Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Speaker A: Welcome to the Charging Conversations podcast, brought to you by EV Connect. Charging conversations is the go to audio stop for electric vehicle charging businesses, and I'm your host, Cassie Layton. Each episode, I talk to different leaders in the EV charging industry about innovations, challenges, and successes that drive the industry forward. Whether you're just getting started with your Evdeenen charging business or you're an industry veteran looking to learn about the latest trends, you are in the right place. One favor if you like what you heard, please like, subscribe and share this episode. It helps others find the show. Today I'm speaking with Andrew Huizey, CEO of Go Station, which is an evse installer and network based in Austin, Texas. Andrew and I debunk the common myths surrounding EV charging and uncover the truths that are charging the industry's future. I talked to him about the current state of the industry, the importance of elevating the charging experience for the driver, and how software plays a significant role in the new EV charging frontier. We've got lots to cover in one show, so let's get ready to have your misconceptions challenged with my conversation with Andrew.
[00:01:22] Speaker B: I want to do a little intro of you, Andrew, and then I'm going to get to our question, our questions here. So at Go station, Go station is focused on delivering an unsurpassed EV charging experience. And I know that Go station provides, provides a range of services for commercial and for fleet customers from advisory services, network management, installation, data and analytics, and technology. So with all of that wonderful experience that's tapped into Go station, I'd like to hear from you, Andrew. What do you think are the most important aspects that the industry needs to get right today to ensure continued growth with EV doction?
[00:02:04] Speaker C: Well, first of all, thank you for having me, Cassie and everybody at EV Connect. Well, you touched on a few of them. I mean, there are certainly some truths in those myths, right? Because the EV experience is improving. But I think we have a long way to go. So I often say that we're sort of approaching the end of EV charging 1.0. And I think that chapter of our industry's history has had some bad defining characteristics. Lots of capital destruction, as Wall street would say, poor equipment reliability, and certainly user experience, some bad siding decisions. These things aren't always located in the most convenient or safe locations and overall, really not enough innovation. So I think going forward, we, of course, need to get the basics right. Things need to be fast, reliable, and safe. But we also need to start building infrastructure and software controls for what's ahead that means not just getting the transactional basics, things like finding a charger, start a charge, pay for charge, these kinds of things, but. But also building EV charging infrastructure that can be a key participant in the future of smart cities. So these are things like more integration with intelligent grid management networks that are facilitators of data sharing between systems of all kinds. Ultimately, a more positive and useful part of drivers ev ownership experience, both retail and commercial fleet drivers. And that's the tip of the iceberg, probably.
[00:03:28] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:03:28] Speaker B: I mean, it makes a ton of sense of really thinking about that innovation in the next phase. Right. We got to get the basics right. I think the basics were kind of covered in this 1.0. And now thinking about that 2.0, you talked a little bit about software and technology. I want to dig in a little bit further there. Why is software and technology such a critical aspect of the charging experience?
[00:03:51] Speaker C: Well, I think, in short, it's because the mobility industry is, again, I've spent my career in transportation, automotive and transportation industries. It's now all under the mobility banner. But the mobility industry sector is moving into the future. Modern vehicles are now gathering many gigabytes of data per hour. That's only going to compound with every model year. Transportation and infrastructure systems are more and more integrated with each other, as well as other systems like the grid, urban planning and development, autonomous vehicles of all classes, safety systems, fleet management systems on the commercial side, environmental mitigation tools, I mean, you name it. So software is really what enables EV charging, an EV charging network of the future to have a seat at the table, and ultimately, what empowers a much better user experience for EV drivers of all kinds.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: I think that's such a critical aspect that people forget about the software. They think, oh, it's just to process the payment, and that's kind of it. But through APIs and through all these integrations, whether it's an FM's for fleet management software, or whether it's through grid management services or even existing loyalty programs or whatever have you, there's so many different ways that the software can integrate to create, not just from a planning and operator perspective, but to really delight the driver and really create a much better experience. Right now, it's very utilitarian, just, hey, does it plug? Does it work? But now we're thinking about, how do we plus that up further? And so one of the things, Andrew, you know, you talked about before is this idea of, like, partnerships. There's all these other industries that EV charging connects to. So tell me a little bit about how you view partnerships strengthening the EV landscape and give me a few examples.
[00:05:41] Speaker C: Yeah, well, you just touched on it in talking about APIs and whatnot, in the sense that we're still sort of focusing on the transactional basics from a software perspective. But through APIs and other tools, we can really connect to virtually any system or any other partnership.
Even though I talk about the closing or closing the chapter on EV charging 1.0, the reality is that we're still really in the early innings of this game. The next couple of decades are going to usher in just incredible advancements all around us. No one organization can do it all or frankly should. I think as transportation electrification gets more mature, companies are going to become more specialized. It's something we've seen throughout history as new technologies evolve and are more widely adopted. For example, on Go station side is we don't design or manufacture charging hardware. We made a decision very early on to leave that to key partners that have been building power electronics equipment for a long time, some the better part of a century. We want to focus on what we do better than anyone else, and we're canning love with partners that are the best at what they do. EV Connect has the best back end network management platform in our opinion. And perhaps more important than that, EVC shares our goal of constant improvement and really pushing the innovation envelope. We've got a great working relationship with EVC broadly. It's why we're doing stuff like this, which is really exciting. And we can collectively act really quickly when we see new tools or features that drivers need. Getting those features or enhancements into the driver's hands quickly is really what, what it takes to fuel continuous improvement. So that's a key partnership in action right there.
[00:07:28] Speaker B: Thanks for sharing that, Andrew, and certainly couldn't agree more as we think about really focusing on the driver and all these new innovations to say, hey, we're seeing this one application or we got this type of driver feedback, hey, we want to develop this new thing. I think having that level of adaptability from a software perspective, to be able to quickly pivot or delight the customers and drivers across the industry is going to be critical for that continuous improvement. It's something that is a core value for EV connect continuous improvement. I look at it for myself as well, and really broadly across the industry, we got to make sure that the industry improves as a whole through these different levels of partnership, through new innovation, through new tools and experiences. And so all that said, we want this big, bold future in the 2.0. But we've probably learned some hard lessons along the way. Can you tell me a little bit about some lessons that you've learned as the industry has evolved?
[00:08:31] Speaker C: Sure. I mean, I can think of some, some tough lessons and some. You use word delight a couple times. I can think of some delightful lessons along the way, too. But I mean, the reality is I learned something new every day. I love that about what we do. You know, I've been in this industry tangentially my whole career, but we're doing something new and that's exciting. So, yeah, I mean, this is a really bad pun, but the topic of electrification is just highly charged. That's a tough lesson, that it's a focus of political debate, especially in an election year and deeply entrenched industries. They feel under pressure or threat as technology shifts. I think we've all seen this before with the adoption of new technologies. One thing that I've learned on the delightful side and get really enthusiastic about is that EV charging exists at the intersection of a bunch of industries. It's not siloed. We're at the center of, or the intersection of transportation, urban planning, power markets, the electrical grid, just to name a few. And I love that it gives me an opportunity to really grow and learn new things and surround ourselves, our team, with other experts. And I think that's really exciting. Scary, but exciting. This is maybe the most important lesson that I'm reminded all the time, which is that EV charging is not a one size fits all proposition. Use cases vary widely and solutions need to be designed accordingly. So when you think of everything from Jane Q. Public out charging on fast chargers to multifamily to office or workplace to industrial settings to on highway equipment versus off highway equipment. We charge everything from a light duty vehicle that any one of us could buy or lease to 60 ton forklifts, class eight drayage trucks, and all of them, the only thing they have in common is that they accept an electrical charge. Everything else is sort of different, and the industry needs to recognize that and we need to react accordingly, I think. Lastly, the lesson I'm reminded about all the time is that the future of mobility is really exciting. We'll break some eggs along the way, but it'll be a really interesting couple of decades ahead as technology shifts at a really breakneck pace. It's going to be really fun.
[00:10:44] Speaker B: Thank you for sharing those, Andrew. And it really makes me think about the early days where the view of EV charging was just a clone of the traditional fuel and gas station model. And without a doubt like that's an important aspect. As you're driving, you need to be able to quickly charge and have some of those fast charger destination locations off of a highway, without a doubt. But that's not it. There's so many more use cases like you talked about, from multifamily to sharing a space, to having your own dedicated space, to the implementation for fleet and the integration within their fleet management systems. How you approach a retail space at a mall and people need to go shopping and you want that charging session to end. There's so many different types of applications and there isn't a one size fits all. There's so much more of the industry that needs to grow and think about how do we create these unique experiences that match the driver's behavior and expectations of where they're at. And they are different. They are unique and they have special needs. So I love that you highlighted that. I think it's a lesson that I've learned too myself of what is important to each type of customer, both from a commercial perspective, but also the driver behavior. And so as we think about all of that, I'd love to talk about that 2.0, that vision that we've talked about of the future of the industry. What does it look like to you? Maybe part of it is these unique experiences. But what else do you see in the future for EV charging 2.0?
[00:12:20] Speaker C: Key characteristics of the industry going forward, I think, need to be lots of data gathering, data organization and data sharing amongst stakeholders, some of which we've already talked about. Things like machine learning and edge computing are going to enable better decisions to be made faster at the point of charge rather than relying on lag time to a cloud, for example. I think both need to be part of the solution, particularly when you think about rural locations. Much better software integration between chargepoint operators and vehicles. That's a key differentiator for new oems like Tesla and Rivian today versus the incumbents, if you will. And I'll spare everybody the reasons why, but it has to do with long supplier contracts and many vendors. But that'll improve over time. I think 2.0 will feature new financial models and revenue streams, including monetizing carbon credits, which is good for networks and for drivers. Differentiated software tools and experiences for different driver groups, including commercial fleets. Cassie, you mentioned earlier all kinds of use cases. Sometimes it's those different groups interacting with the same public infrastructure piece, but it has to look different to different user groups simultaneously. Integration with retailers nearby. You just mentioned this so that drivers can get deals on goods and services they're interested in, tailored for them while they're charging. Maybe good only for them, only at a location, only for a certain amount of time. That's pretty exciting. There's no reason that uptime and reliability in our industry can't be what we see and for example, elevators or medical devices. So we have a long way to go in that regard. But that should be the target. All of that begins with software. Better monitoring, proactive management means better preventative maintenance, and ultimately a better result. And I think the bottom line is that EV charging 2.0 is really all about the driver and less about the transaction, and we're going to see more and more of that going forward.
[00:14:12] Speaker B: Wow, that certainly painted a very beautiful picture of how it all connects and works together.
It can almost feel daunting, but I really feel like that we're on the cusp of a lot of these major innovations. I think the other thing that I see in the 2.0 version of EV charging, I think historically many people just looked at, let's add all the dots on the map, we just need to add chargers everywhere, let's get them up and get them running. And one of the problems is that we didn't really think a lot about the maintenance behind those chargers and ensuring that uptime and reliability, which is why we hear so much about reliability. The anxiety now, it's not about driver anxiety. There's plenty of works that are out there, and we know we're going to get more. But what's that experience once I show up? And so I think the other thing that we're going to see a lot more investment on, and I know that EV connect has from an offering of Shield, which is a O and M maintenance agreement, to ensure that reliability of those stations. I think we're going to have to see more and more of that across the industry of ensuring that it's not just put in the ground, but make sure that it's always working. And how are we doing that? SLA is behind it. How quickly can someone get on site, et cetera. I think that's one thing that I think is really important. I also think the idea, we talked a lot about this already, but from a software platform perspective, thinking about it almost as the nucleus to the cell, how are we going to have these connection points to whether it's the reward systems, to other different tools and software, to urban planning, to utilities thinking about how they grow and scale the grid, to smart city? I think thinking about the platform approach really as that foundation level to anything's kind of possible, as you think about it, almost as legos. How do we build on top of it? What are the other features and functionality that isn't just, hey, I'm plugging it in and making sure it works. There's so much more that we can do to really, again, I'm going to go back to the delight, the driver delight, create a delightful experience. I think there's just so much more that can happen there beyond the basics of getting my car battery full.
[00:16:30] Speaker C: Yeah. And I just want to, I know you meant this, and I just want to reiterate from our perspective that we think of the driver both as us but also fleet operators and what they need and what they prioritize are going to be very different. And that platform approach allows us industry stakeholders to deliver what they need, whether that's, again, this group at a public charger looking for a deal on coffee or a fleet operator that really wants to deliver a differentiated, more value to their customer base, whether that's Walmart or other big sort of customers of theirs. I think this can become more and more important from a platform standpoint, so exactly right.
[00:17:15] Speaker A: And that brings us to the end of this episode of charging conversation. We hope you enjoyed debunking some common myths about EV charging with us. Thank you to Andrew for today's insightful conversation and to our audience for tuning in. I'd also like to thank our podcast platform, Castos, for hosting and editing this episode. If you like what you heard and want to support us, please remember to, like, subscribe and share this podcast with your network. And don't miss out on our next episode. Subscribe now and stay charged. If you have any feedback or requests for future episodes, please let us know at podcastdConnect.
Until we meet again, keep charging forward.
