By the end of 2023, there were more than 40 million EVs on the roads globally, which represents an increase of over 50% compared to 2022. Global sales figures for the first quarter of 2024 indicate a similar increase in EV adoption expected by the end of this year. But while EV adoption continues its meteoric ride, EV charging infrastructure still has a way to go. In a McKinsey survey that explored consumer sentiment on EV charging, 80% of respondents considering an EV as their next car believe current availability of public charging is insufficient. 70% of EV owners share these concerns. Private homeowners have it good, with about half of all EV charging sessions happening at home, but for everyone else, buildout of workplace EV charging is key to increasing adoption.
Currently, workplace EV charging only accounts for 10% of all charging sessions globally, which aligns with approximately 10% of charging points in Europe being at a workplace today. But a PwC analysis indicates that the workplace is the fastest growing EV charging segment, and ChargeUp Europe expects that charging at work will increase to 15% by 2030. Indeed, workplace EV charging will become increasingly important to sustain the continued growth in EV adoption as more drivers without access to home charging enter the EV marketplace. A recent study by the UK government showed that half of UK drivers surveyed would be more likely to switch to an EV if they could charge at work.
Workplace EV charging benefits employers
For employers, making EV charging available to employees offers benefits beyond contributing to driving EV adoption. These include:
Establishing a “green” brand. The availability of EV charging is a tangible signal to employees, investors, shareholders, and customers that an organization is committed to the environment, sustainability, and social responsibility.
Recruiting and retaining Millennial and Gen-Z talent. Numerous studies have found that the vast majority of millennials and Gen Z employees prioritize social and environmental responsibility when they are considering job offers. 61% go so far as to only work for companies that actively care for society and the environment. It seems that the tangible environmental benefits of workplace EV charging can go a long way to attracting the new generation workforce.
Increasing employee satisfaction and loyalty. Free or low-cost workplace EV charging is itself an attractive benefit for existing and prospective employees. It offers both convenience and relief from range anxiety for those who want to “do the right thing” and move to an electric vehicle. It can even be an incentive for remote employees to return to the office.
Developing new revenue streams. As workplace EV charging continues to take market share, companies can recoup some of the cost of offering employees free or low-cost workplace charging by allowing visitors to use the charging stations for a fee, or to open up the chargers to the general public outside of office hours.
Contributing to meeting ESG goals. A workplace EV charging program can help organizations support sustainability initiatives. For example, using onsite solar power generation and local storage for EV charging can positively impact emission reduction goals by replacing grid power with renewable energy. And by promoting EV adoption among employees, workplace EV charging also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions when those employees are commuting to work. Finally, installing workplace charging can help companies meet the criteria for green building certification.
Incentives ease the burden of providing workplace EV charging
Government agencies at the country, region, state, and municipality levels typically offer incentives ranging from grants to tax credits to help defray the cost of installing workplace EV charging infrastructure. For example, businesses in rural or low-income areas in the US can benefit from tax credits of up to $100,000 for each charger installed. Similarly, the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) offered by the UK government will subsidize £350 each for up to 40 sockets (i.e., up to £14,000) for qualifying businesses. By July 2023, over 45,000 WCS-funded sockets had been installed.
Many utilities also offer incentive programs for workplace charging. Overall, available incentives vary widely from one location to another. The best approach to finding available incentives is to start local — with your utility and your municipality — and get their assistance with identifying applicable regional or national incentives.
Considerations for workplace EV charging success
Companies that want to offer workplace EV charging have a number of investment and business model options to choose from. For example, you can partner with an Electric Vehicle Service Provider (EVSP) or Charge Point Operator (CPO). You can take end-to-end responsibility for building and managing your EV charging infrastructure. Or you can structure a hybrid approach.
Companies managing their own workplace EV charging operations, whether one location or hundreds, will need EV charging management software. Consider these essentials to achieving successful operations:
Seamless driver-first charging experience. You will need a way to onboard/offboard employees, communicate with them, and track their charging activity. Your drivers will need a mobile app and web portal that enable intuitive, self-service EV charging with capabilities like reserving chargers and queuing.
Smart energy management. Look for software with the intelligence to automatically monitor, manage, and adjust energy consumption based on availability, demand, cost, and your policies. It should support integration of onsite battery storage and renewable energy today and future bidirectional vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-building (V2B) charging.
Operational excellence. Insist on remote, automatic resolution of software-based issues to maximize charger uptime and reduce maintenance costs; real-time monitoring and control of chargers; intuitive, easy-to-use management tools like operator dashboards, alerts and notifications, advanced reports, and analytics; and integration with your business and building management systems.
Getting started with workplace EV charging
Empower is a project dedicated to promoting EV-friendly workplaces in the US. The project offers a guide to getting a workplace EV charging program off the ground in nine steps:
- Assess demand: understand how many of your employees are likely to use chargers you set up at your premises on a regular basis.
- Engage key stakeholders: Installing and maintaining EV chargers is not a trivial undertaking. You will need buy-in from several stakeholders to get this off the ground.
- Select EV charging sites: Convenience, accessibility and proximity to a power source are only some of the many factors you need to consider when deciding where to place your chargers.
- Choose your chargers: There is a wide range of charging equipment to choose from. You’ll need to assess the right mix for your purposes.
- Develop charging policies: Who gets to charge? When? And with which pricing scheme?
- Install chargers: You’ll need a certified contractor who is familiar with all relevant codes and safety regulations.
- Add signage: EV charging spaces should be clearly marked and reserved exclusively for EVs.
- Monitor usage: Once you’ve launched, you need to monitor things like utilization, usage patterns, costs and more.
- Maintenance: After you’ve gone to all the trouble to provide workplace EV charging, you want to make sure your chargers remain reliable and fully functional.
Wrap-up
By offering workplace electric vehicle (EV) charging for employees, businesses can contribute to three greenhouse gas-reduction initiatives to help recharge the planet: electrification of transportation, “greening” of buildings, and meeting ESG goals. Workplace EV charging can also make it easier to attract and retain employees. For more information, the U.S. Department of Energy offers information and resources that can be helpful to any company planning a workplace charging program.
