Europe and North America will have over 1 million workplace EV chargers by 2025

As grid operators, automakers, transit authorities, companies and governments prepare for the 37.2 million electric vehicles (EVs) set to be on road in 2025, interest in workplace charging opportunities is growing.

The North America and Europe workplace EV charging markets could surpass a combined 500,000 charger units in 2022 and reach over 1.25 million by 2025, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie.

"Workplace chargers today are installed to attract customers and employees by increasing access to charging infrastructure, as well as supporting an improved sustainability programme. Over time, workplace charging could be used by owners to manage demand charges or by grid operators for improved renewables integration," said Ben Kellison, Wood Mackenzie Research Director.

Wood Mackenzie expects Europe to embrace workplace chargers to serve its higher concentration of people living in multi-unit apartments.

Workplace charging infrastructure within this region has the potential to surpass 700,000 charging points by 2025. Based on Wood Mackenzie's base-case scenario, Europe could see a total of 735,000 workplace chargers by 2025. The high- and low-case scenarios for 2025 involve the installation of almost 1 million charging points or 534,000, respectively.

In North America - California in particular - promoting workplace EV charging is a way to support the electric grid. By encouraging people to plug-in during the day, EVs can be used to absorb excess solar energy throughout the day to increase demand when renewable energy is most prevalent. This helps to temper negative pricing and reduces renewable curtailment.

As vehicle-to-grid capabilities become more common in the long-term, workplace charging may also offer additional value to both the grid and site owner. Enabling the injection of power stored in EV batteries can reduce the severity of renewable intermittency on the grid during the day. Additionally, it permits a site owner to reduce demand charges in the same fashion that stationary battery storage is used today.

Wood Mackenzie’s base-case scenario predicts the number of North American light-duty workplace EV charging points will hit between 375,000 and 680,000 by 2025. This scenario expects 517,000 chargers by 2025, which would represent a 1:1 ratio with public charging points.

Passenger electric vehicles have garnered significant attention over the last few years. However, interest from corporate, government and non-profits does not stop with private vehicles. Factors such as battery cost reductions, public policy, environmental pressure from the public and the promise of new EV models have led to interest in workplace charging and “greening” medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets.

“To gauge the true scope of how EVs will change the built infrastructure of cities, business parks and homes, consider that 11.3 million EVs will be on the road by 2020, with 6.4 million charging points in service by that date. By 2025, those numbers climb to 37.2 million EVs and 18.6 million charging points. This will result in increased stress for grid operators and the need for collaboration between the transport, utility and business sectors,” added Mr. Kellison.