EV: Top 3 Considerations for EV Charging Solution Providers

As businesses all over the world ‘go green’, this is poised to be a gangbuster year for electronic vehicle charging and you are probably already reaping the benefits of deploying your operations.  

Research studies like the one conducted by Facts and Factors, state that the EV charging station market was valued around $18.22 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to $115 billion by 2028. And with President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law targeting 50% of electric vehicle sales shares in the U.S. by 2030, there has never been a better time to enter the EV charging market.  

You are probably aware of this and have given its consideration when deploying your EV charging program and its infrastructure. Nevertheless, it is always good practice to re-evaluate your programs and ensure your strategic plan and performance is aligned with your ROI. Here are some considerations that the EV charging companies we serve keep in mind as they deploy and run their operations.  

 1) Solution Elements and Logistics  

The blueprint of your EV charging infrastructure should have a visual representation of the space and existing resources. A health check on your infrastructure should include questions like:  

• How many charging stations do you have?  
• Who is able to use these charging stations?  
• What kind of chargers/what charging speeds are you offering?  
• What type of connectivity do you have?  
• How are you addressing security and protection of the devices? 
• What is your payment structure?  

Some businesses choose to offer EV charging as a free utility for a certain period of time, with the hope that EV vehicle drivers who stop by for a charge will become regular patrons. What model did you adopt and how is this working for you?  Have you considered ways you can make your charging stations stand out?  

2) Analytics and Monitoring  

To ensure that your EV charging stations run well, you need visibility into the charging statuses, hourly trends, and quality reports of each of the stations in your fleet. To effectively monitor and manage your connected vehicle chargers, you should onboard with a platform that provides answers to some, or all, of the following questions:  

• Is the EV charging station actively charging?  
• Are you maintaining a stable internet connection on your charging station? 
• Are the charging bays occupied or empty?  
• What is the quality of the electricity being fed to the EV charger?   

Insights are only as beneficial as they are actionable, so equally important to consider is who will manage this solution on a day-to-day basis. From performing maintenance as needed to keeping a pulse on how the fleet is performing, recruiting capable staff is a vital part of the success equation.  

 A few more things to consider:   

• What expertise does your staff need in order to maintain a successful EV charging solution – for the near-term as well as the long-term?  
• Are your current employees well trained and able to re-train new staff? 
• How are you ensuring that your EV chargers are meeting industry-wide standards? 

3) Ensuring Success and Sustainability  

To evaluate the success and longevity of your EV charging program – including how to make a change when something is not working – establishing a plan for tracking the metrics that are important to your enterprise is essential. 

To determine what success means to your organization, consider some of the following:  

• How are you determining ROI of your connected EV charging solution?   
• What are the most important success metrics you follow?  
• What kind of timeframe(s) are you using to measure success?  

Final Thoughts  

Without a doubt, EV charging will continue to be one of the leading growth areas in transportation over the next decade. Investing in this infrastructure early will certainly pay dividends in the long run for businesses and entrepreneurs alike.   

Kajeet can help you with connectivity and IoT management. Contact us and we will gladly evaluate your operation and assist you in successfully standing up an EV Charging solution that increases your speed to market, maximizes your operational efficiencies, and provides you opportunities for additional revenue streams.