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22 | 6TH - 12TH DECEMBER 2019 | UTILITY WEEK Operations & Assets Event Accelerate19, BMW Group car plant, Oxford, November H ow to manage the transition to an electri ed transport network is one of the grand challenges of our genera- tion. If we get it right, the bene ts could be enormous, releasing economic value in myr- iad ways, improving public health through reduced air pollution and slashing carbon emissions. But the potential to miss out on these bene ts and swerve into destructive pot- holes by getting rollout and adoption strate- gies for electric vehicles (EVs) wrong is also signi cant. At Accelerate19 – an event cre- ated from the collaborative e- orts of Utility Week, Network magazine and their sister title for energy and sustainability manag- ers, the website edie – this delicate balance of risk and opportunity was the driving force behind a set of animated industry debates. The event – supported by Centrica Busi- ness Solutions, Cognizant, MINI and UK Power Networks Services – brought together a range of di- erent stakeholder groups in the transition to EVs, with the aim of supporting collective understanding of the challenges and interests being eyed by each. As well as participating in roundtable debates and sharing core outputs from these, delegates at Accelerate gained the oppor- tunity to hear from expert technology and consultancy players in EV adoption, and learned about the latest work of the Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, a government- commissioned initiative led by ex-BP leader and current chief executive of the Energy Systems Catapult, Philip New. This insight captured many of the over- arching challenges that stand in front of a vibrant EV future in the UK. Predominantly, these stem from fragmentation and complex- ity in an EV landscape that includes vying interests from auto manufacturers, charging providers, EV service and energy tari- pro- viders, local authority leaders, data compa- nies, asset nanciers and more. As New pointed out, achieving mass electri cation for transport requires the alignment of these interests and the careful Electrifying opportunities The second iteration of Utility Week's Accelerate event asked how the UK can put the electric pedal to the metal to rapidly decarbonise transport while avoiding unintended consequences for the market and consumers. uni cation of two enormous industrial and economic systems. Get it right, and an intelligent integration will deliver huge system and carbon savings via energy Ž exibility and seamless interoper- ability of data and hardware. Get it wrong, and the meeting of energy and transport will be more like a tectonic clash, sending out reverberations that manifest in dupli- cated, incompatible systems, poor consumer experience, stunted uptake of EVs and, con- sequently, a slow pace of decarbonisation across both the transport and energy vectors. The EV Energy Taskforce has been chal- lenged to avoid a dystopian future by put- ting in place foundational frameworks for healthy EV markets with end-user interests at their heart. In its rst year of work, the group has brought together a proactive range of partici- pants from all interested parties and focused on producing a set of recommendations around three priority areas: 1. Bringing smart charging to life;