A Suffolk company set up to install and operate revenue-earning charging points for electric vehicles across East Anglia and beyond is well set for growth after signing a deal at an international conference.
EV Driver is based at Bentwaters Parks, Rendlesham, near Woodbridge, where co-owners Linda Grave and Robbie Gawthrop also run renewable energy specialist East Green Energy - a business which has given them an insight into the growing interest in electric vehicles among environmentally-aware consumers.
Eight charging stations have already been installed by EV Driver at East of England Co-op sites in Suffolk and Norfolk and the company is now actively seeking other “hosts”, which are likely to include other retailers, hotels, car parks and garages.
To support the roll-out of a wider network, EV Driver signed an agreement at the recent InterCharge Conference in Berlin with Fortum Charge & Drive which will support monitoring and payments.
Linda Grave said: “We selected the Fortum Charge & Drive system because Fortum has a wealth of experience and their system supports our business model, promoting the EV Driver brand as a highly professional and forward thinking company that both owns our own network of charging stations as well as operating charging stations for other companies across East Anglia.
“The synergy between the two companies was obvious from the outset, and we are delighted to be working with Fortum to create a robust and reliable network throughout the UK that connects our drivers with the extensive Fortum network.”
Fortum Charge & Drive, part of the Fortum clean energy company based in Finland, is a pioneer in electric vehicle charging and has a network of around 1,300 affiliated smart chargers in the Nordic countries.
“We are very enthusiastic about the co-operation with EV Driver and totally support their focused offering for the East Anglian region,” said Rami Syväri of Fortum Charge & Drive.
“They will provide the reliable and responsive service that is needed from an operator, and we will provide our cloud solution which enables remote monitoring and upgrades and provides easy methods of payment at the charging stations.”
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