Easier charging, happier EV drivers
Cross Collaboration to improve the EV charging experience.
First in line for the latest phone model, home completely wired and latest gadget securely on order, David Mackey is a self-professed “techie.” Historically known for driving a gas-fueled vehicle, it wasn’t until this year that he took the leap into the life of an electric vehicle (EV) driver.
“It was really the technical components that helped make the decision for me.”
David Mackey, new EV driver
David lives in Washington, DC in a condo. Like a growing number of EV drivers in urban areas, he relies on public charging infrastructure to get him where he needs to go.
Luckily, the nearest public charging station is approximately a mile away from his home. His place of work also supplies a charging station, so charging was not an issue that caused pause while purchasing his vehicle.
For many EV drivers, this isn’t always the case.
Meeting EV drivers where they are
According to the Pew Research Center, people who live in urban areas are more likely to have greater accessibility to public charging options. For those that live in suburban areas and own homes with garages, home charging may be more favorable. But seldom are people just city, or just suburb people. Even those who charge at home may find themselves in need of a charge during longer trips or seek out public fast-charging options when they need a charge but don’t have the time for Level 1 charging, the charging equipment often provided by vehicle manufacturers with new electric cars. Robust EV public infrastructure helps enable EV drivers to charge where, when and how they want.
Weekend warrior
Being new to DC, David is still exploring his new town and its surroundings. Once he inputs a destination into his navigation, his particular EV alerts him that his current charge won’t take him the distance and identifies public charging stations along the way. Even so, the switch from a gas to an electric vehicle has caused a switch in his mind-set.
“My muscle memory tells me 'gas up the car as soon as you go below half a tank,' but with my EV, I am supposed to wait until my battery reaches the 20% mark before I charge. I'm still working through that mentality.”
David Mackey, new EV driver
David does admit that in being a new EV driver, he has a lot of applications (apps) downloaded on his mobile device to enable charging at any brand of public EV charger, which helps ease his “range anxiety” – the fear of not knowing if you can find a charger when you need one.
A “working” solution
In many cases now, each charge point operator has a different app through which the driver initiates and pays for their charging session. That means a driver may have to download four to five apps just to ensure they can charge when they need to along their journey. Then, once the appropriate app is downloaded, there is a chance that when the charge is initiated, it fails. It could be a payment issue, the charger itself, or other factors out of the driver’s control.
“There are multiple points where things could go wrong,” said Barbara, Stoyko, Senior Vice President, Mobility Americas, Shell. “We are very much still in the learning phase of this technology. While the first generation of EV adopters are the people willing to ride the wave that comes with new technology – bumps and all, we think the next wave of EV drivers will expect a more seamless experience. We have to get this right if we want to enable EV adoption.”
This is where Shell Recharge Solutions, the technical business behind Shell’s Shell Recharge-branded EV charging network, is hoping to make public EV charging less taxing.
How does it work?
Shell Recharge Solutions’ virtual Mobility Service Provider (vMSP) embeds into auto manufacturers’ apps to streamline the charging experience by giving EV drivers access to more than 115,000 North American public EV chargers in the Shell Recharge roaming network without the need to use separate apps for each individual charging provider. Meaning just one app to download. The vMSP also embeds into Original Equipment Manufacturer or OEMs’ apps without the need for EV drivers to download the Shell app. The Recharge network and roaming networks are all available within the Shell app.
As an additional benefit, data from the vMSP can be used to improve the overall customer EV charging experience. The software provides data on why and where charging sessions fail. For example, the address of the charging point may not be correct, or the charger isn’t visible from the address given, or the latitude and longitude of the site may not be right.
Shell Recharge Solutions can then provide that information back to the charge point operators and the original car manufacturers to help them evaluate whether to make adjustments to their vehicle software or charge point software to fix any issues.
In one recent example, data showed public EV chargers were being timed out before the charge was complete. Once Shell Recharge Solutions identified this issue, the charge point operator provided clearer labeling within the app to make it easier for customers to identify and initiate charging at the specific public EV charger at which they were parked.
“The energy transition requires unprecedented collaboration. If we want to enable EV adoption across the board, improving the customer experience is key.”
Barbara Stoyko, Senior Vice President, Mobility Americas, Shell
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