Home EV chargepoint manufacturer Andersen has partnered with utility OVO Energy to help more EV drivers access vehicle charging at home.
Andersen EV chargers can now be purchased through OVO Energy, which will install any chargepoints purchased through them. All of the chargepoints can be used with OVO Energy’s Charge Anytime tariff, which provides OVO Energy customers with smart charging rates and allows users to automatically charge their cars at the cheapest times of day by utilising a platform developed by Kaluza.
Andersen states that its EV chargers are created to be “premium, design-led” products available in a variety of materials and finishes.
This is not the first time OVO Energy has formed a partnership designed to encourage the uptake of smart home EV charging. In July of last year, the utility joined forces with Volkswagen Group UK to allow customers buying from any Volkswagen Group brand access to the Charge Anytime tariff add-on. Later that year, Kaluza partnered with OVO Energy and automotive manufacturer Volvo to allow Volvo drivers to use the Charge Anytime add-on and control their vehicle charging directly from the Volvo Cars app, something that the firms claimed was an industry first.
David Martell, chief executive of Andersen, said that it is “great” to build a relationship with OVO Energy, noting that the collaboration means “customers can now choose a chargepoint that complements their home while benefiting from the cost-saving advantages” of home EV tariffs.
OVO’s director of EV, Alex Thwaites, agreed, adding: “This is good news for EV drivers and is also part of our wider commitment to helping customers cut carbon”.
Utilities support home EV charging uptake
While OVO Energy has chosen to form partnerships with home EV chargepoint manufacturers to boost the uptake of home EV charging, other utilities have taken a more direct approach.
Last week, the UK’s biggest energy supplier Octopus Energy announced that it had launched its own home EV charger, which it has named Octopus Charge. The charger is designed to work alongside Octopus Energy’s smart energy platform, Kraken, allowing users to shift their charging automatically to when energy on the grid is at its cheapest and greenest.
The charger can also be integrated with Octopus Energy’s own smart EV tariff, Intelligent Octopus Go, as well as the newly-launched Drive Pack tariff, which offers unlimited EV charging for £30 per month.
