U.K. Company Rolls Out Peer-to-Peer EV Charging

A new step in the development of the U.K.’s electric-vehicle charging infrastructure sees the introduction of what’s billed as the world’s first bookable home and destination EV charging platform.

Bookmycharge.com is urging EV drivers to join its peer-to-peer chargepoint sharing network launched in 2017 as a way to tackle “charging doubt” that could be limiting owners’ EV use.

It notes first-quarter U.K. sales of EVs rose 13.5% to a record 12,825 units, supported by 7,600 domestic chargepoints installed during the quarter.

Bookmycharge.com co-founder Jan Stannard says more than 85,000 U.K. homes have chargepoints, but there are only 6,152 in public locations.

Stannard says the company aims to help EV drivers maximize the potential of the domestic chargepoint network.

“We want to encourage a ‘sharing economy’ approach so that the EV community has guaranteed access to the wealth of home charging locations across the country,” Stannard says in a statement.

The company says the service was born from the realization that the U.K. has widespread areas with no or limited public EV charging.

By booking through Bookmycharge.com, it says drivers have the reassurance of knowing where and when they can charge, using facilities offered by fellow EV owners.

Bookmycharge.com expects the number of domestic chargepoints to reach 100,000 this year.

“So, even more homeowners will be able to travel with confidence, able to easily book and pay for a convenient charge wherever they are in the country,” Stannard says.

Bookmycharge.com works in a way similar to Airbnb by bringing together those with chargepoints and those wanting to charge, taking reservations and payments via its website.

The cost is a flat-rate amount set by the chargepoint owner. Bookmycharge.com charges a service fee of 10% plus tax for those with a chargepoint listed on the website and 20% plus tax for those not listed.

The website also has a chargepoint mapping service.