In focus Drax Group
Martyn Collins talks to Adam Hall, Energy Services Director at Drax, about the services they’re able to offer for companies moving to EV and whether the 2030 ICE engine ban is realistic.
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Above: Adam Hall of Drax says the interest in electrification is not just coming from fleet buyers, but also employees and private buyers, too.
e first talk about how Drax stands out against other EV service providers. Hall tells me that first and foremost, they have
a proposition developed specifically for the needs of the business market. He says: “We’ve got real expertise in destination charging – so areas people want to drive to and charge, such as car parks. More specifically in fleet electrification, supporting businesses as they transition their petrol or diesel vehicle to an all-electric fleet.
“I think being part of the Drax Group provides several benefits above our competitors. Firstly, it gives us the financial stability and scale we need to support businesses on what can be quite a complex and long-term project. We find that customers have confidence that we as a supplier, will be there to support them through what can be a five to 10-year project. “Secondly, sustainability at Drax is at the heart of our approach. We have the expertise to help customers, as they look to decarbonise
their wider operations, whether that’s tackling their Scope 1 or Scope 2 emissions. That might be through decarbonising their vehicle emissions, via our EV product. We might also then supplement that with things like our renewable power supply, and other decarbonisation solutions - meaning customers can get far more from an environmental and sustainability perspective by working with us. “Finally, the energy expertise that we have, means that we’re well-placed to support the customer in generating additional value from the recharging of their vehicles. Last winter, for example, we were the largest provider of energy flexibility through what’s called the National Grid Demand Flexibility Service (DFS). That service was designed to really help support the grid in times of high demand – whilst creating revenue for our customers. We were really delighted that some of our managed EV chargers participated in that service, which is going to become even more essential as we continue to decarbonise the energy sector.”
Adam goes on to tell me, that Drax has a compelling end-to-end turnkey solution. He says: “It takes customers right the way from vehicle suitability assessments – so making sure the customer is moving over to the right vehicles, at the right time - through to charging hardware selection, the installation of those charge points, and finally the long-term charge point and operation maintenance contracts that underpin that service.
“We’ve developed trusted relationships with specialist service suppliers to provide an offering tailored to the needs of our fleet customers. So, for example, we enable the reimbursement of domestic charging costs on return-to-home fleet vehicles. Critically for our customers, they can enjoy a simple contracting structure with Drax, and we provide that service through the specialist providers that we have a relationship with. We are massive advocates of Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP); all our solutions are OCPP-compliant, meaning we can accommodate all OCPP chargers on
“Drax is here to simplify the complexity, taking the pain points away from customers.”
28 | August 2023 |
www.businesscar.co.uk
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