Better use of data is required to ensure future electric vehicle chargers are located where they can offer the most benefit, according to a new report from a Government-backed body.
The Geospatial Commission, an independent committee established by the Cabinet Office, has just completed a study into how advanced location-based data and analytics can help accelerate the rollout of EV chargers by ensuring that are put in the most needed locations.
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The UK government estimates that at least 300,000 public chargers will be needed by 2030, up from around 35,000 today. But in its report the Geospatial Commission notes that “what matters is location” and says that to build a charging network that will work for everyone, “chargepoints must be rolled out where they are needed for today and tomorrow”.
The report outlines for key areas where the Commission believes that location data can be used. The first is to model future demand, which will help identify how many and what type of chargepoints are required where and when.
It also calls for granular data about energy capacity and physical location constraints to be used to support planners to help identify suitable locations for chargers more effectively.
The Commission believes that making chargepoint location data more findable, accessible, interoperable and usable (or FAIR, if you want it in a catchy acronym) will help the private sector to offer a better charging experience for driver.
Finally, the report says that spatial metrics and other data can be used by the government itself to better monitor the rollout of chargers at the national and regional level.
Following the report, the Geospatial Commission has launched a feasibility study into how to widen access to chargepoint demand modelling, and will also look into how to create a dataset for off-street parking to help planners identify suitable sites. It will also track how firms use data to make chargers more FAIR for commuters.
Baroness Neville Rolfe, a Cabinet Office minister, said: “The UK must have an electric vehicle chargepoint network that works for the entire country. The Geospatial Commission’s report highlights how location data can help build the right infrastructure in the right places.
“Drivers will then have the confidence to switch to EVs in the knowledge that they will be able to charge them easily and effectively and not be delayed in reaching their designation wherever it is.”
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