CPOs - Do you understand the feasibility of your next site?

There are three critical questions that charge point operators need to ask themselves when building out an EV charging network. US Sales Manager Kenny Fellows explores these questions and how Dodona can help.

Charge point operators (CPOs) are currently busy planning and deploying charging networks for electric vehicles (EVs) across the US and other western economies. They are consequently building a central pillar of the infrastructure needed to support long-term and sustainable EV adoption.

So it is important to get it right, not only for the short-term business win, but also for a successful, electric future. I know it sounds cliché but I love that my job is helping CPOs to achieve exactly that. This is because Dodona Analytics - our EV network optimization platform - answers three questions which are crucial to the success of their charging network:

1. Could we deploy at this or these potential sites?
   Is this a site which is a feasible choice for its owner or operator? Is it maintainable? Will it cause us any operational inefficiencies down the line?
2.  Should we invest our time and funds into this or these sites?
   Is this a viable site for us when it comes to the desired ROI? What kind of utilization levels should we expect to see?
3. When should we begin the planning and deployment at our chosen sites?
   Is it advisable to invest in this site location now or next year? What would be its value to our network now, and what is the competitive activity in this area?

I mention the “could we” question first, as this is arguably the most important and the most often skipped over by charge point operators. Unfortunately, without answering this question at a detailed level, businesses can be setting themselves up for failure right from the get go. They can be looking at a short-lived future, struggling to maintain their charging network, letting sites go to ground, and damaging their reputation among the driving public.

Answering the “Could we”, both individually and at scale

This is a question that can be answered, and answered quickly and extensively, with an analytics tool such as ours. Importantly, however, the feedback from this sector is that this kind of assessment is currently rare to non-existent among our competitors in the US market.

So, listen up!

Out of the Box, Proprietary, and Custom Data Sets

The “could we”, or “feasibility” assessment is different for every charge point operator, as it involves data sets relevant to each CPO’s business needs. It also goes beyond the assessment of a single location, and instead should aim to assess the potential scaling of a network, either right from its beginnings or indeed building upon an existing structure.

With Dodona, the charge point operator has 50 plus data sets to go at in order to find out whether their chosen site or sites are feasible for them, as well as the ability to import whatever data sets they may already have and are relevant or unique to their business goals. The customer has complete control over what data is used in the assessment of their potential site location(s).

AI-supported decision-making

The customer can also make use of proprietary AI-models which can support the decision-making process when it comes to where to place EV charging stations. Such AI technology is unique to each customer, with the data sets used informing the technology what is considered to be important and relevant to that particular customer.  

Investors convinced

For many CPOs, we find that a major advantage here is the ability to then clearly and easily demonstrate the “why” when it comes to investors. Why the business would want to put charges in the ground at this particular location, as opposed to at another.

I hope that this has given you some insight as to what you need to get straight before embarking on building your successful EV charging network business. Please do reach out to me if you want to see our product in action, or just to touch base on any aspect of this topic.

I leave you with two encouraging facts – using Dodona Analytics, our customers find that 8.4 out of 10 sites are actually feasible for their business model, as opposed to the market average of only 3 in 10 sites. Also exciting to note - their charging networks are growing at an average of 110% - again well above the market average of 52%.