In 2019, there were just under one million charging points in Europe and North America. By 2024, that number should grow to 4.4 million – an almost five-fold increase in just five years (see graph). So says a new report released by Berg Insight.

• The total number of charging points in Europe is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 31.1%, from 1.3 million in 2019 to 5.2 million in 2024.
• The CAGR in North America over the same period will be 26.7%, resulting in growth from 0.7 to 2.4 million.

38% growth

These numbers include both private and public charging points. But Berg Insight also specifically projected the growth of connected EV charging points that are equipped with wifi, GPRS, 4G or other types of connectivity technology.

• In 2019, there were 0.6 million connected charging points in Europe (46% of the total).
• In North America, there were 0.3 million connected charging points in 2019, or 35% of the total.

The total number of connected EV charging points for both regions is expected to grow at a CAGR of 38%, which means they are projected to reach a total of 4.4 million by 2024.

Improving operations

The fact that EV charging points that are connected “can improve their service and operations in a multitude of ways,” says Adam Bjorkman, IoT analyst for Berg Insight. These include:

• CPOs can remotely monitor and manage the charging stations.
• EV drivers can easily locate charging stations, monitor availability of chargers and manage payments via an app.

Most connected charging points in Europe and North America are located in public or semi-public charging stations. Nevertheless, the number of connected home charging points is expected to increase as well, as homes get smarter.

Emerging leaders…

Berg Insight has also looked into which companies are emerging as market leaders for EV charging.

EV charging is offered by so-called Charge Point Operators (CPOs). All require dedicated hardware and software solutions. Some develop these in-house while others use white-label solutions developed by competitors. Yet others use hardware and/or software developed by specialised suppliers.

… in Europe

• Market leaders in CPOs include NewMotion, EVBox, Virta, has.to.be, Greenflux, Last Mile Solutions and Driivz. Other notable players include Vattenfall, Innogy, Allego and Fortum.
• Some CPOs are dedicated to EV charging as their core business. These include: Ionity, Allego, Freshmile, InstaVolt and Fastned.
• Other CPOs are owned by utility companies. Examples: CEZ Group, EnBW, Enel X, ESB Group, Iberdrola Group, Innogy, Izivia, Statkraft and Vattenfall.
• Some CPOs are linked to the petroleum industry, like NewMotion (Shell) and Chargemaster (BP).
• Major hardware providers include: ABB, ABL, Alfen, Circontrol, Compleo Charging Solutions, CTEK, DBT Group, Efacec, EVBox, Garo, IES Synergy, Keba, Mennekes, Pod Point, Rolec Services, Schneider Electric, Wallbox and Zaptec. Some also offer software and services.
• Significant software providers include: Virta, has.to.be, Greenflux, Last Mile Solutions, Driivz and Fortum.

… and North America

• ChargePoint is the market leader in CPOs. Other major players include AddEnergie, SemaConnect, EV Connect, Blink Charging and Greenlots.
• Two major dedicated CPOs are Electrify America and EVgo.
• Market leaders for home charging are ChargePoint again, and Enel X.
• Some major players provide both software and hardware solutions. Including: ChargePoint, Blink Charging, SemaConnect and AddEnergie.
• Dedicated software providers include: Greenlots and EV Connect.
• Of course, Tesla is also a prominent player, operating its Supercharger and Destination Charging Networks in Europe and North America.

Source: FleetEurope