Contents

1. Electric vehicles (EVs), and in particular electric cars, are well and truly here. As a result, providers and manufacturers are constantly looking into making it easier and faster to charge them. In this article, we’re going to focus on the former of those two characteristics.
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3. A ‘Wallbox’ is a term you may be familiar with, since it plays a big role in the world of electric cars. It refers to a popular type of EV home charger that is normally found near your garage, driveway or similar parking area outside your home. The box is usually mounted on the wall, hence the name, and is seen as a popular solution for residents that live in homes with dedicated space for parking. 
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5. In the UK there are estimated to be over 400,000 home chargers currently installed, but given that there are over 28 million households in the UK, an increase in the number of home chargers installed will be needed as more people switch to electric vehicles. 
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7. In April 2022, the UK Government introduced the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant. Eligible EV owners can make use of up to 75 percent off the cost of a home chargepoint or wallbox installation - up to a maximum amount of £350. 
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9. The catch here is that the applicant (at the time of writing) must have dedicated off-street parking at their property. However, as a third of UK households don’t have a driveway or private garage in which to install a home charger, it won’t be helpful to everyone. 
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11. This is why it poses an issue for so many residents, and why seeking alternative methods of charging an electric car are, and will continue to be, important. In this feature, we look into different charging solutions and explore the existing, imminent, and future ways in which you can charge your EV.

The Citroen Ami making use of a lamp-post charger

1. According to the Energy Saving Trust, an estimated 80 percent of EV charging is done at home, and most of this is expected to be done overnight. In addition to the convenience of charging your electric car without having to travel to a public chargepoint, home charging also (currently) usually provides the cheapest means of recharging an EVs battery. 
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3. The good news for the future is that the UK Government recently announced a new law related to EV chargers, whereby the majority of new build homes will need an electric charger fitted as standard - as will most new build workplaces and supermarkets. The legislation also extends to residential building renovations that have over 10 parking spaces.

A home wall box charger from Pod Point 

1. There are two main reasons this could be an issue: you live in a flat or you don’t have access to off-street parking. Essentially, if you’re unable to have a dedicated area within close proximity to your accomodation in which to install a wallbox and run a cable to your electric vehicle without inconveniencing others, and thus park your car and charge, you’re going to need an alternative solution. 
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3. Where local councils are concerned, Connected Kerb’s CEO, Chris Pateman-Jones previously mentioned in an interview with Fleet World that some council’s are struggling post-pandemic with time and resources to help the roll-out of street charging solutions. An example of this would be the Ealing Council, which says “it is not possible to install them in every location due to physical and electrical safety constraints and limited budgets”.  

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5. This has led to unconventional solutions being created to cater for those who face difficulty charging outside their homes. One of those solutions is ‘street charging’.

There are EV charging solutions available to those living in residential flats

1. For clarity, we aren’t referring to street charging in dedicated bays using chargers provided by the local council or a private supplier. Street charging is an alternative way of charging your EV, and is when a person charges their car on the street via a cable from their home - usually an exterior wallbox or an interior traditional three-pin plug. It’s worth noting that using a normal plug socket is one of the slowest possible ways of charging an EV. 
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3. The legality of charging your car this way depends on the area you live in. For example, Hackney Council strictly prohibits running a cable from your house to your street to charge your EV, unless you are explicitly given special permission to do so. 
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5. Meanwhile, Hampshire County Council does allow street charging, but asks that your car is always parked on the same side as your house (so the cable doesn’t need to cross the carriageway), and that the cable runs along the carriage channelway against the kerb. It also recommends a maximum distance of 10 metres from a point outside your property (estimated to be two car lengths). 
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7. The main reason for council’s considering the legalities of street charging is the safety risk it poses if a pedestrian, or those with disabilities, get injured in any way as a result of your cabling. 
8. It also presents a possible fire risk if used for prolonged periods of time. According to Pure-EV, a common 42-inch HD TV uses up around 0.5 amps (A), while an EV will require the full 13A that a standard three-pin home socket allows. This could lead to overheating and, in worst case scenarios, a fire. 
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10. The Highways Act 1980 also means that councils are allowed to remove any obstructions on pavements that they think are in inappropriate places e.g. EV charge cabling. The legislation reads that it is an offence if “a person deposits anything whatsoever on a highway to the interruption of any user of the highway without lawful authority or excuse or if the thing constitutes a nuisance or constitutes a danger to users of the highway (including a danger caused by obstructing the view)”. Should cabling for your EV create a danger to other highway users, then the council can remove the obstruction without delay and can recover the cost of removal from the owner.
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12. So, be sure to check with your local council as to whether or not street charging is allowed in your area, as it will differ between different areas, as would the requirements that need to be met if street charging is allowed. 
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14. In the event that you do decide and are legally able to street charge, in almost all circumstances you’ll need to make it as safe as possible for the pedestrians that would need to step over it, in addition to wheelchair users or other people with limited mobility that may have difficulties manoeuvring over/around the cable. The best course of action would be to place a very visible anti-trip cover over the cable, as these will not only make it safer for passers-by, but it will also make it easier for people to spot and avoid - lowering the risk of an accident. 
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16. If you find yourself street charging regularly and you don’t often have parking spaces in close proximity to your house, you may need to order a longer charging cable than the one provided with your car. It’s also possible to use a long extension lead that’s considered to be safe for outdoor use. It’s also highly advised to ensure that your cable is withdrawn back into the wallbox or your house once you’ve finished charging your car to minimise the time others could be at risk.

Street charging could be illegal in your borough - have you checked?

1. Dedicated chargers for apartment block residents:

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3. Perhaps one of the trickiest scenarios for EV home charging would be if you lived in a residential apartment block, where cars are normally kept in an underground carpark overnight (or a corresponding multistorey). It would be both inconvenient and impractical to run a charging cable from an apartment to the carpark, so you’d need to find another way around this issue. 
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5. Luckily, EVs have brought with them the emergence of dedicated companies that fund, manage and own an entire installation for apartment blocks, which are normally paid for over several years with the usage revenue that they accumulate. 
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7. Electric Village is one example of a company that offers such installations. It offers 7.4kW chargers that can add up to 30 miles of range per hour, and considering that most people charge their cars overnight, this should be more than enough for the electric cars on the market today. Once an apartment complex’s landlord provides rights to Electric Village to revamp a parking lot with its charging points, it will usually install its equipment in 100 percent of the spaces, so everyone will have access to a charger if/when they purchase an EV. 
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9. If a resident toggles the option to subscribe to one of the chargers, they can essentially “rent” it for a fee of £35.99 per month on a 12-month plan, or £30.99 per month on a 24-month plan, and manage their usage using an associated smartphone app. However, this monthly price does not include electricity usage, making it a potentially expensive option. With Electric Village, there are no costs incurred by either the landlord or the resident until a resident decides to take out a subscription for one of Electric Village’s chargers. 

Electric Village's chargers for apartment complexes 

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2. Bumblebee is another provider that supplies charging infrastructure for general homes, business’ and workplaces, and also for those that live in apartments. Its turn-key solution incorporates scalable charging infrastructure with 24/7 monitoring, and what it claims to be an “industry leading call out and maintenance service”. 
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4. The overall cost will be variable on a case by case basis, but we do know that the charger which will be installed is a product from Easee - namely, the One. It’s a OZEV approved 7kW unit with built-in earthing protection, and is fitted from £989 or £28p/m. Though, this price could be subject to change once Bumblebee gets a better understanding of your requirements and the location where the charger will need to be installed. 

Bumblebee's alternative

1. Lamp post chargers: 

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3. Maximising space and utilising existing infrastructure will be an integral part of transitioning into the electric era, and fitting charge points on public lamp posts is a great way of doing just that. According to the Shropshire Council, there are an estimated 6.5 million street lights in the UK - and if even a small percentage of those can be converted into lamp post chargers, the nation could be in a significantly better position where EV charging is concerned.
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5. ChargeLight is one such company that’s converting lamp posts into EV charging docks. You can even use ChargeLight’s request form to petition to your local council to request a lamp post EV charging dock installation. You pay a 20p connection fee each time you connect to one of its chargers, with the current rate (subject to change) set at 30p per kWh. The chargers provide 5kW of power, and can range between 3-6kW. Using a common 64kWh battery for reference (like the one found on a Hyundai Kona) and assuming it’s 50 percent full, ChargeLight says it would take just over six hours to fill it up. ChargeLight says Apple and Android apps are also on the way to help make the charging process easier for you. 

The lamp-post charging solution from ChargeLight

1. Ubitricity is another company that is reinventing lamp posts as EV chargers, and with over 5,500 of its own public points installed in the UK at the time of writing, it claims to be “the largest public charging network in the country”. It’s a member of the Shell group, and also operates outside of the UK in countries like France and Germany. 
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3. Installing lamp post chargers at scale will no doubt go a long way towards alleviating the current infrastructural issues we face, and it’s a solution which doesn’t severely disrupt pre-existing architecture or require construction work on the pavement or road 

One of over 5,500 chargers implemented by Ubitricity 

1. Portable chargers: 

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3. Portable EV chargers are another development which almost seemed destined to become part of the solution, given that we have portable chargers for other electrical items like mobile phones. The idea is simple: you purchase a mobile charging unit, which is charged up at home when not in use, and is then transported around in your vehicle to be deployed when your battery begins to run low. 
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5. In 2023, UK-based start-up ZipCharge will also make its introduction into the market with its ‘Go’ portable charger. The first iteration will provide 4kW of power, with 6 and 8kW models also planned for the future. ZipCharge has previously calculated that the Go can add between 20-40 miles of range to a common electric car in between 30-60 minutes, and provides a comparable speed to that of a 7.2kW home wallbox. Better still, it will be a similar shape and size to a wheeled hand-luggage suitcase that people commonly use for holidays, making it a fair amount smaller than the aforementioned Kempower T-Series. 

A Honda e using ZipCharge's portable charger 

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2. Charge delivery: 

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4. Charge delivery is where a company will send out a vehicle housing a mobile charging unit to your location, topping up your car’s battery reserves as required. An example of a charge delivery provider is Charge Fairy, who can also remotely monitor the battery level on your car before sending out an all-electric van to recharge your EV. The app - which is used to track information about your vehicle usage and next predicted recharge - is currently compatible with those of 11 car manufacturers including Audi, Peugeot and Mercedes-Benz. 
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6. Once Charge Fairy sends a vehicle out, it will then arrive at your location and either park in front/behind your car, or in the event that this is not possible, attach an extended cable from the nearest possible parking spot of up to 15 metres (or three cars) away. Charge Fairy’s packages start from £5.99 per week, which gets you 50kWh of charge per week (150-200 miles estimated), as well as on-location charging (they will come to you). No pre-booking is required, either. 

A Nissan e-NV200 deployed by Charge Fairy to a customer in need of range

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2. Peer-to-peer charging:

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4. Peer-to-peer charging is a system created to allow shared usage of chargers. This is split into two categories: the host and the user. The host is the person that already owns the charge point, and will provide use of their charger for a small fee. The user is the person who will be paying the host for usage. 
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6. This exchange has many benefits to it. From the host’s perspective, they are gaining an income, allowing them to recoup some of the funds originally invested in buying the charger, in addition to contributing towards offsetting their own energy usage. For the user, it presents a low cost solution for access to a range of charge points around their neighbourhood and local community for a small fee.
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8. But as is the case with any ‘shared’ multi-user service, there are some things to consider, particularly for the host. The first is potential damage to the charger. Different people will be using this charger, and it’s not always guaranteed that some will be as careful with it as others will be. This could lead to charger damage sooner than expected, and provide the host with an unwanted repair bill. 
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10. The second consideration for hosts is that they will be dealing with strangers and unfamiliar people, since it may not always be neighbours and friends/family that pay to use their charger. Sadly, this could present a potential safety risk and security issue, to and from both hosts and users 
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12. To try and limit this risk to their hosts (and users), Co-Charger tries to facilitate “regular, ongoing arrangements between the same people week in, week out”. The host’s will also always be required to be verified to ensure safety and security for users. 
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14. In instances of theft or damage when a charging session is conducted, Co-Charger says issues could be covered by either your car insurance provider (for users) or home insurance provider (for hosts), and advises both parties to check the terms with their respective insurance providers before engaging. 

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2. Charging location apps: 

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5. To make finding chargers nearby to your location easier, be it at home or out on the road, there are multiple smartphone apps, such as Bonnet, that can be used to both access and pay for electric car charging at public charge points. 
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7. Based in London, Bonnet provided access to thousands of charge points around Britain and parts of Europe. Using its app, you can make use of around 3,700 chargers in the UK, in addition to over 13,800 in Holland, 6,900 in Germany and 4,300 in Belgium, among others. In terms of pricing, Bonnet calculates its amount respective of the pay as you go price set by the given charge point’s network operator. If you subscribe, you pay a monthly subscription fee to then get a percentage of the cost off each time you use a charger. 
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9. The real draw of Bonnet is its offer of bringing the ability to pay for multiple charge point providers together in one app, meaning you don’t need separate accounts and access cards for each individual electric car charging company. Essentially, it can be seen as an inclusive hub for a variety of providers, making it easier to find and pay for a charger regardless of your location.

Bonnet's app gives access to around 3,700 charge points in the UK

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2. Another example of these charging location apps is Zap-Map. Its app claims to connect 95 percent of charge points currently mapped, with around 70 percent of those showing live availability when the app is accessed. It claims to be “the UK’s leading app and digital platform for EV drivers to search for available charge points, plan longer electric journeys, pay for charging and share updates with other EV drivers”. 
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4. Zap-Map uses an in-app based paying system called Zap-Pay, which is linked to your credit or debit card. It works on a pay as you go basis, with rates set to a similar amount to that of the charging networks’ standard given price - with a small transaction fee chargeable per session completed.

Zap-Map claims its app can connect to 95 percent of the charge points it displays

1. In the world of EV charging, subscription services refer to a continued weekly/monthly payment in exchange for use of a network of charge points. In addition to this, charge delivery services most often also fall under the subscription bracket. Below, we’ve listed three providers that can offer public EV charging solutions to you: 
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3. BP Pulse - With over 9,000 charging points spread across the UK, 3,000 of which are ultra-fast charge points, BP Pulse offers a subscription to its network starting from £7.85 per month. It also claims to cost 20 percent less than a pay as you go arrangement, and is currently offering subscribers a month’s free subscription in addition to £45 charging credit that will be split over five months. The network currently consists of four charger types. 

    

   The first is the ‘bp pulse150,’ which is currently being rolled out around the UK, and offers speeds of up to 150kWh: the full members rate is 0.65p per kWh of charge, with the standard contactless rate being 0.79p. Then you have the ‘bp pulse150’ - BP claim that this stall is capable of “charging most EV batteries to 80 percent in an hour”. It’s most commonly found at rest stops like hotels and restaurants, with the full member rate costing 0.55p per kWh of charge, and the standard contactless rate hovering at 0.69p per kWh. 

    

   The third charger type is the ‘bp pulse7,’ which BP says will take 7-8 hours to charge an EVs batteries up again. It can be located in areas like car parks, offices and supermarkets, and can be used by members at 0.44p per kWh at current prices. This is raised to 0.57p per kWh for non-member contactless sessions. Lastly, BP has the ‘pulse point 150’. It’s the latest addition to the provider’s network, and can charge at speeds of up to 150kWh. It can be found on BP forecourts around the UK, with prices currently set to 0.65p per kWh for members, and 0.79p for non-members using contactless. The latest price points can be found by clicking here. 

One of the 150kW chargers made available by BP Pulse

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   IONITY - IONITY supplies you with access to charge points in 24 European nations. The brand also provides a list of the varying tariffs you could be charged with, depending on the manufacturer of the EV you own. This can be found here. For some perspective on pricing, IONITY Direct (no monthly fees, no subscription and local VAT accounted for) currently costs 0.69p per kWh of charge. The IONITY Passport subscription (12 month subscription and local VAT accounted for) comes in at 0.35p per kWh of charge, in addition to a £16.99 monthly subscription fee. 

    

   On its website, IONITY provides helpful resources such as a guide for people travelling long distances with their EVs. You can also find a map which tells you where its nearest chargers are to you, in addition to where they can be found around the countries IONITY operates in, and how many chargers will be found in that location. This can be found here. The provider is also actively searching for new sites to buy/rent as it looks to continue expansion of its charging network. 

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IONITY not only provides infrastructure, but also helpful EV travel guides on its website

1. Tesla Supercharger network - With over 40,000 Superchargers dotted around the globe, Tesla’s network is officially the largest in the world. In the UK alone, the Tesla Supercharger network is made up of nearly 1,000 chargers. Using the Tesla app, you can review Supercharger availability near you, check your state of charge while you stop for a break, and even be notified when your car is sufficiently charged. 
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3. Tesla claims that its superchargers can add as much as 172 miles in a charge session lasting just 15 minutes - with a maximum charging rate of 250kW. Using a Tesla model’s touchscreen, you can also access Tesla’s trip planner, which will advise you on where to stop for a recharge during your journey.
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5. For non-Tesla users, the brand has been trialling a pilot scheme since November 2021, where owners of EVs from other manufacturers have access to these chargers. It is active in the UK, with the full list of other countries where it is being trialled found here. Non-Tesla drivers (who have EVs that support the Supercharger’s capabilities) can also subscribe to the network at a cost of £11 per month, and with current prices, it works out at around 0.76p per kWh of charge. 

Tesla's Supercharger network is officially the largest in the world

1. Channels in the pavement:

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3. One idea that’s currently being explored is to create channels or gullies in pavements, which can then be used as a passageway to connect a person’s home charger to their car. 
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5. This means no cabling or wiring will need to be visible above the ground, and can safely allow a person to continue to charge their EV from their home. Even if they don’t have a dedicated parking space, it poses no trip risk for pedestrians and/or people with disabilities that find it difficult or are unable to safely pass over them. 
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7. The creation of channels under pavements to mask the charging cables could potentially prove to be a huge problem solver for the UK, with some companies already taking the initiative. One of those companies is Green-Mole which, working alongside Liverpool John Moores University and the University of Salford, is looking to bring its EVCC (Electric Vehicle Charge Channel) to the market, with a quoted guide price of £3,000 (+VAT). 
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9. Founded in 2021, Kerbo Charge is a provider that's currently trialling its product in Milton Keynes ahead of its foray into the market. It supplies customers with a 7.3kW single-phase wallbox charger, protected by built-in Pro Earth security to keep it safe. Also supplied with it is a unique pavement installed duct and app, which means when you do want to use your charger, all you need to do is lift the lid on the duct before dropping your cable in. This makes the cable easily withdrawable when not in use. 
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Kerbo Charge is currently trialling a submerged pavement channel solution like this

1. Another pavement-related solution of this kind is the ‘Gul-e’ from the ODS group. The company says that its product provides an “unobtrusive design that minimises street clutter,” and that it “encourages overnight charging, reducing network grid pressures”. 
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3. While there are providers that are looking to emerge on the market with their products soon, there are still a few factors that are holding these channel chargers back - a prime example being building permission. Kerbocharge, for example, is awaiting approval from authorities around the whole country, and by joining its waiting list, you could help to speed this process. 

The ODS group's Gul-e solution can be seen here

1. Overhead solutions:

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3. Most of the options that we’ve covered so far have looked into being submerged under the ground, or running parallel to it - but what about the open air found above human head height? In the Netherlands, a company called ChargeArm is doing just that, creating a product that passes overhead and back down to the vehicle’s charge port. 
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5. It can reach as high up as 2.2 metres - well over the average human height of 1.7 metres - and can be adjusted using the mechanical arm. It presents no trip risk for pedestrians, and unless you’re one of the very few members of the global population that are over 7 foot and 2 inches tall, you won’t be forced to walk around the overhead charger. 
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7. ChargeArm claims the non-interference provided by this solution means it could last up to 10 times longer, and is a universal product that can be used with any home charging points currently available on the market. 

The ChargeArm could be a simple yet effective problem solver

1. It’s worth noting that, while ChargeArm hasn’t yet specified any plans to come to the UK, London-based Nodum is working on a similar product called the ‘ChargeBridge,’ with trials currently underway. Its product is integrated into the gutter pipe so it remains completely hidden, and with a height of up to 3 metres, even the tallest person in history (Robert Wadlow at 2.72 metres) would comfortably have been able to walk beneath it. 
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3. You may be wondering, ‘what do I do if I don’t have a parking spot right outside my house?’. Well, Nodum is working on a way around this, and currently, they plan to install several of these overhead chargers along a street, with an app to activate and pay for usage. You can also apply for a trial of the ChargeBridge now using its contact form. Provide your details, and a bit of information about your particular charging situation and why you may find it useful (found here), and Nodum will get back to you with next steps if you are eligible.

The ChargeBridge from Nodum

1. Pop-up chargers:

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3. Back in August 2017, several of London’s boroughs received funding to try to begin providing residents some form of access to EV street chargers. One of the resulting ideas was pop-up chargers. 
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5. The main difference that pop-up chargers have over channels and drainpipe solutions is that they are retractable. So, when they aren’t in use, it will seem as though they aren’t even there since they withdraw back inside the subterranean storage space built for them. 
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7. In 2020, Urban Electric concluded on a trial of its app-operated pop-up chargers, called the ‘UEone’ prototypes in Oxford with co-funding provided by product design firm Duku alongside Innovate UK and the Oxford City Council. Another trial carried out by Urban Electric was the ‘flat and flush’ on-street EV chargers from Trojan Energy. It proved so successful that 150 chargers have now been installed in the London boroughs of Brent and Camden, with further trials also underway in Dundee and Plymouth. 

Pop-up chargers could prove to be great space savers

1. Battery swapping:

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3. Traditionally, most people are used to pulling into a fuel station, filling up with petrol or diesel, paying, and then continuing with their journey. EVs have changed the way we approach pit stops now, with the time it takes to charge up an EV pushing our average stop times up. One possible way we could cut charging times is by swapping a power-sapped battery for a fully charged one, in the same way you would in your TV remote. 
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5. If this was to become popularised, it would involve driving your car to a Battery Swapping Station (BSS), in much the same way you would a fuel/petrol station, and parking it in designated bay. The people and/or machinery inside the station will then do everything for you, including raising the car off the ground, removing the chassis bolts, and then removing and swapping the battery. 
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7. It sounds complicated, and it is, which is why BSS’ cost a considerable amount of money to build. While it’s difficult to state an exact figure, since different sources state varying amounts, you can safely assume the cost of a BSS to run into the hundreds of thousands. 
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9. Alongside this, you need to account for the amount of space required for just one BSS - with the equivalent diameter able to fit around 10 Tesla Supercharger docks. So, while one BSS could swap the batteries for around eight cars an hour under optimal conditions, the equivalent space could be used to charge approximately 20 EVs to 80 percent charge (assuming 25 minutes per car) in the same amount of time. 
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11. Despite these obvious hurdles that will need to be overcome, there are several companies that are approaching the challenge with optimism. 
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13. One of those companies is Shanghai-based manufacturer NIO, which has already installed over 1,000 of these stations in China, where it has also surpassed 10 million battery swaps to date. NIO says it has created “the world’s first smart power solution,” but the downside to it is this network is only accessible to those that own a car manufactured by NIO. 
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15. While it hasn’t yet launched in the UK, NIO has already started to branch out into Europe, with stations opening in Norway and Germany among others. NIO is planning to install over 1,000 outside of China by 2025, as it looks to build on its strong start as the first car manufacturer to provide battery swapping stations. It’s yet to be seen if NIO’s battery swap functionality will be made available for a broader spectrum of EVs. 

An example of what NIO's battery swapping stations look like

1. Another company that's exploring this market is CATL (Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd), a Chinese battery manufacturer and tech provider that introduced its modular battery swapping solution arm in January 2022, calling it EVOGO (this is not to be confused with the British car subscription provider EVOGO). 
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3. Originally founded in 2011, CATL has formed a business model which revolves around separating car ownership from battery ownership, developing a replaceable battery in the process under the EVOGO moniker. The batteries are said to be designed to look like chocolate bars, and are befittingly called “Choco-SEB'' as a result. 
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5. The Choco-SEB provides a source of high energy from a compressed, minimalist design, and has been created specifically with the task of EV battery swapping in mind. It also means the product will act as a “shared” item among people, which encourages cross-market consorting and, as a result, further opens up the “shared product” industry. 
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7. EVOGO has previously claimed that its technology is usable with “80 percent of global BEV platform-based vehicle models available on the market, and all BEV platform-based models to be released in the next three years globally”. So EVOGO, like NIO, could have the answers for battery swapping, but it should be considered a possibility for society in the long-term future, and not the short-term. 
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9. If you want to find out more about battery leasing, please click here to read Karfu’s explainer guide, alternatively, click here to find out more about the varying types of batteries. 

A look inside the Choco-SEB housing section of EVOGO's battery swap station

1. Road charging network: 

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3. In terms of creative ideas, wireless road charging networks could be right up there. The idea is that, beneath the surface of roads, will be electrical coils that can receive and expel energy to nearby objects that are capable of receiving it e.g. an electric car. 
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5. For example, using the three-lane motorways we have in the UK, the left or inside lane would be fitted with this technology beneath them so when your car’s charge levels begin to drop, you can simply cross over into the ‘charging’ lane and regain some of your range. Another benefit of these wireless charging roads is that you don’t have to stop, which could prove to be a vital timesaver if this technology does one day come to fruition. 
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7. Testing of wireless charging roads has already begun. Earlier this year, the automotive umbrella company Stellantis experimented with a Fiat 500e at the Arena Del Futuro (Arena of the Future) in Italy. The circular test track had its outer lane implanted with a system called ‘Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer’ (DWPT) coils, which allowed the car to continue to drive at typical motorway speeds without actually draining the battery’s charge. 
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9. While Stellantis hasn’t given a firm timeframe for when it wants to integrate technologies like those seen at the Arena Del Futuro into the real world, it has stated the following: “Our long-term strategic plan, Dare Forward 2030, is based on the premise of bringing ‘cutting-edge freedom of mobility’ to all and this project is the very essence of where we’re headed as a company.”

A Fiat 500e gains charge using the coiled lane of the Arena Del Futuro

1. Another instance of this technology being used is Gotland, Sweden, by the SmartRoad Project. The idea is financed by Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration), and involves a near one-mile stretch of road that has similar under surface coil technology used by Stellantis. 
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3. Since the road is located near an airport, initial tests were conducted using an electric airport shuttle bus. We do not yet know if there are any plans for extensions, or whether the SmartRoad Project will be scaled up, but the road has been actively open for use to the public since 2021. 
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5. There’s no doubt that wireless charging road networks could be revolutionary, but it may still be some time before they can truly be considered a feasible solution. However, if we can find a way to make this technology mainstream, there are around 2,300 miles of motorways in the UK (247,800 miles of total road network), meaning there will be no shortage of roads to use for such a concept.

1. Solar charging: 

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3. Solar panels are not a new development, we’ve been using them since the 1950s, and have continued to advance their efficiency whilst reducing their cost. Solar panel installations at home, to help reduce the overall costs of your monthly electricity bill, are very much a fixture in society now - but how about using the power of the sun to charge our EVs? 
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5. In fact, there are already EVs in development that combine both conventional plug-in charging with embedded solar panels beneath their bodies, helping them to regain charge as they’re driven around in the sun. 
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7. Perhaps the most impressive of those so far has been the EQXX concept car from Mercedes-Benz which, earlier this year, completed a 1,000km (621-mile) journey in a single full charge. Not only is it aerodynamically designed to be super efficient, but it contains solar panels within its bodywork - most notably the 117 cells in the roof - which allows it to regain around 15 miles of range per day. That works out at 105 additional miles of range per week. 

The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX

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2. Then you have the ‘0’, offered by Dutch start-up company Lightyear. They claim that it is the “world’s first solar electric car,” and have recently announced that it has entered production and will offer around 300 miles of range. The 0 can be reserved if you live in the EU, Norway, Switzerland and the UK, though the deposit amount and estimated delivery times are not yet publicly known. This is likely because Lightyear only intends to make 946 examples of the 0, so each order can be expected to be dealt with on a case by case basis.  
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The Lightyear 0, which will be a limited-run model 

1. A third option is the Sono Motors ‘Sion’ from Germany. It’s estimated to start at around £21,300, which is not only sensibly priced in comparison to its solar-powered competitors, but even generally speaking across the wider EV market. The 456 half-solar cells - which are exactly what the name suggests: cells cut in half - incorporated into the Sion’s shell mean that an average of 70 miles (112km) can be added per week, with that number increasing to 152 miles (245km) under perfect conditions. Given that the average person drives around 104 miles per week (5,398 per year as per By Miles), the Sion could prove to fall slightly short on solar-powered charge alone. 
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3. However, it’s not all sunny (excuse the horrendous pun) - remember that solar power is weather-dependent, so it may only ever be considered as a secondary source of energy in some parts of the world. Furthermore, solar charging is significantly slower than conventional plug-in charging, and likely only suitable as a single source of charging if your use of your electric car is very limited. 

Sono will look to bring affordability to the masses with its solar-powered Sion

1. Home charging is still a complicated task for many people in the UK, but this feature has detailed some of the current, short-term and long-term options that we will look to turn to as more people make the switch to electric. 
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3. Alongside the alternative charging methods being devised, it’s also worth remembering that the general number of public charge points are also increasing. Shell, for instance, is aiming to install 50,000 on-street EV charging points by 2025. 
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5. And that’s just one company that claims to be committed to improving the charging infrastructure around the nation. When you combine this with the solutions covered in this article, like battery swapping, charge delivery or overhead units, and it becomes unsurprisingly easy to be optimistic about the future of alternative EV charging solutions.
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7. What are your thoughts surrounding the future of alternative EV home charging, and did you find this feature useful? If so, leave us a comment down below!