This year’s Forum had a theme of “commitment to certainty” with many delegates calling on the UK Government to provide a concrete framework for businesses and local authorities to build decarbonisation strategies.
It opened with founder of T+E Alec Peachey highlighting the challenges facing the sectors, and the need for certainty across the industry in order for growth and acceleration to occur.
Just transition
Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Electric Vehicles (EV) Perran Moon then told the Forum that a just transition was needed in the roll-out of EV charging infrastructure.
In a recorded message, Moon explained in terms of the deployment of EV charging infrastructure to-date, he said it had been ‘relatively’ successful, but with the benefit of hindsight “there shouldn’t have been so much involvement of local authorities”.
Moon, who before becoming a politician had previously been the chief marketing officer and interim CEO of charge point operator (CPO) Believ, added that the way that Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding was not applied “as efficient as could have been”.
“Right side of history”
“Godfather of EVs” Andy Palmer, who launched the Nissan Leaf as well as senior roles at Aston Martin and PodPoint, then said that “we are not going to mandate EVs on people, you have to have a push and a pull”, and also highlighted the role of politicians in providing certainty in the transition.
He told EVA England chief Vicky Edmonds – who had earlier quoted Taylor Swift and the importance of “being on the right side of history” on EVs – that the cost of an EV needed to be on parity with ICE vehicles, and we were “close to achieving that”, especially if you look at Chinese vehicle manufacturers.
In addition, Palmer said that we needed to “break the monopoly” on how energy was generated and ensure there was decentralisation and democratisation in energy production. He also highlighted one case where he tried to get a battery placed at a site, and was told by the DNO that the grid connection could be done in 2037.
“Wrong messages”
President of The AA, Edmund King OBE, Edmund King, AA president, argued that Transport for London (TfL) removing the full exemption for electric vans and cars from the Congestion Charge in London and speculation (and now confirmation) about the Chancellor announcing an EV ‘pay as you drive’ scheme at the Budget are sending out the wrong messages at the wrong time for potential EV drivers.
Most drivers accept that that EVs can still cause congestion and that users should fairly pay their way, but the timing of these announcements has the potential of deterring many who are still hesitant about going electric.
King said: “There is a certain irony that on the one hand Government is offering electric car incentives of up to £3,750 to encourage more drivers to buy small EVs, whilst on the other hand are threatening to tax them per mile in three years’ time. The timing is just not right and the government does not need to outline future EV taxation plans now.”
Accessibility
Jonathan Jenkins from Motability Operations highlighted the vital role of local authorities in the transition to electric vehicles (EV).
Speaking during the afternoon session of the Transport + Energy Forum, Jenkins said that local authorities must plan for accessibility from the start – and also stressed the critical part played by collaboration in the transition to EVs.
Jenkins said “collaboration is absolutely critical” and also that “success in the transition isn’t a car nerd or an energy geek. It is about how electric vehicles are easier for those on Motability than an ICE vehicle.”
Consumer confusion
The third panel was chaired by founder of Bold Voodoo, Ben Kilbey, and also featured Vicky Read, Chief Executive of ChargeUK, Mark Camilleri, who is the Director of Electrification at JLR, CEO of EVUK Tanya Sinclair, and Delvin Lane, the CEO of InstaVolt.
The panel highlighted a number of core messages. This included consumer confusion being a real issue, with some even coming from within the industry itself. Misinformation, mixed messages and legacy technologies marketed as “electric” continue to blur the picture for drivers.
They also said that facts alone won’t win hearts: drivers aren’t just processing data but emotion, fear of change, mistrust, and uncertainty. Getting people into vehicles and having honest conversations matters more than spec sheets, they said.
In addition, the panel said that we must tell our story better: Huge innovation is happening behind the scenes: smarter infrastructure, cost reductions, new charging solutions, better vehicles. But the public rarely hears it.
Collaboration also shouldn’t be seen as a fad, and was important to how we moved forward: OEMs, charge point operators, local authorities, energy providers, policymakers shouldn’t work in isolation. Clear, consistent, truthful communication must be our shared priority, they said.
Finally, they ended on the positive note that despite the negativity, progress was real. Infrastructure is scaling, new EVs are better than ever and consumer appetite is growing.
New tool
A new guide to help local authorities speed up their EV charging rollout was also launched at the Forum by UK100 in partnership with UK Power Networks’ DSO and Cenex.
The guide, called Powering Local EV Infrastructure: A Guide for Councils, shows councils using innovative planning tools achieve 100% first-time success in government funding applications – compared with just 37% on average.
One of the findings highlighted in the guide is the transformative impact of evidence-based digital planning.
Councils using ChargePoint Navigator – a free digital tool developed by UK Power Networks DSO with Field Dynamics, Cenex and Zapmap – achieved a 100% first-time Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) funding success rate, compared with an average success rate of 37% for those not using the tool.
Engaging with energy firms
The final panel of the day called on the transport sector to engage early with DNO or DSO.
Chaired by Director of Policy and External Affairs at the ENA Alexandra Howe, it featured director at AFRY Stephen Woodhouse, Net Zero Programme Manager at UK Power Networks George Christodoulakis, and Andy Wainwright, Whole System Manager at Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
The panel said network operators need visibility of plans for charging infrastructure and energy projects at the start, not the end, so forecasting, investment and capacity planning can align with real demand. The group said that early conversations save time, cost and constraint headaches later.
In addition, they added that collaboration unlocks flexibility, with local authorities, charge point operators, networks and commercial partners all holding different pieces of the puzzle. Open dialogue across sectors also helps to identify the “degrees of freedom” from flexible connections to smarter use of existing assets.
The panel also said it was important to think bigger about batteries, as most battery capacity sit on wheels, not in static installations. There is a growing opportunity to use mobile battery resources to support local networks and reduce the need for costly new infrastructure, it added.
