One of the main challenges of the Electric Vehicle (EV) sector has been how to overcome ‘range anxiety’ amongst potential purchasers of EV’s. Range anxiety manifests itself as concern over being able to access charging points when needed, the range of the vehicle itself and the fear of ending up stranded somewhere having run out of charge.
Part of the problem has been the huge range of different charging networks available, a lack of information for new drivers of EV vehicles and finding a way to allow all EV drivers to access charging points without having to carry multiple cards or have membership of multiple different accounts.
Octopus Energy, as one of the leading energy suppliers to the sector, have been actively looking to address the issue of assured charging for EV owners. They have grown their EV charger roaming service from zero users two years ago to now having more than 300,000 ‘chargers’ across the globe.
The basic concept behind this service (known as the ‘Electric Universe’) is for EV drivers to have access to an app and one card that gives them access to the entire charging network. Octopus Energy have been successful in persuading over 450 charging networks (yes, we were surprised there were that many as well!) to sign up to the initiative.
There is a general understanding across the EV sector, that though the number of sales of EV vehicles is increasing, the real breakthrough will come through simplicity and an assured sense of knowing that there are plentiful charging points that are reliable and easy to use and pay for.
As part of the ‘Electric Universe’ concept, drivers will also get access to interactive maps which show the location of chargers across fifty different countries.
Octopus Electric Vehicles launched a product bundle in July 2022 providing drivers in the UK and the US with a car, charger and energy tariff. This approach looks to bundle up several different required elements of EV ownership, tackling a lack of clarity over how charging tariffs work, what sort of equipment is needed and how flexible EV’s are in comparison with existing fossil fuel vehicles.
