Recent investment in renewable energy will ensure the current supply and price crisis can be overcome within a couple of years, founder of intelligent charging provider Ohme, Dave Watson, has told Autocar.
Reflecting on the energy issues currently dominating headlines, Watson said: “Green energy is coming on tap fast. The investment began years ago and the implementation is just around the corner. That investment is just the start, too. The incentives to build more onshore wind and solar have never been greater.
“Yes, of course in the short-term it is very painful. Paying double what you were a year ago cannot be anything other than terrible. The trouble we’re in now is a massive pinch – but it will only last a couple of years because the investment has already gone into creating the renewable energy sources that will solve the crisis.”
Ohme is the preferred charging partner of the Volkswagen Group and Motability in the UK, with its hardware and software uniquely able to activate charging when energy is at its most abundant, and therefore, cheapest at any time of day, ensuring excess energy is stored and – in conjunction with a flexible tariff – saving customers money.
Talking about the energy crisis’s likely impact on electric car sales, Watson said: “Today’s situation is a double-edged sword. The downside is that people are paying more for their energy, so one of the big savings has been undermined. The price cap has been critical, because there was a risk that charging an EV could have become more expensive than filling with petrol or diesel.
“But the higher energy prices and higher volatility also makes the services we provide more valuable to customers and suppliers. We’re not just about energy supply, but managing that supply to best effect, and that’s never been more important. There’s now more value to smart tech.”