ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) and EV fleet fuel card provider Paua are partnering to provide a roaming solution for drivers on the Great British EV Rally in July this year.
This is the first step in what could become a long-term partnership, enabling business drivers using the Paua platform to access multiple Scottish charging networks via a single solution that can take them from Lerwick to Berwick.
The Paua EV charge card solution provides simplification for business drivers, and is good news for CPS chargepoint owners as the partnership has the potential to drive increased utilisation across the network.
An electric vehicle driver today faces a challenge when they want to charge on multiple networks as they need to contract with each one separately, this is a particular problem for business drivers. The solution to this problem is known as roaming.
ChargePlace Scotland, operated by Swarco on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is aiming to improve consumer experience across its network of over 2,200 public chargepoints. Offering drivers the ability to roam seamlessly across other networks is a key strand of the Scottish and UK Governments’ respective visions for the future of public EV charging. Although there is still some work to be done to enable full interoperability between CPS and other networks and mobility service providers, the early stage roaming solution agreed with Paua is an extremely positive initial step.
Paua has developed a platform to aggregate multiple networks together and provide the fleet manager with a single solution for their drivers and a single bill. The simple RFID card backed up by a powerful mobile app presents all the data the drivers need to find, charge, and pay. Having a single bill means that the fleet can accurately account for costs and recover the 20% VAT on public charging costs.
To enable a true national roaming network, it is necessary to integrate coverage in Scotland. With the introduction of ChargePlace Scotland, Paua is the first roaming solution that enables a true national coverage. All 2,200+ chargepoints (c. 4,000 connectors) across Scotland will be linked to Paua’s roaming network taking the total live connectors available to Paua business drivers to greater than 15,000.
Chris Waldron, Head of Low Carbon Consumers at Transport Scotland, stated “We are delighted to have entered this partnership with Paua. The Scottish Government is firmly committed to transport decarbonisation and we see roaming as a key step in improving driver experience. The GB EV Rally is the perfect event for trialling network roaming across ChargePlace Scotland. We look forward to building on this experience and enabling wider interoperability in future.”
Swarco MD, Justin Meyer states; “As the operator of the ChargePlace Scotland network we are continually seeking ways to improve how we support EV drivers. The partnership with Paua paves the way for easier driving for business fleets. We are delighted to support such a pioneering company”.
The announcement will support the Great British EV Rally which runs from John O’Groats to Land’s End, showcasing the best of electric vehicle technology. Paua is an EV charge card sponsor and will provide all of the drivers in the rally the ability to charge with one card from one end of the country to the other.
EVA Scotland director Neil MacLennan said: “Making the EV charging billing process for drivers simple to understand and easy to operate is essential for both the day-to-day user experience and a practical perspective when it comes to cross system connectivity and billing. These are the key factors in persuading both the ordinary EV motorist and the fleet operators who are eager to make the transition to all electric transportation to do so.
“EVA Scotland has advocated for, and advised government and charge point operator of the need for a roaming service that brings together a unified system, that reduces the number of cards, apps and tariffs EV drivers currently have to juggle. “Having one-card solutions that allow charging across multiple networks is a real driver benefit. We are encourage by this partnership and believe it represents a genuine opportunity to improve the EV driver’s charging experience in Scotland.”
Niall Riddell, CEO and co-founder of Paua stated; “My low carbon career began in Thurso having grown up in Glen Lyon. It was always important for me to ensure that electric vehicle drivers could traverse the length of the Great British Isles. Paua now integrates some of the largest roaming partners including entire country-wide networks.”
Keyword: ChargePlace Scotland and Paua partner to support GB EV Rally