Charging infrastructures are developing at the pace of charging, but there is still room to optimize the experience of the electromobilist.
At Automobile Propre, we like (electric) cars, but it will not have escaped you that we also really like something slightly essential to make them run: charging infrastructure.
If the latter are now on the right track of powerful, rapid development with an exponential curve, there is still a need to improve the charging experience for the electric motorist on the move. Some networks have already understood this by offering services and innovations, such as Electra with its reservation system or Fastned with its “crossing” stations and its protective canopies equipped with photovoltaic cells.
But is it enough? Yes, in most cases. But as we are picky and we like to look for the little beast, our user experience regularly leads us to imagine services and features that do not yet exist (or in any case not on a large scale or not to our knowledge), and which could make the lives of electric car drivers a little easier.
Here are 7 ideas of devices that we submit to your sagacity. If you have others, do not hesitate to indicate them in the comments, on a misunderstanding it could work.
The charging cable with integrated winder in the car
You all know the proverbial canister vacuum cleaner, and its retractable cord with a spring winder system. With this innovation, the manufacturers have solved the problem of the electric wire and the extension cord that you never know where to store and which picks up as much dust as the said vacuum cleaner. A similar system would really make life easier for the EV driver. Because we’re not going to lie to each other, take this cable out of the trunk (or frunk), unfolding it, plugging it in at both ends – car socket and terminal socket – is really an unpleasant constraint as possible, messy and even potentially generating trauma for certain fragile organisms given the weight of the mess. Or even worse: I know someone who… broke the glass roof of his Tesla by hitting it with the Type 2 plug of his cable while he was taking it out of the trunk (basically the cable slipped from him and bounced on the rear part of the glass, breaking it clean). So certainly, the device would surely take up a little space and weight, and would perhaps also pose regulatory questions related to its security, but nothing that seems really insurmountable. And the space taken up would be as much space saved in the trunk…
Limit the recharge time on saturated stations
This is one of the favorite arguments of anti-EVs: the saturation (real or supposed) of charging stations on days of heavy traffic, in reality a few days or hours a year during major summer migrations. Anyway, given the rapid growth of the electrified car fleet, it might be interesting to imagine a system that limits the charging time to X minutes in the event of a heavy rush. So of course that would pose problems of fairness because all cars do not recharge at the same speed and do not have the same autonomy, but in any case no system is perfectly egalitarian. An average could be found to guarantee recovery at least between 100 and 150 km before charging stops and you have to leave room. Remember that on days of heavy traffic, Tesla charging stations cut off charging at 80% and a message is displayed on the screen, asking to leave space. That being the case, you can restart the charge and stay if you feel you need more.
A ticket to take your turn
Still at high-traffic stations, in order to avoid the conflicts between drivers that will inevitably arise with the generalization of electric vehicles and variable-geometry civic-mindedness, we could consider installing a numbered ticket system (yes, like at social security or at McDo) to take his turn. When the terminal is free and it’s your turn, it rings and displays your ticket number. It’s horrible ? Stupid ? There is already Electra’s reservation system, which is rather seen as an interesting and intelligent initiative. It would be the “counter” version, nothing else. And by the way, this device could be integrated into the network app, which would allow you to go do something else while waiting and be notified by a notification on the phone when it’s your turn.
A cross-platform application to manage the load
Of course there are already many applications, each car brand and each network having its own, not to mention Chargemaps and others. But there are still specific cases of increasingly widespread use that really need to be facilitated and streamlined. An example: charging stations in public car parks. For residents in town without private parking or private charging stations, who have no other option than recharging on this type of charging station, having a “cross-platform” app that works with all networks and all charging stations would really be a plus for handle the load. In particular to know the free terminals and to be able to reserve one rather than rushing into an underground car park and having to come out because all the charging points are taken.
An indicator of the number of free terminals in public places
In the same order of idea and of a comparable use, it would not be superfluous for electromobilists to be visually informed of the availability of recharging located in an immediate perimeter. For example with a meter at the entrance or near public car parks indicating the total number of terminals, the number of terminals available, and, let’s be crazy, possibly their power and prices. After all, said car parks display the number of free places at the entrance, why not the number of free charging stations?
A badge with QR code and private messaging to indicate its charging time
You have surely already happened to reach a charging station installed on the main square of a municipality while roaming in the hope of charging. Bad luck, the two charge points are taken, and you have no idea when one of the owners of the cars in charge will come to collect their carriage. This is where a badge system would be relevant. Installed on the windshield, it would indicate, like a parking disc, the scheduled departure time, so as to know whether it is worth waiting or whether it is better to continue on to another terminal. This type of badge already exists, but the geek in us whispers in our ears that a dematerialized digital version would bring other services. The badge would only display a QR code which, once scanned, would display in a dedicated app the scheduled departure time, previously entered by the person loading, but also an instant and secure messaging service allowing the owner to be contacted for know when it will really free up the place. And maybe other services (such as being able to change the time in case of delay). The app would be secure and would require proving your identity (even the VIN of your car) to be able to use it, in order to avoid abuse and abuse. Another advantage: no more clear display of your departure time on the windshield… A more low-tech alternative: being able to indicate your departure time by entering it directly on the terminal so that it is simply displayed on your screen.
Yield management to modulate tariffs according to the load
It is a well-known management method for hoteliers, airlines, car rental companies and all travel-related service providers. Based on the principle that an unrented room, place or car is lost because the service cannot be stored, all the travel and accommodation giants have implemented solid and sophisticated programs for adjusting their rates. depending on demand. Basically, the more demand there is, the more expensive it is, and vice versa. It is even on this principle that Lastminute.com was founded, among others. Given that the electric car charging sector can sometimes lead to saturation, that at other times the stations are empty, and that the needs are not the same everywhere and at the same time, with a product by definition served just-in-time (apart from a few still rare cases), it does not seem inappropriate to imagine a yield management the price of the terminals, programmed as finely as possible according to demand and many other criteria to be entered into the algorithm. Tesla already offers an off-peak system with lower rates, which is a good start, but it’s a safe bet that this approach will expand and be segmented in a much finer way.
In conclusion
Two years ago, we expressed our wish that charging stations strengthen their offer. It is on the right track, and even a reality for many of them. The market is perhaps ripe today for a second phase, more cosmetic, made once again of audacity and innovation, as much on the side of the manufacturers as of the operators and infrastructures.
