Consumer adoption is advancing the shift toward electric vehicles and Energy as a Service can help businesses meet growing demand.
As the U.S. continues to face rapidly rising interest rates, macroeconomic headwinds, and widespread market uncertainty, one item remains clear: the shift toward a legitimate nationwide EV infrastructure is not only happening but being spearheaded by some of the largest and most successful companies in the world.
Following a steady drumbeat of major retailers and fast-food chains announcing large-scale EV charging initiatives, such as Walmart, 7-11, Taco Bell, and Tesla and Ford’s recent partnership, we are witnessing what many would call a “chicken or the egg” dilemma.
Investors, developers, and consumers are trying to understand who will make the first move toward developing widespread EV infrastructure and whether companies should do more to capitalize on the current EV opportunity or wait for greater consumer demand.
Understanding the Opportunities and Challenges
For retailers, offering EV charging stations can bring benefits such as customer loyalty and provide additional revenue sources. Drivers looking for a charging station will seek out one of these companies while traveling so they can shop or eat with friends while they recharge, driving revenue. Truckers, travelers, and those in the neighborhood just looking for a charge will be inclined to use a charging station where they have the option to shop as opposed to waiting in the car. However, while EV ownership is growing, EV owners still remain a small portion of the overall market.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of EVs on the road rose from 22,000 to a little over 2 million over the 2011 – 2021 period. S&P Global Mobility forecasts electric vehicle sales in the United States could reach 40 percent of total passenger car sales by 2030, and more optimistic projections foresee electric vehicle sales surpassing 50 percent by 2030. Following this growing trend, some companies have begun to realize as more drivers switch to EV vehicles, equipping your business with proper charging capabilities will be vital to grow revenue streams and greatly aid in reducing their carbon footprint.
“As more consumer brands make the shift toward EV charging, it will become a key piece of business operations, further perpetuating the country’s shift.
The challenge many of these companies face is they are not physically or financially equipped to embark on such an endeavor and don’t know how to proceed. Integrating EV charging into a business instantly makes it a core piece of the operation, and many C-suites are not knowledgeable enough to know the best way to explore potential solutions effectively. Fortunately, that’s where Calibrant steps in.
As we have seen with the introduction of the Inflation Reduction Act, the U.S. has made a concerted effort to reduce our country’s emissions and achieve net zero by 2050. Large public companies now face pressure to eliminate carbon emissions from their supply chains, operations, products, and services. Companies not exploring clean energy solutions will face qualitative and quantitative repercussions as they miss out on energy savings, tax incentives, and market share as customers rely more on greener businesses.
Leveraging EaaS to Solve
As more consumer brands make the shift toward EV charging, it will become a key piece of business operations, further perpetuating the country’s shift. As those retailers expand, EV charging station installation will be a staple of their development process and have a profound impact on driving new customers, leaving those who do not have EV charging capabilities behind.
While some companies will try to build energy solutions independently, many are not equipped to handle such a task. As a technology-agnostic platform, our team is well-versed across a spectrum of clean energy solutions and holds deep domain expertise across many of the most prevalent sectors such as solar, energy storage and EV charging. Calibrant is positioned to identify the best clean energy solution to ensure a balanced flow of energy, optimized energy usage and connectivity, and savings.
By outsourcing the ownership, operation, and maintenance of clean energy infrastructure like EV charging stations to a trusted partner like Calibrant, organizations can access green energy solutions without making significant upfront investments or taking on the cumbersome process associated with developing and managing these systems.
Yanni Kapranos is the Chief Technical Officer at Calibrant Energy.