Dr. Aoife O'Grady:

The modelling we have done so far has been at a relatively high level at a county level. Really, with what we are trying to do, again, the difficulty comes into what we know is the total energy demand. What we need to try to work out is how to break that down into how much of that energy demand will be apportioned by our 7 kW or lower charges and how much will be done. Will an overnight or six-to-eight-hour charge typically be done at a place of residence or maybe a workplace during the day? Then, we have destination chargers, which would be 25 kW to 50 kW, when a person would be charging from anywhere between 45 minutes to two to three hours. The idea there is to try to match that to consumer behaviour. That is the big challenge for EV infrastructure.

Previously, all our vehicle refuelling has been on the basis that a person stops for five minutes, refuels, pays and goes. Now, what we are trying to do is match our infrastructure to consumer behaviour. Therefore, where people's cars will dwell for a long period of time, either at their home or place of work if they commute by car, we will provide a low-power charge or recommend a low power charge in terms of grid capacity. It is also better for the vehicle anyway. Then, where people have a shorter dwelling time of one to three hours but again, not a quick splash and dash, we would be talking about 25 kW to 50 kW. Then, for real emergencies like when a person is on the motorway and the battery starts blinking with 150 km to go, that is when the splash and dash is needed. That person just pops in, refuels for maybe five to ten minutes, gets 150 km on the charge and makes his or her way to the destination. That is the challenge. It is about getting the right level of power in the right place to meet consumer needs.