It’s well known that electric cars are growing in popularity in the UK, but following in their battery-powered tyre tracks are a raft of new electric vans.
As businesses look to save costs, particularly in terms of fuel, fleet bosses are increasingly turning to electric vehicles (EVs) for their business and transportation answers.
Buying an electric van is a sizeable expenditure for any company, large or small, when compared with an equivalent diesel or petrol powered model. But, taken as a more long-term view of total cost of ownership (TCO) a plug-in van might be a good decision.
And part of that decision making process is working out how best to charge up a fleet of vans – whether the workforce takes them home at night or not.
There is help available to install a charging station for your van fleet – the Workplace Charging Scheme ( WCS) is designed to support businesses who want to install charging points for staff, as well as customers.
There’s plenty of help and advice available. From buying the charging point equipment to leasing it; tracking costs and savings; monitoring emissions – there are lots of specialist firms that supply charge point options and offer useful guidance (while hoping to sell you something too).
Here The Van Expert looks at some of the best websites, in alphabetical order. This is a rapidly evolving environment, so we will update this page as new charging providers join the party.
EV Box
URL: evbox.com
They say: Powering our sustainable future
Founded in the Netherlands in 2010, EV Box has helped thousands of businesses to adopt electric mobility with workplace chargers. By 2025, says the firm, its customers and partners will have installed a million charging points.
Under ‘Charging Solutions’ on the landing page, scroll down to ‘Workplaces’ to see the range of electric transportation services EV Box offers, including chargers, software and related products. Hassle-free charging, a sound investment and the ability to reach sustainable goals are all put forward as plus points, and details of the types of charging stations offered shown.
Advice on planning and installations is included along with details of a three-year warranty on products, with advice on how to maximise power availability while minimising peak time charges included.
The site also has advice on commercial fast chargers, charging management as well as a blog section containing useful news and features.
JoJu Solar
URL: jojusolar.co.uk
They say: Energy is changing – join in
Founded in 2006 by an entrepreneur and a university lecturer, JoJu Solar works in the renewables industry and, as its name suggests, concentrates on solar power. It is a market leader in battery storage, while EV chargers are the latest addition to its portfolio.
There are two ways to get to JoJu’s page on electric vehicle charging at work: via ‘Services’ and down through ‘EV charging’ and ‘Charging at Work’ or via ‘Sectors’ and drop down to ‘For Business’. Either way the result is the same: good advice about the benefits of giving your workforce the ability to charge at work, the types of chargers available and the grants being offered to businesses making the switch.
JoJu’s smart chargers feature ‘dynamic load balancing’ which allocate available power to units being used, to prevent overloading the electrics at work. It offers a range of smart chargers, rapid chargers and APT chargers that allow connection with remote charging stations to obtain data and pricing in real time.
There’s a comprehensive case studies section featuring different sectors of battery and electric power plus a media page with interesting news and feature articles.
Pod Point
URL: pod-point.com
They say: Smart charging stations for amped-up employees
Pod Point says it believes travel shouldn’t damage the Earth, and its mission is to ‘put an electric vehicle charge point everywhere you park’. Formed in 2009 the company has sold more than 137,000 charging points and claims to have powered over 593 million miles of electric driving.
Under ‘Business Solutions’ on its website, click on ‘Workplace charging’ and you get a full explanation of services and the benefits it can provide, such as monitoring and calculating the impact you make on the environment, recording every charge and tracking costs, and creating more satisfied staff (‘cleaner air, emissions reduction, happier workforce’).
There are options to lease or purchase the charging equipment and with each comes a three year warranty, installation by expert teams, 24/7 phone support and automatic, over the air, software updates.
The site also has a Help Centre, various driver guides and a news section.
Pure EV
URL: pure-ev.co.uk
They say: The 3 Ps of Pure-EV
Pure EV works solely in electric vehicle charging point installations and claims to be the best informed and most competent fitter going. Its ‘3 Ps’ slogan stands for Professional Installations, People Focus and Planet Promise.
The company offers free fuel-saving estimations with every charge point query, which can be useful when planning some points for your workplace. And to back up its green credentials, it will plant a tree on behalf of every customer, to tackle deforestation.
Click on ‘Workplace Charging Points’ and you’re taken to either ‘Fleet Charging’ or the ‘Workplace Charging Scheme’ pages. Fleet Charging explains how charging solutions can be tailor made for each individual business assessing each case on an individual basis.
The ‘Workplace Charging Scheme’ page sets out the details of the government grant which reduces the cost of setting up a charging station by up to £14,000 depending on the number of outlets installed. It goes on to show the benefits of EV charging at work, employee perks, financial savings and sustainability goals.
The site also has a good news section with environment-related topics, plus advice on different chargers, grants, and costs.
Rightcharge
URL: rightcharge.co.uk
They say: Choose smart, charge smart
You’ve decided to go electric? Rightcharge says it will help you to pair your EVs with the ‘perfect combo’ of charge point and energy tariff to save money. The landing page shows how to find the right charger for your needs and get a price from local installers. Even though it is set up for residential customers, there is a ‘Choosing for a business’ tab to click through to.
This takes you to the business page which explains the four-step process of getting a charge point installed at your workplace: your details, linking with an installer, receiving a quote and the installation itself.
Rightcharge can connect you with an installer whether it’s for a staff car park, a fleet solution or just charge points outside the offices or factory. The government grants are explained and there’s a map showing the company’s coverage – there is no UK region with fewer than three installers to choose from, says Rightcharge.
There is a good guide section on EV chargers, a news section with advice and tips, a comparison of tariffs and a detailed section on ‘Best EV Chargers 2022’.
Vollt
URL: vollt.io
They say: Your EV enablement journey begins here
Vollt’s services are cut into three sections: Workplace, Fleets and Home Charging. Click on ‘Workplace’ and you’re taken to a dedicated page explaining the services, installations and chargers available. No matter what the size of your organisation, says Vollt, they have an installation for you.
A dedicated Vollt app is available with real-time charging information, along with various options, including free or reduced rate electricity for employees alongside paid-for charging for customers. Monthly maintenance and regular inspection contracts are explained.
A complete section is dedicated to showing and describing the chargers Vollt has available: 22kW regular charger (‘the world’s strongest’ says the company) plus a rapid charger.
There’s also detailed information on the government grant, and an interesting blog section full of news and expert viewpoints.
