EV chargepoint manufacturer and software provider Hypervolt has partnered with ev.energy, a smart EV charging solutions provider.
The partnership will see Hypervolt’s UltraGrid integrate with the ev.energy platform, which brings together the various EV tariffs available in the UK. The companies say ev.energy’s offering complements Hypervolt’s suite of tariff integrations. This means Hypervolt customers can further optimise their at-home charging for the lowest available cost.
Head of partnership at Hypervolt explained: “Aggregating the myriad EV tariffs in one convenient app goes a long way to assuage many of those concerns. We’re tremendously excited to see what the future brings with the team at ev.energy.”
So far this year, Hypervolt has also partnered with energy supplier EDF to provide frequency balancing support to the grid using its chargers. Hypervolt also works with Octopus Energy’s utility digitalisation platform Kraken, which is powered by AI and monitors the electricity grid in real-time for automated smart charging.
Meanwhile, ev.energy is focusing on rolling out its platform in the US. Just under a year ago, it secured £32 million in funding to expand its charging solutions in California. The public funding, which has been allocated following selection for the California Energy Commission (CEC)’s Responsive, Easy Charging Products with Dynamic Signals (REDWDS) grant, will look to make EV charging more accessible to Californians.
West Midlands Combined Authority to develop new EV charging network
In other EV infrastructure news, EV charging capability in the West Midlands is set to grow after the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) secured three sites for an ultra-fast charging station network across the region.
Planning permission has been given for the first site for Erdington in Birmingham, which will form part of the wider regeneration of a former factory by developer Chancerygate.
Land has also been acquired for an ultra-rapid charging station in Longbridge and a third site will straddle the Solihull and Birmingham border. All three sites are set to be fully operational next year. Each one will have 20 ultra-fast chargers.
Funding for the network is part of the region’s £1.3 billion City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement (CRSTS) from Government and supported by private investment.
The WMCA has plans to expand the network of ultra-fast charging stations over the next two years with a view to putting 90% of residents and businesses within easy reach of a top-up.
In its annual survey, EV charge point mapping service Zapmap said over half of EV drivers use the public charging network at least once a month. Zapmap’s survey found that 61% of respondents say public charging infrastructure has improved in the last year in terms of both reliability and overall growth (available charging infrastructure has, according to Zapmap, increased by 38% over the last 12 months).
