EDF sets out ambitions for the electric vehicle market in the UK

EDF Energy is today outlining its plans to play a significant role in the UK’s transition to low-carbon electric transport. The commitment comes as Jean-Bernard Lévy, Chairman and CEO of EDF, launched EDF Group’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Plan, which details its aim to be the leading energy company within e-mobility by 2022 across its four largest European markets: France, United Kingdom, Italy and Belgium.

EDF Group’s announcement follows the launch of the Solar Plan in December 2017 and the Storage Plan in March 2018, which outline EDF’s strategy for society’s transition to a low carbon future.

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change* made clear this week the urgent need to act. With the transport sector the main contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, low-carbon electricity will be critical for future clean transport.

As the UK’s largest producer of low-carbon electricity, the biggest supplier of electricity by volume in Great Britain and the largest supplier to British business, EDF Energy already has almost 20 years’ experience in the UK EV market, having installed the first charging points into London in 1999 and powering the EV charging network across Olympic sites for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games.

Over the coming years, EDF Energy will build on its already wide-ranging capabilities and partnerships to support the Group’s ambitions. This includes:

• a commitment to convert its whole fleet to electric vehicles by 2030; the process has already started in the UK with some initial vehicles and charge points in place at its key generation and customer sites in Barnwood and Hove.
• to build strategic partnerships, like the one with Nissan Europe announced today, to work together on a number of projects that will support the adoption of electric vehicles, energy generation and storage solutions.
• continued investment in the trialling and adoption of smart charging, with a number of vehicle to grid trials already in process.
• to develop its offers for business and residential customers to ensure it has the best tariffs to support the move to electric vehicles.

Commenting on the plan, Béatrice Bigois, Managing Director of Customers at EDF Energy said:

“It is time to be more ambitious about low carbon transport if we are to reduce our carbon emissions. As an industry we have a huge opportunity, and responsibility, to make electric vehicles an easy and obvious choice for all our customers.  This is why we will be investing in the best technology and products, creating the right mix of charging technology and incentives, and helping customers and businesses realise the benefits of EV as soon as possible.

“We will be playing our part too. EDF Group was the first French company to join the EV100, making a public commitment to convert its entire global fleet to electric vehicles by 2030, and we are already progressing our plans to support this with the EDF Energy fleet in the UK.”

Smart charging and Vehicle to Grid (V2G):

• EDF Energy is involved in a number V2G trials.  EDF Energy R&D is the project manager for V2GO, a large scale demonstration of V2G charging in Oxford; a consortium comprising eight partners, from industry and research institutions, with expertise in energy markets and systems, fleet operations and electric mobility. The consortium is working with fleets from numerous organisations, including Royal Mail.
• In addition, EDF Energy is part of a further V2G consortium led by Upside Energy; V2Street. This consortium also partners with Ubitricity, a tech start-up focusing on mobile charging solutions, in which EDF is an investor.

Customer offers:

• EDF Energy wants to be the go to destination for businesses looking to electrify their vehicles. We are trialling a one stop shop for all their EV needs, offering the following:

1. Consultancy –  vehicle and charging infrastructure consultancy.
2. Vehicles – partnership with Arval who offer a comprehensive range of electric vehicles and expert guidance on electrifying fleets.
3. Charging Infrastructure – our partners ChargePoint Services & Phoenix Works supply and install the latest in electric vehicle charge points.
4. Energy Supply – we work with all size business customers to create the perfect billing solution to fit their requirements.
5. EV charging management system – a back office system for managing and operating electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including employee EV charging.

• Residential offers are in development and will be available in early 2019. 

*The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s special report on global warming 

Notes to Editors:

What is V2G?

Vehicle to grid chargers allows a two-way flow of electricity between the car and the charger. This enables cars to deposit unused electricity back onto the charger, and subsequently return it back to the grid but they also opens up the potential for electric vehicles to become portable energy storage.