though. As switching to driving an electric car has become more popular, the technology around the vehicles themselves has developed and the means of charging their batteries has also evolved, giving drivers a variety of options to choose between when away from home.

Rated at up to 175kW, ultra-fast charging is available in the UK already, found at motorway service stations and on forecourts alongside traditional petrol and diesel pumps. E.ON's 175kW ultra-fast charge points for example can boost the batteries of the latest generation of electric cars in 10 minutes with a range of around 100 miles.² 

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology is another exciting innovation being road-tested by E.ON with its business customers for potential roll-out later to domestic drivers. Using bi-directional charging, V2G allows EVs to feed the energy stored in their batteries back into either buildings or the electricity grid itself. Two-way charging can optimise efficiency all round, by charging car batteries when energy on the grid which has been generated from renewable sources is plentiful, and exporting any power not required to ease pressure on the grid and potentially provide an income stream.

Charging points built into lamp posts are particularly useful if you live in a densely populated city or town, where off-road parking is in short supply. In London for example, Southwark became the first borough to provide public charging points in lamp posts in 2018.³ By the following year, there were over 1,000 new residential charge points to be found in London lamp posts,⁴ installed as part of the Go Ultra Low City Scheme (GULCS).

Working in collaboration with Volkswagen Group Components, the E.ON Drive Booster is an ultra-fast pop-up charger now available in Europe. It can be set up quickly and without the need for construction work, then plugged in and used immediately to charge two cars simultaneously with up to 150kW. Although not yet available in the UK, this is a flexible option for communities and any businesses looking to provide commercial charging facilities, as these pop-up chargers can also be dismantled and relocated quickly and easily to meet individual drivers' needs. 

Pioneered in Sweden, the first electrified road was initially trialled back in 2018⁵ to allow people to charge their vehicles while driving them over an electric rail embedded in the road, and the country's first permanent vehicle-charging highway is now due to be operational by 2025.⁶

Charging at home is convenient, but if you don't have off-street parking or you don't have your landlord's permission to install a home charger then you need another solution. And even with all the benefits that charging at home provides, you're likely to need options for when you're out and about. The good news is that technology is expanding your options all the time.

<sup>1. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)
2. The ultra-fast charging speed of 10 minutes is an average and depends on battery capacity, car model and how much energy is left in the battery.
3. Auto Express: First public EV charging lamp posts installed in London (31/10/18)
4. Air Quality News: 1,000 EV charge points installed on London’s lamp posts (02/05/19)
5. The Guardian: World's first electrified road for charging vehicles opens in Sweden  (12/04/18) 
6. Global Construction Review: Sweden to build world's first permanent 'electric road' in 2025 (26/01/22)</sup>