Load management enables CPOs to expand sites without energy upgrades

Electric vehicle (EV) charging business Evolt Charging has launched a dynamic load management (DLM) system which enables chargepoint operators (CPOs) to install additional rapid and ultra-rapid charging units at existing sites without the need to secure additional energy capacity.

Evolt currently has more than 15,000 rapid or ultra-rapid DC chargers installed across seven UK networks including Osprey, MFG, Be.EV and SSE Energy Solutions.

The DLM system has been designed to optimise power distribution from all chargers on a local network based on vehicle demand, which can vary significantly depending on each vehicle’s maximum charge rate and battery percentage when charging. The system also recognises unused capacity at one charger and distributes it to another, allowing other vehicles to charge at an optimal rate.

By optimising power distribution, charging speeds are maximised, waiting times are reduced and the overall customer experience of using the CPO’s network is improved, according to Evolt.

Managing director of Evolt Charging Anne Buckingham says that with increasing demand for charging infrastructure, CPOs face a need to follow a new strategy of reviewing and expanding existing charging facilities. She says that while “It was rare early on for there to be more than three or four at each location, with more EVs on the road there is now greater demand, and CPOs want to avoid drivers having to wait – or worse, going somewhere else.

“We know CPOs want to develop and expand upon existing sites but the need to increase power capacity – and the costs and times its takes to do so – can be a significant barrier to adding more chargers, or to upgrading from AC to DC units.”