227 - The Smart Charge Episode

In this episode of the show, Gary discusses Sainsbury's entry into the electric vehicle charging market with their new "Smart Charge" initiative. Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury's Director of EV Ventures, explains the company's strategy to install 750 ultra-rapid chargers at 100 stores by 2024. The discussion covers Sainsbury's motivations, the decision to use ultra-rapid charging, the selection of Kempower as their hardware provider, and the challenges of rolling out a large-scale EV charging network. The episode also touches on pricing strategies, site selection, and future plans for roaming and customer-centric innovations.Sainsbury's in-house EV rapid charging CPo has risen quickly to become one of the major players in the market. We talk with the managing director about that ascendency, the plans for the future and what specific challenges arise from being limited to locations by your own geographic holdings and local grid constraints.This season of the podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the free to download app that helps EV drivers search, plan, and pay for their charging.Links in the show notes:V2G on the Australian grid - Cool ThingEpisode produced by Arran Sheppard at Urban Podcasts: https://www.urbanpodcasts.co.uk(C) 2019-2024 Gary Comerford Support me: Patreon Link: http://www.patreon.com/evmusingsKo-fi Link: http://www.ko-fi.com/evmusings The Books:'So, you've gone electric?' on Amazon : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07Q5JVF1X'So, you've gone renewable?’ on Amazon : https://amzn.to/3LXvIckSocial Media:EVMusings: Twitter https://twitter.com/MusingsEvInstagram: @EVmusingsOctopus Energy referral code (Click this link to get started) https://share.octopus.energy/neat-star-460Upgrade to smarter EV driving with a free week's trial of Zapmap Premium, find out more here https://evmusings.com/zapmap-premiumMentioned in this episode:Zap MapThe EV Musings Podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the go-to app for EV drivers in the UK, which helps EV drivers search, plan, and pay for their charging. Zapmap is free to download and use, with Zapmap Premium providing enhanced features which include using Zapmap in-car on CarPlay or Android Auto and help with charging costs with both a pricing filter and 5% discount*"