Planning is essential for an organization that wants to implement an efficient and future-ready workplace electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Although many company vehicle drivers need to take their vehicles home overnight, organizations operating a back-to-base model where their cars or vans are returned to designated locations each day will need to implement on-site charging as they switch to electric vehicles.

But this can be a complex task with many factors to consider, making an effective strategy vital, delegates at the Drax Electric Vehicles-sponsored Planning for Workplace Charging Infrastructure seminar at Fleet & Mobility Live heard.

“Planning is absolutely essential to ensure you have the right infrastructure in the right locations, doing the right jobs,” said Naomi Nye, head of sales at Drax Electric Vehicles.

“It’s important to understand what your model is. of business. What vehicles do you have? How do they move? How does it move from one site to another?

“What are their hours of residence? Where do they stop? Where they stop is where they will be charged and they need to be charged when the driver is doing other things – it shouldn’t be an inconvenience to charge these vehicles.

“When you look at that data and really understand what’s going on, you can start to fill in the blanks.

“You can start designing your infrastructure around hardware that will last, not just for your problems. current and charging needs, but also ensuring that what you’ve built is future-ready, flexible and will grow with you.”

Sara Sloman, director of strategy at Paythru and director of The EV Café, told the seminar that while the hardware installed is important, the software used with it is just as vital.

“If you’ve purchased highly communicative chargers that can be upgraded and upgraded, you’ll be in a much better position,” she said.

“Even if the power isn’t going up or you haven’t been able to electrify your warehouse as well as you’d like, if you can implement things like smart overnight charging or even an on-site battery, then you’re going to be able to benefit from what was a horrendous CapEx to something that is actually a mitigation of this.

“It could be a revenue stream, there’s the potential to split the chargers you’ve invested in.”

Research of 400 fleet managers by Drax found that cost was the number one barrier to installing workplace charging infrastructure.

“We understand the cost of vehicles, we’re used to working on three-, four- and five-year cycles, but the infrastructure side is quite new and people aren’t sure how to manage their ongoing costs, not just CapEx costs. Nye said.

“You have the ongoing costs of software, back office, and maintenance and service. Who pays for it, how do you pull it off, and how do you make it work?

“There are different ways of looking at finance now. You can look at installing the infrastructure in stages and spread it over different budgets, you can look at financing options like leasing, and those are becoming really popular and retain the ability to also not be tied to technology.”

Bob Murphy, chief technical officer at Scottish Power, said his employer was among the companies looking to offer “charging as a service”, which de-risks the fleet.

“It takes CapEx out of the business,” he added. “The CPO (charging point operator) installs, operates and runs the entire charging network to benefit the fleet without the business actually having a stake in it, having to manage it, insure it or anything like that.

“It has proved quite popular with many small businesses who may be in transition where they can no longer access funding or OZEV funding is running out as the current batch of workplace charging OZEV funding is due to end in March. next year.

“After that, there’s not going to be a lot of support out there for it, but that’s where private sector companies come in to pick up some of that shortfall.

“There is recognition that it’s not going away. We are still in the very early stages. If you look at the shape of the market that’s available, there’s definitely a shift now to those kinds of things that will help ease the transition.”

All of these complexities make having a strategy defined and built from day one invaluable to organizations, Nye said.

“I think a lot of people don’t know where to start,” she added. “There’s a lot of information out there, but it’s coming at you from all angles, but what do you actually need to listen to?

“For me, bringing in experts at a very early stage, helping them support you and build that strategy is key.

“You can include things like future technology and future advancements like flexibility services and V2G, which might not be things you need now, but things that can come into play and support you later.”

Also taking part was Chris Demetriou, Deputy Director for Corporate Fleet, Transport and Accessible Community Transport and Climate Change at the London Borough of Islington.

The full debate can be watched below