Vattenfall and Honda have signed a letter of intent for a domestic EV charging solution to be rolled out in Europe.
As part of the offer, customers in the UK and Germany will be provided with a Honda Power Charger, with installations overseen by Vattenfall through preferred contractors in the two countries.
The charger can be either wall or pedestal mounted and is available with an output of either 7.4kW or 22kW.
A flexible renewable energy tariff is also under development to enable smart charging, allowing the EVs to be charged at the most cost-effective times in relation to demand on the grid.
EV-specific tariffs are being offered by many suppliers as EV adoption ramps up. This week, a new EV tariff was launched by SSE, which enables drivers to charge overnight for free.
Vattenfall and Honda’s solution will be available to any EV driver regardless of the brand of EV owned, although this is dependent on vehicle compatibility.
For consumers without off-street parking, those signed up to the new offering will be able to use Ubitricity’s network of charge points together with its ‘smart cable’ mobile metering technology, Honda said.
Vattenfall also points to its own InCharge network of public chargers, spanning Northwest Europe. It signed a roaming agreement with NewMotion in August to allow customers to access both networks via a single app or charge card.
The new charging solution is to be rolled out in the UK and Germany in 2020 to coincide with the launch of the Honda e.
Tomas Björnsson, head of e-mobility at Vattenfall, said: “We want to make it easier for EV drivers across northwestern Europe.
“This important partnership shows that you can easily contribute to a fossil free world, powered by renewable electricity, and at the same time lower your charging cost.”
The partnership comes as Honda reveals its ‘Electric Vision’ strategy, including electrifying all its mainstream models three years earlier than previously planned.
Jorgen Pluym, energy management project leader at Honda Motor Europe, said the company is “excited about the potential” of the partnership, which is a “key pillar” in delivering its energy management business for Europe.
