Berg Insight has just released new findings about the market for electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Europe and North America, with the number of connected EV charging points in the regions reaching an estimated 7,4-million units in 2023.
Europe represents the largest share comprising around 5,5 million of these charging points, corresponding to a connectivity penetration rate of 70%. In North America, about 1,9 million of the total number of charging points were connected – equivalent to a connectivity penetration rate of 56%.
Growing at a compound annual growth rate of 37%, the number of connected charging points in the two regions is expected to reach 35,7-million in 2028.
The connected EV charging station market is served by a variety of players addressing the different segments.
Back-office software platforms for charging station management is offered by a variety of companies including software companies specialised in charging station management, hardware providers, and charge point operators (CPOs). The back-office platforms developed in-house by CPOs are in some cases also offered as white-label solutions to other CPOs.
ChargePoint is a leading CPO in North America that uses proprietary solutions and additionally offers these to other CPOs. The company is also a leader in terms of charging points connected to its software platform in North America.
Additional companies having a notable number of connected charging stations on their platforms in the region include Blink Charging, Flo, EV Connect, Shell Recharge Solutions and Tesla. ChargePoint and Enel X Way further account for the majority of the connected private chargers in the region.
Examples of specialised software vendors with a significant number of charging points connected to their platforms are more prolific in Europe and include Last Mile Solutions, Virta, GreenFlux, Driivz and AMPECO. Some more hardware focused actors like Easee, Zaptec and Pod Point have many connected charging points, but usually support a less comprehensive set of use cases with their software offering.
Full-service providers like Shell Recharge Solutions and EVBox (Engie) have become significant actors in Europe and have notable numbers of charging points connected to their back-office platforms. Several European CPOs have also developed proprietary software solutions with numerous charging points under management with examples including Vattenfall, Innogy and Allego.
“The integration of communications technology in EV charging stations can have a considerable impact on the energy costs related to an EV charging station,” says Caspar Jansson, IoT analyst at Berg Insight.
Connected charging stations can be included in grid service solutions for utilities where charging output can be temporarily reduced to ease the momentary pressure on the power grid. Load management can also reduce the strain on the grids by enabling charging output to be kept within the capacity of the grid connection.
“Connected charging points enable their owners to support utilities with demand response programmes and thereby also reduce their own charging costs,” Jansson adds. “The growing adoption of EVs, together with high energy prices, will only strengthen the case for connected and smart charging solutions.”
He adds that it can be valuable to connect home chargers too: “The number of connected home charging stations is growing in both regions. Connected chargers, for example, enable homeowners to be reimbursed for EV charging related to work travel – thereby reducing the need for public charging and the associated cost.”