The Future of EV Charging: Insights from FuturePlace and Angelique Mentis Interview

In a recent interview with FuturePlace, I had the pleasure of speaking about the current state and future prospects of electric vehicle charging infrastructure (EVCI) within the Australian parking industry.

The full interview is included below, with these key takeaways.

• EV Charging Opportunities and Barriers. Parking operators definitely see opportunities within EVCI, and are already installing EV chargers. However a lot of the work around retrofitting existing buildings falls in the asset owner’s purview. So while the operators actively work with the asset owners, they can’t directly address regulatory and building issues, such as upgrading circuit boards, load management, access, regulatory permits etc.  
• Role of Operators: Revenue Models: Early rollout of EV chargers in parking operator sites has been positive. Each site is unique and each business model is unique, so these are all being tried and tested as uptake actively increases. Operators are exploring various models to achieve a sustainable return on investment (ROI).
• The Parking Industry is much broader that just Parking Operators. Stakeholders in the parking industry are not just the operators of parking stations. Everywhere there is a parking space is a stakeholder in the parking industry and a potential EV charging bay. That includes airports, hospitals, shopping centres, residential and commercial strata. EVCI goes beyond parking stations.
• Global Comparisons: International models of EV charging and parking vary across different countries that we can learn from. There’s no one-size-fits-all model; each operator must tailor their approach to specific site conditions and goals. Initial free charging offers, such as those in Denmark, have shifted towards fee-based models as adoption increases. Australian operators are considering similar transitions to ensure long-term viability.

• EV Charging speed and customer Behaviour: Speed and level of charging will depend very specifically on each use case. Eg. fast charging is appropriate for long-distance and regional highway roadside EVCI. But there will be different considerations for other sites, such as parking operators, or shopping centres, where it would be more appropriate to align the charging speed with customer behaviour at those sites, and their dwell time there. Operators and asset owners should consider these patterns when planning their EVCI.
• Collaboration and Partnerships: Effective EVCI deployment relies on collaboration between various stakeholders, including councils, community associations, and large networks. It’s important to invest in collaborative stakeholder engagement.

Future Outlook: In the next decade, Australian parking operators and property owners will likely increase their EVCI deployment, driven by collaborative strategies and technological advancements such as wireless charging, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities, and solar power integration.