Q&A: D-Line’s Paul Ruddick
Transport + Energy talks to cable management solutions firm D-Line’s Paul Ruddick, who outlines the business and its strategy for decarbonisation.
Tell us about your business and how it sits within the transport and energy landscape…
D-Line is a UK company, and a pioneer of innovative cable management solutions. Our award-winning portfolio includes the most complete range of design-led cable management offers, as used by trades and consumers around the world.
Now D-Line is committed to providing best solutions for EV-charge cables to cross-pavements, enabling all homeowners to have the convenience and economy of EV-charging at home.
The Ultra Cable Cover achieves this by a uniquely low-profile design, that’s friendly to all stakeholders. Being ‘use-and-remove’, lightweight 3.5kg only, cost approximately £70, and readily available, patent-pending Ultra Cable Cover is supporting EV scale-up ambitions.
What are your decarbonisation goals and targets?
D-Line recognise our greatest contribution to decarbonisation will come from developing products that facilitate government macro targets.
The Ultra Cable Cover is a great example, a simple yet effective solution that is potentially a game-changer for EV-ownership aims – by giving a fit-for-purpose and practical on-street charge option, to satisfy local authorities and the estimated 6 million drivers without a driveway.
As D-Line is part of Luceco PLC, we respect also the focus of Luceco, DW Windsor and Kingfisher lighting teams on LED lighting developments, with Sync Energy being a leading provider of EV-chargers and Home Energy Management Systems.
In what ways have you collaborated with other sectors and businesses, across both the public and private sectors?
Prior to launching the Ultra Cable Cover, we engaged with specialists for independent testing. This confirmed compliance versus requirements of The Highways Act 1980.
Supply-side partners have been keen to support availability aims, including Screwfix, Halfords, Amazon, and electrical wholesalers who serve EV-install community.
Local authorities appreciate how Ultra Cable Cover saves the costs and hassle associated with in-ground alternatives, while giving safety peace-of-mind too. Note we get similar positive response from other territories also, including USA and Canada, Japan and Australia – where Ultra Cable Cover is satisfying specified requirements that any mat ramps must have gradient less than 1:12 (8 degree slope)..
What is your biggest challenge as a company?
We appreciate the diligence of local authorities, and that prior to Ultra Cable Cover a mix of on-street charge options and ducts emerged — to create a confusing landscape; where it is accepted that every option has drawbacks.
Ultra Cable Cover has become the best-selling solution, but still there is a huge challenge 1) to make all parties aware that Ultra Cable Cover is available 2) to have all local authorities formal approval .
What would you like to see from the UK Government?
A central directive that gives homeowners a grant towards an EV-charger installation with the option of a ‘defined low-profile’ cable cover mat, would make EV-charge installations more attractive – and encourage EV ownership.
For cross-pavement solutions, we respect also how government guidance — that gives ‘technical specifications’ for permitted products — would be a big step forward. To ensure best practice, some local authorities are already doing this, while we know others who would welcome such direction from UK Government .
How do you see the sector changing and progressing in coming years?
To achieve EV ownership targets, with reference to D-Line interest, we see more focus on cross-pavement solutions… it will not be sufficient for local authorities to mainly rely on public charger installations, and it’s inequitable to expect those without driveways to be paying premiums to third-party charging providers.
As we move closer to 2030 targets, we foresee the sector will increasingly need to embrace innovations in ways that remove obstacles to adoption. Then we expect standard practices will form, whereby around multi dwelling residences on-street infrastructure will be popular (example lamp posts/pop up bollards), while using ultra-shallow mats will be the most common solution for regular terraced streets; with channel ducts being installed where users have serious handling difficulty.