An efficient and reliable deployment of charging infrastructure across the UK is needed to transition drivers to electric vehicles (EVs).
Over recent years, the deployment of charging infrastructure has increased, with 59,590 chargepoints installed at the end of March 2024; however, government policy and strategy has to date been centred around the absolute number of chargepoints, which only tells part the story.
In 2023, the Green Finance Institute (GFI) released ‘Demystifying Utilisation’, a paper which asked readers to look beyond the number of chargepoints installed as a metric for success, and considered how we can ensure the right chargepoints are in the right place to enable a just and smooth transition to electric mobility.
The paper explained the differences between time and energy-based utilisation metrics, and highlighted most chargepoints report lower energy-based utilisation, with this delta being the most stark for Direct Current (DC) charging.
As investors and installers look to deploy more efficiently, ahead of demand, other metrics must be considered in addition to utilisation. One metric that is often overlooked – and has a direct impact on utilisation – is the performance of chargepoints.
Drawing on the research produced by Newcastle University, this paper discusses the performance of DC chargepoints and seeks to identify and evaluate the limiting factors that prevent DC chargepoints from operating at their maximum capacity.
