Specialist
Former executive at Blink Charging Co
Agenda
- Competitive landscape and key bottlenecks across EV charger market
- The role of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) – charger competition, batteries and EVs
- Vehicle-to-grid and customer trends – pricing dynamics and software and hardware considerations
- DCFC (direct current fast charging) and corridor charging – Europe vs the US and regulatory outlook
Questions
1.
What are the key elements in the operating environment for EV charging companies currently?
2.
What mid-to-near-term positive developments might people notice in the next 1-2 years, aside from larger trends about EV adoption and battery technology?
3.
Has EV adoption been roughly in line with charging company expectations?
4.
What else are charging companies hoping OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] to deliver, besides the EVs? You mentioned battery technology.
5.
Is the number of charging installations at dealerships increasing? Is this an important bottleneck for the industry to get those partnerships at the end? I understand Blink recently announced a partnership with GM – where are we in that adoption curve?
6.
Has EV charger installation become easier for customers and companies as the industry has grown and developed?
7.
How are utilities affecting the industry’s growth, whether encouraging charger installations or working with charging companies and operators? Have utilities changed their approach recently?
8.
Do you think vehicle-to-grid will be a notable factor in the future? Could it change the competitive landscape or would it impact everyone equally in the charging industry?
9.
What key customer trends are charging companies experiencing? Has the mentality of larger retail, real estate or workplace customers changed?
10.
What are charging companies’ key needs in competing for customers? What enables them to compete and is that changing?
11.
Are hosts or end users willing to pay more? Do you expect an increase in spend per charging site or the lifetime spend of hosts? Will charging companies have to compete more on price in the future?
12.
How important is the software side, considering hosts want better data and analytics?
13.
How is charging hardware differentiated? What trends and developments should we monitor?
14.
What is the timeframe and what are the key things to track as corridor charging becomes more prolific? Is there a threshold in EV adoption? Is it a cost issue with DCFC [direct current fast charging] becoming more cost-competitive?
15.
How much more expensive is a DC fast charger vs a level two?
16.
It seems some gas stations in Europe have been a bit more active in procuring charging. Is that a key factor in assessing Europe vs the US market? What else is important to compare and contrast?
17.
What do you think of the US charging operators pursuing M&A activity in Europe? Are you optimistic about their ability to compete there, or do you think the trend towards fast chargers will eventually undermine them?
18.
What’s your regulatory outlook for the charging sector – is anything vital happening in the short term? Do you think there will be significant impact from the US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act?
