Gridserve / Ecotricity deal
Discussion
Gridserve are acquiring 25% of Ecotricity's Electric Highway.
Immediate replacement program for existing units with new triple-standard contactless payment ones, that can charge two cars at the same time. Should be "mostly" done by summer.
Bigger rollout of 6-12 high power (350kW DC) rapid chargers at these motorway services sites over a longer period.
Gridserve taking over the back-end, billing, and 24/7 support of these.
https://youtu.be/lnuH43-nowM
https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-news/2021/ecotric...
https://www.gridserve.com/2021/03/12/ecotricity-an...
Immediate replacement program for existing units with new triple-standard contactless payment ones, that can charge two cars at the same time. Should be "mostly" done by summer.
Bigger rollout of 6-12 high power (350kW DC) rapid chargers at these motorway services sites over a longer period.
Gridserve taking over the back-end, billing, and 24/7 support of these.
https://youtu.be/lnuH43-nowM
https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-news/2021/ecotric...
https://www.gridserve.com/2021/03/12/ecotricity-an...
smallredball said:
sjg said:
Bigger rollout of 6-12 high power (350kW DC) rapid chargers at these motorway services sites over a longer period.
A dozen for the whole country? Dale Vince is a t
t of epic proportions /opinion. Having met the man with two colleagues from the Zoe club 8 years ago he was unable to answer any of the basic questions asked of him (what was the road map for charger repair, when did he think he would secure funding, how many engineers do they employ etc), just basic questions that a CEO would/should know. He arrived in a diesel BMW and came across stuck up and very self-opinionated. Every single 50KW I visited in 2014 was out of service, most with a pair of bags over the chargers.
I am pleased that Gridserve has secured a deal with a plan to get things moving again, but somehow Dale weasled £30M from Gridserve in exchange for 25% of the network - which was already a monopoly that has been previously bailed out at government level. The sooner he steps down completely, the faster the uptake of EV's as the public charging network IS the problem.
t of epic proportions /opinion. Having met the man with two colleagues from the Zoe club 8 years ago he was unable to answer any of the basic questions asked of him (what was the road map for charger repair, when did he think he would secure funding, how many engineers do they employ etc), just basic questions that a CEO would/should know. He arrived in a diesel BMW and came across stuck up and very self-opinionated. Every single 50KW I visited in 2014 was out of service, most with a pair of bags over the chargers. I am pleased that Gridserve has secured a deal with a plan to get things moving again, but somehow Dale weasled £30M from Gridserve in exchange for 25% of the network - which was already a monopoly that has been previously bailed out at government level. The sooner he steps down completely, the faster the uptake of EV's as the public charging network IS the problem.
LordFlathead said:
Dale Vince is a tt of epic proportions /opinion. Having met the man with two colleagues from the Zoe club 8 years ago he was unable to answer any of the basic questions asked of him (what was the road map for charger repair, when did he think he would secure funding, how many engineers do they employ etc), just basic questions that a CEO would/should know. He arrived in a diesel BMW and came across stuck up and very self-opinionated. Every single 50KW I visited in 2014 was out of service, most with a pair of bags over the chargers.
I am pleased that Gridserve has secured a deal with a plan to get things moving again, but somehow Dale weasled £30M from Gridserve in exchange for 25% of the network - which was already a monopoly that has been previously bailed out at government level. The sooner he steps down completely, the faster the uptake of EV's as the public charging network IS the problem.
I have to say I've never been impressed with him either. Even one of the statements he gave on this talks about "..back in the early days when they were doing 7kw points (uk 3 pin plug)..." - while it might have been an overly enthusiastic editorial addition, I can see him saying itt of epic proportions /opinion. Having met the man with two colleagues from the Zoe club 8 years ago he was unable to answer any of the basic questions asked of him (what was the road map for charger repair, when did he think he would secure funding, how many engineers do they employ etc), just basic questions that a CEO would/should know. He arrived in a diesel BMW and came across stuck up and very self-opinionated. Every single 50KW I visited in 2014 was out of service, most with a pair of bags over the chargers. I am pleased that Gridserve has secured a deal with a plan to get things moving again, but somehow Dale weasled £30M from Gridserve in exchange for 25% of the network - which was already a monopoly that has been previously bailed out at government level. The sooner he steps down completely, the faster the uptake of EV's as the public charging network IS the problem.
The double headers worry a touch, these things are invariably limited by the incoming supply and those "T people" constantly moan about getting power on site, so a double header isn't necessarily going to change the world if sharing a 50kw supply
But for all that, its a massive step in the right direction, decent reliable kit even at 50kw would be a start, and aiming high with 350kw and other tricks to load balance is very much looking to the future. .
It amazed me what a terrible job they did. Long journeys often involve motors they had a clear market and were well ahead of the curve too.
Surely if they had reliable chargers at every service station, they would have been doing very well? Or perhaps there wasn't enough demand to justify the investment?
Surely if they had reliable chargers at every service station, they would have been doing very well? Or perhaps there wasn't enough demand to justify the investment?
covmutley said:
It amazed me what a terrible job they did. Long journeys often involve motors they had a clear market and were well ahead of the curve too.
Surely if they had reliable chargers at every service station, they would have been doing very well? Or perhaps there wasn't enough demand to justify the investment?
I was under the impression that Nissan funded (paid) for the Rapid Chargers installed at the Motorway Services that were run by Eco. From then on the service and repair of them was down to Eco?? They were also free to use back then too so someone was paying for the electrons, charging a fee started 2015-2016? I'd guess some of those chargers must date back to 2011-12 so getting on a bit.Surely if they had reliable chargers at every service station, they would have been doing very well? Or perhaps there wasn't enough demand to justify the investment?
Pleased that things are moving forward Eco should have been made to take action a long time ago, 30 million for 25% sounds like a proper result for Dale what's his name.
ncbbmw said:
I was under the impression that Nissan funded (paid) for the Rapid Chargers installed at the Motorway Services that were run by Eco. From then on the service and repair of them was down to Eco?? They were also free to use back then too so someone was paying for the electrons, charging a fee started 2015-2016? I'd guess some of those chargers must date back to 2011-12 so getting on a bit.
Pleased that things are moving forward Eco should have been made to take action a long time ago, 30 million for 25% sounds like a proper result for Dale what's his name.
Yes, he signed the exclusive contract at MSAs, got Nissan/Renault to pay plus liberal EU grants, implemented through worst billing platform going and used cross subsidies to offer free charging to those that signed up for on his domestic electricity tariff in a completely different company. Pleased that things are moving forward Eco should have been made to take action a long time ago, 30 million for 25% sounds like a proper result for Dale what's his name.
He than sat back, did diddly squat to encourage EV adoption and waited for the day where he could get others to invest as he held the legal rights.
Nice work if you want to make money, but the early pretence at being in it for the environment was just that, pretence. He’s not the only one doing that in the EV world.
Tesla’s supercharging speed advantage being put into perspective, and losing to a car with, according to astelittledix, chronic inefficiency. It seems the etron can drive, and replenish it’s lost electrons on a 175kw charger faster than a Model 3 can even though the model 3 used less energy on the drive. Superchargers are still way more prevalent but the chargers used here are cropping up everywhere. These specific ones aren't ecotricity/gridserve but indicative of the new high speed ones they're looking to install, if not slower. The current limitation (did you see what I did there?) is the car on the chargers that can deliver 150kw+ so anything faster is about future proofing
https://youtu.be/9nt6cxwxOWY
https://youtu.be/9nt6cxwxOWY
Edited by Heres Johnny on Wednesday 17th March 08:14
Heres Johnny said:
Tesla’s supercharging speed advantage being put into perspective, and losing to a car with, according to astelittledix, chronic inefficiency. It seems the etron can drive, and replenish it’s lost electrons on a 175kw charger faster than a Model 3 can even though the model 3 used less energy on the drive. Superchargers are still way more prevalent but the chargers used here are cropping up everywhere. These specific ones aren't ecotricity/gridserve but indicative of the new high speed ones they're looking to install, if not slower. The current limitation (did you see what I did there?) is the car on the chargers that can deliver 150kw+ so anything faster is about future proofing
https://youtu.be/9nt6cxwxOWY
A couple of points to note: No mention of pre-heating the Tesla battery or did I miss that? https://youtu.be/9nt6cxwxOWY
You need to pre-heat to get the charging performance.
My Model 3 LR charges way into 234KW - much higher than the 175KW from Shell chargers.
Mine chargers from 70 odd miles with pre-charging, and that gives you 1064 miles per hour charge, or 20 minutes to get to 90% (which is where I charge to). Also what's the point in being a minute quicker if you use more energy for less miles? Tortoise and Hare.. you will need to stop again earlier.
He missed the biggest points about charging:
1) Shell rates @£0.39p per kw/h. So 50KW costs £19.50!! Not cheap at all.
2) Tesla rates @£0.25p per kw/h. So 50KW costs £12.50
3) Tesla nav turns on the battery heaters when enroute to chargers so when you arrive you get the fastest charges. He forgot to mention that!
4) He was very lucky to find TWO chargers not occupied for his test - you can see Mr. Leaf turn up wanting a charge but as he had both chargers he drove to look for somewhere else. That never happens in a Tesla.
Also Esso app does not show if the chargers are occupied or working! By comparison; most Tesla bays have between 8 and 24 stalls and you are only ever there for 25 mins max so they are never full and even if a couple of chargers do not work (yet to see a broken one) you never get charger anxiety.
LordFlathead said:
A couple of points to note: No mention of pre-heating the Tesla battery or did I miss that?
You need to pre-heat to get the charging performance.
My Model 3 LR charges way into 234KW - much higher than the 175KW from Shell chargers.
Mine chargers from 70 odd miles with pre-charging, and that gives you 1064 miles per hour charge, or 20 minutes to get to 90% (which is where I charge to). Also what's the point in being a minute quicker if you use more energy for less miles? Tortoise and Hare.. you will need to stop again earlier.
He missed the biggest points about charging:
1) Shell rates @£0.39p per kw/h. So 50KW costs £19.50!! Not cheap at all.
2) Tesla rates @£0.25p per kw/h. So 50KW costs £12.50
3) Tesla nav turns on the battery heaters when enroute to chargers so when you arrive you get the fastest charges. He forgot to mention that!
4) He was very lucky to find TWO chargers not occupied for his test - you can see Mr. Leaf turn up wanting a charge but as he had both chargers he drove to look for somewhere else. That never happens in a Tesla.
Also Esso app does not show if the chargers are occupied or working! By comparison; most Tesla bays have between 8 and 24 stalls and you are only ever there for 25 mins max so they are never full and even if a couple of chargers do not work (yet to see a broken one) you never get charger anxiety.
You’re far to defensive and incorrect in placesYou need to pre-heat to get the charging performance.
My Model 3 LR charges way into 234KW - much higher than the 175KW from Shell chargers.
Mine chargers from 70 odd miles with pre-charging, and that gives you 1064 miles per hour charge, or 20 minutes to get to 90% (which is where I charge to). Also what's the point in being a minute quicker if you use more energy for less miles? Tortoise and Hare.. you will need to stop again earlier.
He missed the biggest points about charging:
1) Shell rates @£0.39p per kw/h. So 50KW costs £19.50!! Not cheap at all.
2) Tesla rates @£0.25p per kw/h. So 50KW costs £12.50
3) Tesla nav turns on the battery heaters when enroute to chargers so when you arrive you get the fastest charges. He forgot to mention that!
4) He was very lucky to find TWO chargers not occupied for his test - you can see Mr. Leaf turn up wanting a charge but as he had both chargers he drove to look for somewhere else. That never happens in a Tesla.
Also Esso app does not show if the chargers are occupied or working! By comparison; most Tesla bays have between 8 and 24 stalls and you are only ever there for 25 mins max so they are never full and even if a couple of chargers do not work (yet to see a broken one) you never get charger anxiety.
Supercharger costs haven’t been that price for a while, the prices have gone up
The guy makes a living primarily selling Teslas, if anything he’s pro Tesla, but either way he’s giving a real world example that the average car owner might experience. Not everyone wants to plan out routes, determine they’re going to charge 20 mins earlier and live like that. Sometimes plans change and you might take the opportunity to top up like he did grabbing a sandwich.
He could have suggested driving 20 miles out of his way to use a supercharger but how is that actually better? This the type of charger is appearing in lots of places. We didn’t think 50 bay petrol stations every 50 miles was clever but chargers like that will be? On a motorway service station larger numbers are welcome, and that’s coming.
I’ve waited several times for a free charger, and had many many more times where I’ve shared a supply in a V2 charger and been limited to 60kw. V2 are still the most common supercharger
Pros and cons of both, but if you can’t welcome what’s happening and see the benefits then that’s pretty sad,
Heres Johnny said:
Yes, he signed the exclusive contract at MSAs, got Nissan/Renault to pay plus liberal EU grants, implemented through worst billing platform going and used cross subsidies to offer free charging to those that signed up for on his domestic electricity tariff in a completely different company.
He than sat back, did diddly squat to encourage EV adoption and waited for the day where he could get others to invest as he held the legal rights.
Nice work if you want to make money, but the early pretence at being in it for the environment was just that, pretence. He’s not the only one doing that in the EV world.
Ah,interesting. So he knew the value was in the contract, which kind of doesn't encourage investment, unless there was something in the contract requiring him to invest? Fair play to him, I suppose?He than sat back, did diddly squat to encourage EV adoption and waited for the day where he could get others to invest as he held the legal rights.
Nice work if you want to make money, but the early pretence at being in it for the environment was just that, pretence. He’s not the only one doing that in the EV world.
But a shame. I had an i3 rex and other than home charging only ever used ecotricity. But it was not reliable and not enough chargers, and I was very glad to have the rex on more than 1 occasion!
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