In the early 1900s as the automobile began to rapidly grow in popularity, it made sense that stores and restaurants invested in parking space for customers. A century later, retailers and restaurateurs are weighing up the benefits of investing in charging points for electric vehicle (EV) driving customers. Here, Robert Glass of ABB explains why developments in EV charging can add value to food businesses.
According to data from electric car market watchdog EV Volumes, the number of electric vehicles on the road hit three million globally in November 2017. This marked a 50 per cent increase on the previous year, with a further two million expected to hit the streets by the end of 2018
We expect that this will be an ongoing trend, with many consumers becoming increasingly conscious of their carbon footprints. This us further compounded by the fact that many countries are introducing pro-EV legislation, such as that proposed by the UK Government stipulating all vehicles on the road must have a 50-mile electric range by 2040.
This provides an interesting opportunity for commercial food retailers and restaurants to add additional value to their customers’ experience and attract new visitors. In fact, following a 2015 survey conducted by online EV charging map Zap Map, the company’s director, Dr Ben Lane, concluded that “the survey reveals the important role that EV charging infrastructure can play in attracting customers to retail and leisure destinations. As the number of EV users grows, so will the demand for EV charging facilities at car parking sites”.
However, there has typically been an issue of the time required to recharge an EV. Many charging stations provide a charge of no more than 120kW, which can often only be applied to one vehicle at a time. This means that charge times are longer for consumers and the cost of installation is higher for food and drink businesses investing in them. To maximize the return of investment, EV charging stations need to provide a more efficient charging rate.
To deliver this, ABB recently launched the Terra High Power (HP) electric vehicle charger. The Terra HP is the world’s fastest EV charger, operating at up to 350kW — almost three times faster than the typical EV charger — and able to add up to 200km (120 miles) of range to an electric vehicle after just eight minutes of charge time. It also includes dynamic DC power sharing technology, which allows a two-power cabinet charging system to charge a couple of EVs simultaneously with up to 350 kW.
While supermarkets can use charging points with a slower rate of charge as customers may be in store for longer periods, installing faster charging points means customers get better value from their visit and are therefore more incentivized to choose that particular location.
But this efficient speed of charge presents a particularly interesting opportunity for restaurants, as the rapid charge makes the installation of an EV charging station a viable option for establishments where customers make shorter stays. This means that even fast food outlets could invest in EV charging to attract more customers and stand out from competitors.
Interestingly, it’s been exactly 100 years since the first talk of autonomous vehicles and, today, it seems that many of these self-driving cars will be electric. And just as businesses at the time were preparing for an automotive future, today’s commercial food businesses should begin preparations for catering to the future of customer transport; and engineering can help them make the most of the opportunity, tailored to theoir customers’ demands.
Robert Glass is global food and beverage communications manager for ABB
A lot of Amps……….O.K. if you have a rather large sub station on hand near by …..a nightmare for distribution companies I fear
My local Sainsbury’s frequently cones off their service station forecourt, because it’s on an awkward junction – virtually on the roundabout exit – and cars queuing for petrol spill out onto the road, preventing shoppers getting into the retail site. It’s a simple calculation (I suspect): selling loss-leading or marginally profitable fuel isn’t worth while, if the supermarket is losing sales at a much higher profit margin. I wonder how keen supermarkets will be to become electric car charging parks in practice, if a similar conflict of interest arises?
Trevor’s point is a good one. I believe the retailers call it “foot fall!” and nothing should desturb the flow of such? -and it is what defines the ‘rent-per-sq metre’ of retail selling space. Not my field at all: but I see the potential for yet again an overall “operations-research” and” systems analysis” approach to the entire scenario. I do recall attending a seminar at a well known retail store in the 80s (that one which started at a market-stall in Leeds) where they claimed that the variations in time of ‘cash-ring-up’ at the tills at one of their ‘flag-ship’ stores (the one in Oxford St, London) could be directly linked to the traffic lights sequences that controlled the flow of pedestrians and cars across Oxford St.
Not my field either , but is there a link between charge rate and the number of duty cycles a battery can take before its performance decays?
Yes, but there are similarities with IC engines, after so many miles they need replacing as well. Get into the replacement battery market as part of an investment portfolio!
So the primary beneficiaries are fast food outlets and supermarkets whilst users await their vehicles to be fully charged up. Brilliant. Is this an oblique means of driving up sales?
Two outlets at 120KW each! Most refuelling stations have upwards of 8, and each position isn’t occupied for as long! It isn’t KW at each installation but MW that are needed. Investment must be prioritised to generation and distribution, coupled with fall back provision for when there is a power cut.