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While EV charge points are growing globally, Juniper Research claims there is a ‘significant gap’ between the growth of public and home chargers.
The adoption of electric vehicles (EV) is being hindered by a lack of public charging infrastructure, according to a new report by Juniper Research.
The report predicts that the global number of EV charging points in service will grow from 14.2m this year to 45m in 2027. But this analysis also predicts a “significant gap” between public and home charger adoption, with more than twice as many home chargers as public chargers being in service by 2027.
Juniper Research claims that the lack of public infrastructure is a “stumbling block” to EV adoption in urban environments, due to the fact that certain locations, such as apartments, typically can’t install EV home chargers.
“It is clear that regulator initiatives, such as requiring charging points to be added to new buildings, are insufficient by themselves to roll out charging infrastructure on a wide enough scale to drive environmental benefits,” the report’s co-author Nick Maynard said.
“EV charging networks must work together with both city authorities and each other to identify how best to plug gaps in charging infrastructure, or EV adoption will continue to be limited.”
Growing fragmentation
The research suggests the global EV market will surge to $300bn by 2027, up from $66bn this year. But Juniper Research also claims that “fragmentation” in charging networks will restrict the adoption of EVs.
The report claims EV charge points are “overwhelmingly” located in urban areas, which could cause “range anxiety” among potential drivers. The research also said there is a lack of standards around pricing and the apps used at these various charge points.
“EV charging networks must simplify access and work with local authorities to roll out chargers to a wider spread of locations, or the EV market will struggle to accelerate,” the report said.
Juniper Research predicts that automotive manufacturers will play a “vital role” in reducing the level of fragmentation, due to the power they hold in this market.
“By partnering with charging operators and offering bundled solutions, vehicle manufacturers can be the first port of call for charging services,” the report said.
Many companies are working to install EV charge points across Ireland. In July, start-up Go Eve raised £3m in seed funding to expand the production of its charging technology called DockChain.
In May, Smartzone announced plans to install 25,000 EV chargers for homes across Ireland by 2025. These chargers will be supported by Monta, which has developed its own platform to let users manage and set up charge points.
Earlier that month, Belfast start-up Weev received a pledge of up to £50m to install and maintain thousands of EV charging points over the next five years.
Heavy vehicle charge points
Meanwhile, research suggests that the commercial vehicle charging market is surging across Europe and North America.
A report from Berg Insight predicts that the number of connected charge points for heavy electric commercial vehicles will reach 390,000 in Europe by the end of 2030, up from 6,400 in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of similar charge points in North America will grow from 4,150 in 2022 to 378,000 by 2030.
Berg Insight said the commercial vehicle charging market is still in its early stages in Europe and North America, but noted that several notable charge point operators have started their own projects.
“Connectivity will be crucial for managing the charging process effectively and a vital part of the charging infrastructure for both non-public and public charging,” said Berg Insight IoT analyst Love Meuller.
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