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NETWORK / 29 / JULY/AUGUST 2016 ambitious" in an ultra-low emission vehicle (ULEV) strategy paper produced by the O ce for Low-Emission Vehicles. It has plans for a UK car • eet with, in e ect, zero emissions by 2050. It also has the target of ensuring all new cars sold by 2040 are ULEV vehicles. The government-backed initiative, Go Ultra Low, predicts that by 2027 more than half of all new cars will be electric. In Scotland, drivers can beneŠ t from a funding boost from the Scottish government. Around £7.8 million has been made available through interest-free loans via the Low Carbon Transport Loan Fund. Consumers can apply for £35,000, while businesses can access up to £100,000, repayable over a period of up to six years. Charging Even without a grant, an EV is an attractive option because the cost of driving on electric charge is a small fraction of that using petrol or diesel as a fuel. EV owners have two options for charging: a slow charge at home or using the charging networks springing up across the country. Both options present potential di culties for DNOs. Public networks o er fast charg- ing, which places a massive drain on the local network, while at home the My Elec- tric Avenue project found that the human inclination for conspicuous consumption leads to "clusters" of EVs in particular areas, which also places the local network under great strain. Public charging networks are in development across the UK and, to date, have been free to use to encourage uptake of the technology. Tesla has been at the forefront of bringing in the EV revolution, but its main selling point, the Supercharger, places a huge demand on the local network. C H I C K E N O R E G G ? Systemic thinking may be lost in the quest for commercial opportunity Electric vehicles are still the preserve of technology innovators and early adopters among consumers because of several lingering concerns, ranging from how long batteries last before needing to be replaced, to drivers becoming stranded mid-journey. Running out of charge mid-journey is one concern that companies have tried to resolve by offering a growing network of free charging points which they hope will reassure and attract consumers. But this means the location for charging points is being led and decided by companies looking to make their products as appealing as possible. These companies do not necessarily have the needs of DNOs at the forefront when deciding where to place their charging units. EVs have the potential to be a useful tool for balancing local electricity networks by DNOs. If connected to a charging point at the right time, they could be used to fl atten peaks and troughs in the electricity demand curve, and as storage for intermittent renewables. Developers behind the infrastructure have inevitably used the existing petrol station network as a guide for placing charging points, believing EVs to be a direct replacement for diesel and petrol fuelled cars. But this means drivers will be looking for the fastest charging times, and the most draining charging types for DNOs. EV batteries do not need to be charged every day, so the use of motorway charge points also limits the availability of the asset to DNOs in comparison with home charging. Energy supplier Good Energy's chief executive Juliet Davenport says the fact that charging points are on motorways shows that the location has not been thought out very well. "Where I actually want them is at a destination, somewhere I am likely to end up for a couple of hours – a meeting place, a supermarket, a destination visitor point. We need to think more carefully about consumer behaviour and how they are going to use transport." Surveys show that home charging is highly favoured, followed by workplace and shopping locations. For the commercial and energy management opportunities to be maximised, systemic thinking needs to be applied to the development of charging networks, with Davenport believing policy has an important role to play. So far data can be collected only from technology "innovators". "Mass-market" consumers will have very different motivations, attitudes and behaviours to innovators, and are less likely to adapt their behaviour to meet the needs of the transport or energy system. It therefore makes sense to get the necessary infrastructure in place before these consumers come onboard. East Midlands East of England Greater London London North East North West Northern Ireland Scotland South East South West Wales West Midlands Other Profi le of charging connectors across the UK regions: Zap-map, July 2016 18.6% 9.3% 7.6% 15.5% 15.1% 9.3%