Centrica and NCP to trial EV ‘charge park’ for professional drivers
"One of the big barriers we need to overcome in terms of adoption is how professional drivers can make time in their day to charge. While there has been a great deal of research in to how to make charging faster, little has been done to enhance convenience, so that charging can fit comfortably in to our busy lives."
Andreas Atkins, Head of Electric Vehicle Strategy, Centrica Innovations
The UK’s leading energy supplier and the UK’s number one car park operator will focus on the challenge of making charging more convenient, creating potential ways of charging commercial fleets and taxis in public spaces.
The first pilot ‘charge park’ is expected in the new year, with the two companies promising to examine how to combine leisure services and technology to make charging less onerous. NCP manages over 500 sites and has over 150,000 parking spaces.
"Mechanisms such as the congestion charge and Ultra Low Emissions zones are drivers for the adoption of electric fleets. We are investing to grow the number of our sites offering EV charging, but we want to do so in a way that’s fit for purpose for all of our customers."
Jonathan Scott, CEO, NCP
Centrica is committed to helping drive EV enablement and has recently expanded its digital service, Local Heroes, to offer homeowners electric vehicle (EV) charging installations while Centrica Business Solutions has launched a package of solutions for large businesses that includes new solar and battery storage facilities to help meet increased onsite power demand.
Michael Pullan, Senior Communications Manager
James Gordon-MacIntosh
Notes
About NCP
NCP is the UK’s leading provider of car parking for customers across the country. The business manages over 500 sites and has over 150,000 parking spaces, from city centres to commuter sites to airports across the land.
The business sees over 3.9 million cars pass through its car parks every month.
NCP is also bringing innovation to the car parking sector, making parking more convenient and simpler with a range of products and services to include Gateway solution, NCP ParkPass, Season Tickets, cashless and mobile payment options car parks and much more.
As of August 2017, NCP is owned by Park24, a major parking operator and listed Japanese company, and Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), a Japanese government-owned financial institution.