Public Smart Charging Wins Out in UK Trial

A British trial of smart charging using public infrastructure shows that it benefits both EV drivers and net zero climate targets.

Smart charging ensures electric vehicles can charge when electricity rates are at their minimum, saving drivers money as well as helping to smooth grid demand, reducing peak demand significantly. But this technology is not generally available for public charging stations yet, with only EV users who charge at home able get these reduced tariffs.

The Agile Streets project saw a partnership of companies come together to deliver the trial with 100 Connected Kerb on-street EV chargers deployed at 17 sites across four UK areas: Shropshire, Hackney in London, Glasgow and East Lothian in Scotland. Over the course of six months, 2,451 charging sessions took place, totaling 51,618kWh of energy. The trial found that vehicle users could save £600 ($715) a year in charging costs compared to non-smart public charging, the equivalent of UK-wide collective savings of over £4.1bn ($4.88 bn) per year by 2030. The trial also highlighted how smart charging could make an EV more cost effective than an ICE vehicle.

The project was delivered by a group comprised of Connected Kerb, Samsung Research, Octopus Energy For Business, SMETS Design Limited, Energy Saving Trust and the Power Networks Distribution Center.

“The provision of convenient and affordable EV charging infrastructure is essential to ensure that electric vehicles are accessible to everyone,” said Tim Anderson, group head of transport at Energy Saving Trust, the organization which monitored and evaluated the trial.

The results show that an investment in smart charging public infrastructure could be beneficial to drivers' pocketbooks, while saving energy and reducing emissions by enabling the benefits of EVs, so that more conventional vehicles are replaced by electric transportation.