Public Funding for IPFT Fuels Limited

We believe the future of EV charging is autonomous rather than manual. As charging speeds increase, manual charging, which currently often replicates manual liquid refuelling infrastructure, offers progressively poor user experience (e.g., plugs heat up requiring liquid cooling, becoming heavier and more vulnerable to damage, vandalism and safety concerns). Conventional manual chargers cause street clutter and their deployment meets stakeholder resistance. Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought new infection risks associated with manual operation. MOLE is an autonomous, underbody, conductive EV charging technology. MOLE provides a more efficient, flexible and scalable system compared to inductive/wireless technology (competitor state-of-the-art). Being installed underground, our clutter-free chargers avoid trip hazards - for commercial fleets delivering better health and safety in the workplace; and for residential urban charging improving walkability in line with expert recommendations (London Mayor's EV Infrastructure Taskforce, 2020). Minimal street clutter adds value compared to conventional manual chargers e.g., trailing wires, and safety issues related to manual connection. In all use cases, our innovation enhances user experience with ZEV charging infrastructure. In this project, we propose to further develop our technology for use cases in EV fleet charging, as well as public (on-street) charging applications. In both these use cases, the ability to deploy the MOLE charger underground and outdoor will crucially assist with enabling uptake of electric vehicles. Through the development of this innovation, we aim to play a significant role in the expansion of the UK's EV charging infrastructure.

IPFT is developing autonomous electric vehicle charging solutions for applications across the transport system (surface transport, aviation, maritime). Autonomous charging technology addresses many of the challenges of charging battery electric vehicles, and is an enabling technology for Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), EV car clubs and Vehicle to Grid (V2G) which have further environmental and economic benefits, including supporting better integration of intermittent renewable energy generation. In this project, we propose to study and outline the adaptation of our technology for applications where we see potential for early adoption at scale. We will focus our Phase 1 study and Phase 2 trials on charging fleets of LCVs in fleet depots and specific use cases in public charging to alleviate needs and concerns arisen as a result of the pandemic. We will implement Phase 1 in close consultation with the parties who have expressed support and offered to host Phase 2 trials.