Why Osprey believes EV charging is set for exponential growth

Ian Johnston was appointed CEO of the electric Osprey Charging Network in 2018, having previously held senior positions in both the renewable energy and automotive industries. Today, the 42-year-old is overseeing dramatic growth in the number of the network’s locations, chargers and charging capability. Here he describes his career to date, his company’s ambitious plans and explains why the UK’s charging network is set for exponential growth by the end of the year. What’s your background? “I started my career in the events team at Seat, notably around the British Touring Car Championship. Then I went to work for Rod McLeod, now the head of the Volkswagen brand in the UK, within the group. It was an amazing time, doing product launches, marketing communications and retail operations, looking after a group of dealers. I loved it, and a lot of my friends from the graduate scheme are still there.” What prompted you to leave? Were you an environmentalist at heart? “I’m not going to say I left because I wanted to save the world. At the time it was more about career progression. VW is brilliant at helping you achieve expertise and then moving you around, but I was looking to stretch my growth more quickly. “I went from VWG to a renewable hedge fund with five employees. They were a start-up and they were keen to employ people with corporate experience and grow a young team. They were delivering wind, solar and battery projects. “Then we started doing site finding work for the likes of Tesla and Osprey. There were some incredibly exciting projects. And when Investec bought Osprey in 2018 they interviewed me as part of their due diligence, to understand the grid, which was my area of expertise. They ended up bringing me in as CEO. “When I went in we had three sites and five charge points. Investec’s money didn’t just give us scope to grow, but it also gave us the name to be taken seriously. We’ve just been on a roll from there, really. This job is a collision of my car and renewable careers.” What were the early challenges? “To be taken seriously. Remember, this was just four years ago, but a lot of people - including landlords - just didn’t believe that electric cars would take off, so they didn’t really want to talk to these people asking to put chargers on their land. “Three things accelerated change. The fallout from Dieselgate took a while to feed through, and most significantly VW came to realise it had to change or die. Now the pandemic has made everyone a lot more conscious about air quality and lung health - and in the midst of that, the 2030 announcement really focused minds. It was a clear message to everyone that they probably will own an electric car in their lifetime. The subject suddenly became very relevant to a lot of people who hadn’t expected it to be.” There’s been a corporate shift too? “Yes, at a board level an environmental responsibility became very important, and making company car fleets green was an easy win; there were financial incentives, a good supply of different cars and quick, meaningful change was suddenly possible.” What kind of investment are you putting in? “Today, we’ve got 302 rapid chargers and by the end of the year we’ll have over 600 - so we’ll double the size of our network in the next six months. “But it’s not just about the number of chargers. The look and feel of our sites will transform, especially with the hubs we are planning. On major roads between destinations you need enough high-powered chargers to have confidence that you can arrive, charge and go. At destinations - supermarkets, for instance - the imperative for very high-speed charging is less. You are going to be there for a longer period of time anyway, so the charging speed only needs to get you to 80% by the time you walk out. We aim to match charging times with the dwell times on all of our sites.” But presumably good business demands busy chargers. Won’t rural areas be overlooked? “The truth is that we and our peers have got more investment than we can spend at the moment. The issue isn’t the money, it’s the fact you need a landlord that’s willing to give you a long enough lease to invest in the required infrastructure. “There's simply not enough land available at the moment to build all the charging sites we want. If you added up all the available investment then there’s probably a billion pounds ready to be spent, but we need the landlords at the right strategic locations to be willing to work with us on realistic terms to make the investment worthwhile.” What does ‘realistic’ look like? “You can’t cut corners in a competitive marketplace; we need to build desirable locations where people want to charge, not just put a charger in the ground and hope that’s enough. There is a huge investment in the grid infrastructure, and so this requires a view over a number of decades rather than a number of years to be financially viable”. Do you think there will be a tipping point where landlords will come to you asking to install charge points? “To an extent, there already is - the supermarkets, the local authorities and so on are all starting to realise the benefits and requirements of having chargers. In two years time the procurement will be done, the installations complete and the picture will have transformed from today - chargers will be abundant.” That suggests the next two years could be hard? “Not quite: I think this summer will be hard - but after that the picture will start to improve dramatically. The work has been done that will see the necessary infrastructure going in - but there is a lag between the contracts being agreed and the networks opening up new sites." You mentioned local authorities. Why have some been slow to install points? “I’m not going to criticise them: even before the pandemic these guys had enough to do without the major headache of installing a charging network. They have tight budgets and not much resource - and EV charging is complicated. “Now the Government is proposing to set two things in place: a rulebook on how to procure EV charging services and the resources to do that. Private money can cover the costs, but the implementation requires delivery support inside the Councils, and that’s now coming. “The optics of a council providing two 7kW chargers, often poorly maintained, are terrible, and what we have now should help us move on from that.” What are your views on the motorway network? “I’ve been really impressed by the progress Gridserve has made on the Electric Highway across the motorway network. But, while a positive start, this alone is not enough and success here will require the Government to carefully manage the rules of the rapid charging fund to ensure that drivers can enjoy the cost and choice benefits of competition between charging providers at these sites.” Are you saying private money can pay for the entire charging infrastructure? “It can pay for the vast majority. Where Government support is needed is in rural locations where it wouldn’t otherwise be viable to install a charging hub, or in areas where the grid network is so expensive to upgrade that it would never be economic. As with broadband, the Government needs to ensure that the infrastructure is nationwide. We need to put charging where people need to charge - and in some cases that will need support. “And then there are the motorway charging points, which need to be prioritised because if they aren’t sorted it will delay adoption of EVs. There are some sites where it might cost £20m to bring additional power in. In those cases the Government might need to contribute to make the sites as viable to invest in as elsewhere. “But all of this is coming; again, not for this summer, but maybe later this year or next. There is a lag now that will make for a painful few months, but nothing more.” It sounds like your message to consumers is ‘bear with us’, which nobody likes to hear? “I’m not saying that, no. Our customers deserve better than that phrase suggests. But what I am saying is that there is a massive deployment of proper infrastructure underway. Amazing new sites that are easy to navigate and accessible to everyone are rolling out almost every week. “But I am admitting that the rollout won’t be finished by this summer. The situation is going to improve dramatically from where we are now through to Christmas, and from there keep going. For the bulk of drivers, solutions are just months away. “Motorway services in all areas and local authorities may take longer, but where the free market has access then it is providing answers. Every major road, retail park and retail chain in the country now has a plan to make quick progress.” Why will I choose an Osprey charger over someone else’s? “What I can see now is a gap emerging between the reputable, reliable rapid networks and the rest. So I think reliability will soon become a hygiene factor that we really shouldn't be talking about anymore - for the best networks it is 99% there. “Now we're talking about having hubs of multiple high powered chargers, with bays that are accessible - that’s the next hygiene factor we need to establish and prove. “But, again, we’ll get there, and there will be 1000s of sites that deliver those things. To make you choose Osprey we’ll have to keep innovating. That means technical innovation for the best chargers, but also innovations to make us more appealing - that might be loyalty points, it might be rewards. I’m not going to give all the details, but I think every EV driver can look forward to their main concern being whether to turn right to one provider or left to another.” The SMMT has been very vocal in putting pressure on the UK charging network. Is that fair? “No, and I think the statements are disappointing. When we engage with them they say their words are a call on Government to do more, not a criticism of the service providers. But unfortunately it comes across as an anti-charging statement. “Personally, I’d love the statement to be around asking for more of the best of the infrastructure we have. Today we - and they - know what good looks like and they could promote that. “Emotionally it does feel as if there's a deliberate deflection placed in their statements to take the pressure off OEMs. So, yes, we're disappointed with the rhetoric, and I think it points to a dysfunctionality in the relationships between charging providers and the OEMs. If there was more dialogue we could solve the problems quicker.” Would that be easier for OEMs if the charge point network wasn’t so splintered? “The truth is that 80% of the public network is run by five or six providers. This whole thing about there being 56 network operators might be factually correct, but it doesn’t tell the full story. “Looking down the line, too, there will be consolidation. That will take time, and I don’t see it as a major priority for the simple reason it’s clear who the big players are now. There’s never likely to be more than five significant ones because of the money and expertise required - so now is the time to engage with us.” If the industry distils around a few players all providing an upmarket service, what will happen to prices? “Public charging is not getting any cheaper - electricity costs are rising fast and customers have shown they want big, beautiful charging hubs with very high power chargers. “Today, the UK’s charging is cheaper than in Europe. There’s also a lot of subsidised schemes. So what drivers are paying today is actually quite low. That will have to change. But the key point will be that it will still be competitive against the price of petrol or diesel. “ What impact will it have when Tesla’s Supercharger network is opened up? “I’m relaxed about the competition - as I keep saying, there’s more than enough opportunity here for all the big players. I worry more about how I’d feel if I was a Tesla customer and turned up somewhere and found all the chargers were taken by other brands.” You mention accessible spaces. Why isn’t accessibility easier? “There’s always more we can do, but the issue has been the focus of car park owners on maximising return on a given space: and the simple fact is that an accessible space needs half the room again of a normal parking space. Previously we’ve opted to get as many chargers in the ground as we can, but now we are revisiting that. “When we talk about accessibility, it is about the physical space, charger access and charger usability that is essential for wheelchair users and those with any type of reduced mobility, permanent or temporary (such as pregnancy). It's important to remember that optimising these factors also makes the experience better for all drivers manoeuvring around their car with a charging cable, or with children or shopping. “Accessibility can be a challenging point because most car parks and businesses put a pound value on each parking bay. So when I say to you I'm going to build you a ten-bay hub, but I'm going to need the space of 16 bays to do it, then there’s a price attached. “Some landlords are more understanding - especially our partners now - but not all are. So we need legislation to help, and to establish best practice. Often that may mean a site has four chargers instead of six - but that is the way we should be aiming to get it done. “It needs a strong approach; you can’t say one in 10 bays must be accessible, as that will be the first one used. And you can’t reserve bays for people of disability, as that bay may then never be economical to run. My view is it has to be 50-100% of chargers within a charging site are mandated a certain way or it just won’t work.”