EV charging is a pain point for new EV owners. It is hard for the consumer to understand the information and all the different numbers given by car dealers. There are numerous ways to communicate charging speed and every car brand has its method. Do we need a more standardized way of communicating with consumers? Do we need to help consumers to get a better understanding of an EV’s peculiarities? We are proud to present Jan Tore Gjøby, Advisor Charging and Battery Technology, Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF) as a speaker at Battery Tech for EV in Gothenburg. Jan Tore has an electric engineering education and has worked with several of the larger CPOs in Norway and Europe. He is the chair of the Norwegian IEC/TC69 mirror committee and he works with standardization on charging infrastructure on the IEC level and in the UN ECE Electric Vehicle Regulation on electric vehicle safety and environmental performance requirements. He is also an experienced EV driver with around half a million kilometers behind the wheel in numerous pure electric cars. We asked Jan Tore a few questions before the event.
From a consumer perspective, what are the main issues with Electric Car Charging?
There are many issues with car charging. First, we have the well-known issues with payment when charging away from home. Several apps needed to be downloaded, and card payment is not accepted. In addition, the beginning of electric car ownership is confusing with everything needed to learn and understand. How can I charge? Why is it so slow? Should I charge the battery fully or to 80 %, and why? Does my battery get old after a couple of years?
How can we standardise communication with customers?
We usually either get information about max charging speed (power in kW) or how long time it takes to charge from a low state of charge (for example, 10 %) to a high SoC (for example, 80 %). We need both values and a fixed interval. This will tell us some more about the charging curve. If it is flat or if it is a high peak. We also have to define how to communicate battery health in a standardised way.
What can be done to help consumers to get a better understanding of an EV’s peculiarities?
For instance, it is essential to tell the consumer that it takes time to get half a ton of batteries warm when cold outside, and a warm battery is needed to obtain optimal charging.
What’s the most important thing you’d like to share in your presentation?
Do not make the battery a black box. It’s hard for the consumer to understand everything at ones, but that is not a reason to hide helpful information.
You could say that Norway has taken the lead in EV and electrification, what can Sweden learn from our neighbours?
That charging infrastructure is important. The government need to support good charging infrastructure in the beginning to enable the transition to electric mobility.
What are you most looking forward to by attending and speaking at the conference?
I look forward to learning more about batteries and networking with the specialists. I also look forward to sharing our insights from a consumer perspective.