227 - The Smart Charge Episode

In this episode of the show, Gary discusses Sainsbury's entry into the electric vehicle charging market with their new "Smart Charge" initiative. Patrick Dunne, Sainsbury's Director of EV Ventures, explains the company's strategy to install 750 ultra-rapid chargers at 100 stores by 2024.

The discussion covers Sainsbury's motivations, the decision to use ultra-rapid charging, the selection of Kempower as their hardware provider, and the challenges of rolling out a large-scale EV charging network.

The episode also touches on pricing strategies, site selection, and future plans for roaming and customer-centric innovations.

Sainsbury's in-house EV rapid charging CPo has risen quickly to become one of the major players in the market. We talk with the managing director about that ascendency, the plans for the future and what specific challenges arise from being limited to locations by your own geographic holdings and local grid constraints.

The EV Musings Podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the go-to app for EV drivers, helping you find and pay for public charging with confidence.

Links in the show notes:

• V2G on the Australian grid - Cool Thing

Episode produced by Arran Sheppard at Urban Podcasts: https://www.urbanpodcasts.co.uk

(C) 2019-2026 Gary Comerford

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Mentioned in this episode:

Zap Map

The EV Musings Podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the go-to app for EV drivers in the UK, which helps EV drivers search, plan, and pay for their charging. Zapmap is free to download and use, with Zapmap Premium providing enhanced features which include using Zapmap in-car on CarPlay or Android Auto and help with charging costs with both a pricing filter and 5% discount*"