Today, saw a hugely successful first day of the fifth annual EV SUMMIT held at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. Many of the world’s most significant global emobility experts across business and local and national governments came together to deliver on decarbonised transport in the UK and beyond for a more sustainable future.
The event is delivered by Green.TV Media in partnership with Oxford City Council and Oxford County Council, and in association with Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University.
This year was an opportunity to celebrate that the EV SUMMIT has led to significant projects coming into being. This includes Europe’s most powerful electric vehicle (EV) hub, Energy Superhub Oxford, located at the Redbridge Park and Ride.
Energy Superb Oxford was born out of meetings at the first EV SUMMIT held in 2018. Along with Oxford’s City and County Councils, Fastned, the European fast charging company, was integral in making this £41 million project happen.
Today’s event also highlighted that there is still much to be done to help accelerate towards a greener cleaner future.
Key Take Aways From EV SUMMIT 2022 Day 1
- In the UK one in five cars sold in the UK has been an EV showing that there has been a massive acceleration in the transition to zero emission vehicles.
- Jesse Norman, UK Minister of State for Transport, addressed the 2022 EV SUMMIT.
- Norman explained that next year he expected to lay regulations in parliament to increase consumer confidence in the public charging network by mandating reliability, minimum payment methods and making data freely available.
- Ease of charging is key. There is a need to make charging an electric vehicle as easy as it is to buy a coffee. Visa is leading the way with this.
- Like the Tesla model, ‘plug and go’ is the future for easy charging doing away with apps and unnecessary payment systems.
- There is a need to integrate technologies into the grid to make this happen.
- Dominique Houde from IMPROVED Corporate Finance explained there are huge opportunities monetisation from the transition to electric vehicles from consumers and small businesses through to large businesses.
- Shell is aiming to have half a million chargers globally by 2025 to help motorists make the transition to electric vehicles.
- Smart charging and keeping costs low for consumers are key to accelerating adoption.
- Using electric vehicles for vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home/business can play a key part in a sustainable future.
- Polestar’s Jonathan Goodman outlined that much more needs to be done and OEMs need to be more open and accountable about their manufacturing. Polestar is helping to lead the way with its lifecycle transparency and sustainable mobility.
- Polestar has reduced its greenhouses gas emissions by six percent per car and has partnered with world’s leading automotive industry suppliers to collaborate on the development of a truly climate-neutral car, the Polestar 0, by 2030.
- Ford’s Tim Slatter announced that the brand would have nine electric vehicles available in Europe by 2024. These will be both cars and commercial vehicles, with the latter being an area where users have shown huge excitement.
- Ford is also promoting a better life and not always using the car for short journeys, half of which are less than 5km. By not using the car, and cycling for example, could mean an 84% reduction in our personal carbon footprint.
- Ford recently invested a further £125 million at Halewood to scale up its electric vehicle (EV) portfolio. The company expects that by 2026 its electric vehicle sales could reach 600,000 annually.
- ABB and the panel talked about the importance of charging networks and making them shared where possible to help widen infrastructure.
- GRIDSERVE’s Toddington Harper announced that more electric vehicle charging hubs and electric forecourts are on the way.
- Battery plants are important in balancing power and energy.
- Access and inclusivity to electric vehicle charging for all are key.
- GEOTAB’s Aaron Jarvis explained that data analysis is key to helping businesses in their transition to electric vehicles. They have found that 60% of analysed vehicles could economically transition.
- Daniel Bentham, Fleete managing director, summed up that the customer and driver experience needs to be improved to help mass adoption. There’s a need to make electric vehicle use convenient and effort-free.
Tomorrow, day 2 of the EV SUMMIT, promises to bring more exciting news and discussion on how to decarbonise for a more sustainable future.
